Valladolid, 13th of February 1544—I, the Prince—by command of His Highness Juan de Samano, signed by the Bishop of Cuenca and the licentiate Gutierrez Velasquez, Gregorio Lopez y Salmeron. THE PRINCE. President and judges of our Council and of Our Royal Chancellery of the Confines; know ye that the Emperor King, my sovereign, presented the bishopric of the city of Ciudad Real of the plains of Chiapa to the licentiate Arteaga, and His Holiness, in response to the said representation, conferred it upon him. After his death, His Majesty, presented the said bishopric to Fray Bartholomew de Las Casas, whom we have commanded to depart without waiting for his bulls, and to fulfil the good we hope he will accomplish among the natives of the said bishopric. And that he may know the limits of the said bishopric, dividing it from the bishoprics of Guatemala, Honduras, Tiascala, and Guascaco, I command that upon his arrival there, you show him the limits to which the said bishopric of Chiapa extends. Bearing in mind how the said Fray Bartholomew de Las Casas has served and will serve us, and the good he can do in the conversion of the natives in the said bishopric, the boundaries which will be pointed out to him must be quite distinct from the other bishoprics of the country, for as long as it is our wish—Dated in the town of Valladolid 13th day of February 1544—I, the Prince, etc. THE PRINCE. President and judges of our Audiencia and Royal Chancery of the Confines. Fray Bartholomew de Las Casas, bishop-elect of the city of Ciudad Real of the plains of Chiapa, has informed me, and we all well know, that he and the other priests of his Order have worked hard to bring peace to the provinces of Teçulatlan, Lacandon, and others that were engaged in warfare; these provinces are situated within the limits of the bishopric and he beseeches me, since he and the said priests have understood and are endeavouring to bring peace to the said provinces, to be good enough to order that they shall be included within the limits of his diocese; thus included, he would work with more love and zeal than any former prelate to convert the natives to a knowledge of the Holy Catholic Faith, according to our wishes. Our Council of the Indies having considered this, it was agreed that I should send you this my cedula, and as I approved, I command you to see to the above. Should the said provinces of Teçulatlan and Lacandon be outside the limits of the said diocese of Chiapa, you will arrange that the said Fray Bartholomew de Las Casas has them under his charge as prelate, until His Holiness, upon our presentation, appoints a prelate over the said provinces. Let the said bishop-elect have charge of the spiritual affairs in those provinces and as prelate take a fourth part of the tithes which belong to him in the said provinces; the other three quarters shall be distributed among the ecclesiastical ministries already in existence in the said provinces and