There was a system of customary law administered by qualified officials, and, for controlling the conduct of the people, there existed an extremely elaborate rule of life which implied discipline and the recognition of social duties and family obligations. The Aztecs had standards of value, but no coined money and no standards of measurement, nor anything like an alphabet or even a syllabary. In the “pinturas,” however, there were a few purely phonetic symbols. The darker side of Aztec rule is seen in the enforced human labor exacted to supply the tributes in kind, and in the revolting system of organized cannibalism, the outgrowth of their elaborate ritual. Some of the neighboring tribes successfully resisted both these types of oppression, while those who were too weak to do so depended on the mysteriously predicted deliverance from their yoke. In any case, the way for a rapid conquest had been well prepared. II THE CAREER OF CORTEZ In 1517 the governor of Cuba, Diego Velasquez, began to send some of his subordinates to explore the coast of Yucatan. One of them brought back ornaments and vessels of gold and also information as to the extent and importance of the great native power in the interior of the land. An expedition was then put in charge of Hernando Cortez, who for eight years had been an adventurer in the New World. The new leader was a native of Medellin in Estremadura, where he had been born in 1485. He had received a good education, graduating as bachelor of laws, but, after leading an irregular life at home, he had sailed for the West Indies, where he had spent eight years, first in Hispaniola, then in Cuba. Like other adventurers, he had taken part in Indian warfare and had been a planter. Powerful interests worked against his appointment; accordingly, when he left Cuba he was informed that Velasquez intended to supersede him in the command. His fleet carried 110 sailors, 553 Spanish soldiers, 200 Indians, some artillery, and a valuable asset for the conquest, sixteen horses. [Illustration: HERNAN CORTES. From a Drawing Taken from Life]