in which there came Cristobal de Tapia,[1] inspector of the foundries in the island of Hispaniola. I received a letter
Arrival of
Cristobal
de Tapia
from him the next day afterwards, in which he made known to me that fog coming to this country was for the purpose of taking charge of its government by order of Your Majesty; for this purpose he said he had brought the royal provisions, but would in no wise present them until we met, which he desired should happen immediately. As his animals had been fatigued at sea, he had not begun his journey and he prayed me to give orders how we might see each other, either by his coming hither or my going to the sea-coast. Immediately I received his letter, I answered it, saying that I rejoiced at his arrival, and that nobody could have come provided with Your Majesty's orders for holding the government of these parts whom I would receive with more satisfaction, not only on account of our mutual acquaintance, but also as fellow neighbours and early settlers in the island of Hispaniola,
Since the pacification of these parts was not so complete as it should be, and any novelty would disquiet the natives, I besought Fray Pedro Melgarejo de Urrea, commissary of the Cruzada,[2] (who accompanied us in all
- ↑ When the news of Narvaez's summary treatment of the commissioner from the audiencia of Hispaniola, Ayllon, reached Spain, proceedings were begun against him, but the Bishop of Burgos, always active in Velasquez's interests, secured their suspension until fuller information might be had, and also the release of Narvaez from the prison in Vera Cruz, where Cortes had confined him. Cristobal de Tapia, an inspector of the royal smelting operations in Hispaniola was therefore despatched to Vera Cruz, with full powers to deal with the matter; he was hardly the man for the mission, and was as little able to cope with Cortes as Narvaez had been.
- ↑ He was a Franciscan friar, empowered to administer the Bulas de la Cruzada. The indulgences provided by such bulls were granted on the usual conditions required for obtaining an indulgence, and were applicable to the living and the dead. This usage originated, as the title indicates, with the Crusades, and after it had fallen into
