during his personal interviews with his majesty, never strove to obtain anything for us, the true Conquistadores, though it was with our assistance he obtained the distinguished appointment of governor of New Spain? To this I answered, and must still answer, that when Cortes received the appointment of governor he immediately took the best commendaries to himself, and imagined that he would remain uncontrolled master of New Spain for life, and that the distribution of the commendaries would continue in his hands. He therefore considered that it would be superfluous to solicit anything for us, as he would have it in his own power to do what he liked; but after his majesty had given him a marquisate, his majesty refused to reappoint him governor: and so it happened that Cortes, in soliciting honours for himself, allowed the best opportunity to pass by of making some provision for us. It was certainly not his majesty's fault that our services were never rewarded; for when he was informed by several cavaliers of Mexico that Cortes had taken the best townships and districts of New Spain to himself, and had presented others to his relations and friends recently arrived from Spain, his majesty issued commands that Cortes' companions in arms should likewise be handsomely rewarded. Soon after this his majesty left, for Flanders, where he most probably lost sight of the matter altogether. If Cortes immediately after the conquest had divided the whole country into five equal parts, and had set one of these with the most lucrative townships apart for the crown, he would have done much better. Then he would have had one fifth and a half for the churches and cloisters, and for those cavaliers who had served in his majesty's armies in the campaigns of Italy, and those against the Moors and Turks; and the other two fifths and a half ought to have been distributed among the Conquistadores in perpetuity. This division would certainly have met with his majesty's approbation, particularly as the whole conquest never put the crown to any expense.
In the first times, moreover, we did not know before what tribunal we were to lay our complaints and petitions, and we accordingly put our