Such equitable dealing was in marked contrast with the methods of Henry IV., whose practice it had been to farm out the posts of “corregidor” amongst his dissolute favourites and to allow them to recoup themselves for the purchase by what means they liked. In vain the citizens had complained that under this system any robber or murderer could buy his freedom. The “corregidores,” as they released those who bribed them, were ready with the cynical justification that human blood would neither pay the King nor reward them for their labours. The appointments made by Henry’s successor were based on a totally different standard, that of capability for the office in question. Great was the surprise of men who had supported Isabel in the civil war, when their petitions for royal agencies met with the response that their services would be recompensed in some other way. This promise, we are told, was faithfully kept; but the offices they had coveted passed into different hands. The Queen’s experience had taught her that the loyal soldier is not always gifted with the best business head, nor with the most persuasive tongue. An instance of the difficulties encountered by the new régime may be seen in the settlement of Galicia at the end of the Portuguese war. That turbulent province had been the prey of tyrant nobles since the days of John II., Isabel’s father. Mushroom fortresses had sprung up to defend the bands of robbers who infested its highways and oppressed the smaller towns and villages. Rents and tithes were collected by those whose only right was the sword with which they emphasized their demand; while even the lands belonging to the monasteries and churches had been sequestered for secular purposes. In 1481, two officials appeared at Santiago, charged by Ferdinand and Isabel with the Herculean task of restoring peace and justice. In response to their summons the Procuradores of the various towns and country districts came to assist them; but, though all bore witness to the prevailing anarchy, none showed enthusiasm for its cure. Their sole response to the suggestions offered was that “disorder was sanctioned by custom and must therefore be the natural state of affairs.” It is a type of argument that centuries of use have not worn threadbare. By dint of persuasion and encouragement the royal officials at length discovered the true objection to their mission. The Procuradores could remember the visits of previous officials who had undertaken a like work. Either they had proved worse rogues than those they came to punish, or else they had found their means of justice totally insufficient and had fled, leaving the men who had supported them to face the rebels’ vengeance. Not till the newcomers had taken a solemn oath that they would never desert the province until they had established peace and order there, would those who listened agree to give them aid.