The Life of Hernando Cortes

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 Excerpt: ...se hallaron, 5 Clerigos, 19 Religiosos, 6 Letrados, y con ellos D. Fernando Cortes."--Gil GonZalez Davila, Teatro Eclesiastico, torn. i. p. 20. "Ultimamente habiendose ocurrido a la Cathedra de San Pedro, decidio el Senor Paulo III. por un Breve, en 152 TRANSACTIONS OF CORTES. question of polygamy was discussed; and it was arranged that the Indian husband might choose as his legal wife the one he liked best. Few conquerors or statesmen can have transacted more important affairs than we see that Cortes had to deal with in the three years and two months that had now elapsed since the Conquest of Mexico. que expresamente manda, que quando uno viniesse a la Fe, se le de la primera de las Mugeres que tenia en su Gentilidad; y si no supiesse declarar qual era la primera, se le de la que el quisiesse."--F. A. Lorenzana, Concilios Provinciales de Mexico, Nota, p. 6. Mexico, 1769. CHAPTER XIV. The Expeditions sent out by Cortes to conquer and to colonize--The Expedition of Alvarado. llORTES was a man of insatiable activity. the conquest of Mexico, the rebuilding and repeopling of the city would have sufficiently exhausted the energies even of that active man. But it was not so. He is chiefly known to the world by that conquest of Mexico, which, for its audacity, stands unrivalled in the annals of mankind; but he was subsequently employed in further conquests, which cost him far more labour and suffering, but have hardly added at all to his renown, so little time and thought can men spare for a thorough investigation of the lives and deeds of even their most remarkable fellow-men. It might have been thought that, after 154 EFFECT ON NEIGHBOURING STATES Almost in the next page of his third letter to the Emper...