The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 2 (of 2): Written by Himself Containing a True and Full Account of the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico and New Spain.Díaz del Castillo, Bernal
History
The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 2 (of 2): Written by Himself Containing a True and Full Account of the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico and New Spain.
Díaz del Castillo, Bernal
Mexico -- History -- Conquest, 1519-1540
As soon as Alvarado was outside the town he threw off the mask, ordered
the chief cazique to be seized, and he was tried in due form by a
court-martial, which sentenced him to be burnt at the stake. Before this
sentence was put into execution father Olmedo begged permission of
Alvarado to make an attempt to convert this Indian to Christianity, for
which purpose he requested that his execution might be postponed for one
day; but of this one day came a second day, at the end of which it
pleased the Lord Jesus to incline the cazique's heart to Christianity,
and he allowed himself to be baptized by the father, who then prevailed
upon Alvarado to commute his sentence into that of hanging. The son of
this unfortunate man was then raised to the caziquedom. But matters did
not end here, for Alvarado was now attacked by the Indians, who lay
concealed in the hollows, but he soon put them to flight.
There was another large township in this province, called Guatimala, the
inhabitants of which had been duly apprized of all the battles which
Alvarado had fought since his arrival in the country, and how he had
each time come off victorious. They also knew that he was staying at
Utatlan, and that he made frequent incursions into the surrounding
townships, and compelled them to submit to his arms. As the inhabitants
of Guatimala were at enmity with the Utatlans, they despatched
ambassadors to Alvarado with a present of gold, and declared themselves
vassals of our emperor; adding, that they were ready to assist the
Spaniards in carrying on the war in that province. Alvarado received
these ambassadors in the kindest manner possible, thanked them for their
present, and he told them, in order to prove whether they were in
earnest in soliciting his friendship and in their offers of assistance,
that he would demand of them 2000 of their troops to join his army. He
was totally unacquainted, he continued, with the country, which was
besides so full of hollows and narrow passes, that he should be glad of
this reinforcement to clear the roads which had been barricaded by
trees, and to transport his baggage. The inhabitants of Guatimala soon
showed they were friendly disposed, and it was not long before the
required troops, with their generals, arrived in the Spanish camp.
Alvarado staid about eight days in the province of Utatlan, during which
time he made repeated incursions into the different townships, and as
several of these again revolted after submitting to the Spanish crown,
great numbers of the male and female inhabitants were carried off as
slaves and marked with the red-hot iron. Of these slaves a fifth were
set apart for his majesty, and the remainder were immediately divided
among the troops.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account