418
FUTILE ATTEMPTS TOWARD DISCOVERY.
in a few years its residents were reduced to actual distress.[1]
Other matters during this period became grounds of contention between him and the ruling powers, such as the payment of tithes,[2] forest, pasture, and water rights, to which he laid exclusive claim in the district of Cuernavaca,[3] and complaints made by his vassals of the excessive tribute imposed upon them.[4] Moreover, the much vexed question of the number of his vassals was again brought forward, the proceedings in the matter being marked by want of liberality in the actions of the audiencia, and by petulant complaints on the part of Cortés.[5] Yet no adjustment could be arrived at. The marquis, though deprived of
- ↑ Antequera was raised to the rank of a cathedral town in 1534, but the description of it given by Bishop Zárate in 1544 indicates the victory of Cortés. The city, he writes, was in such a condition that its abandonment would be no loss. The distress of the inhabitants was owing to the city possessing no lands, all the surrounding country being owned by Cortés, Provisions consequently commanded exorbitant prices. The town had been founded out of malice to the marquis, but the scheme only worked to the injury of the settlers, who had not even commons for pasturage. A change, however, might be effected by a proper arrangement with Cortés, which would make Antequera one of the most important places in the country. Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i. tom. x. 293-8.
- ↑ Cortés had obtained from the pope a bull granting to him immunity from tithes on the domains granted to him by the king. 'The audiencia report his consequent refusal to pay them. In 1533 royal orders were issued to the effect that he was not to be exempt from the payment, since such exemption would be prejudicial to the royal patronato, which it was not the pope's intention to injure. Montemayor, Svmarios, 49; Puga, Cedulario, 84.
- ↑ The queen by cédula of April 20, 1533, ordered that these forests, waters, and pastures be common property of the Spaniards. Id., 85.
- ↑ The natives of the Cuernavaca district presented to Pedro García, the interpreter of the audiencia, eight paintings descriptive of the tributes they had paid to the marquis, and stated that they were treated by his underlings more like slaves than vassals. García, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiv. 142-7. The king in September 1533, directed the audiencia to determine the tribute to be paid by the vassals not only of Cuernavaca but of all his domains. Puga, Cedulario, 87.
- ↑ In April 1532 the audiencia informs the crown that in order to arrive at some knowledge of the number, Indians in the guise of traders had been secretly sent into the district of Cuernavaca. These had made drawings of the towns and villages in the valley, from which it appeared that in that district only there were more than 20,000 houses each containing several families. The audiencia believed that Cortés had received more than his right. Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série ii. tom. v. 204-5. The queen in April 1533 approved the suggestion made by the audiencia that President Fuenleal and two oidores should proceed to Cuernavaca and verify the paintings, taking with them the natives that had drawn them. Puga, Cedulario, 83-4.
