Hispaniola, Cuba, and the land supposed to be a continent. For these countries are surrounded on all sides by innumerable islands, like hens with their chicks, swarming about them.

It is, nevertheless, necessary to reward each one according to his labour. We, therefore, place in the hands of Your Holiness the narrative of what we have learned about the lands of Yucatan, Cozumel, and the great country of Hacolucana, that your ears may thereby be delighted; of the last country it is not yet known whether it is an island or a part of the continent. I shall relate, avoiding irrelevancy, everything that appears to me worthy of remembrance; and I shall sum up the events that have happened upon the supposed continent, and terminate with Hispaniola.

BOOK I

ΤΟ

THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF LEO X

FROM THE SAME PETER MARTYR D'ANGHERA OF MILAN

I'

N my first Decades, which the printing-press has

distributed to the public, was a story of how some

fugitives, landed in the neighbourhood of Darien, were astonished upon beholding our books. They related that they had formerly inhabited a country where the people, living in a state of society under organised laws, used similar things. They had palaces, magnificent temples built of stone, public squares, and streets properly laid out for commercial purposes. It is these countries that the Spaniards have discovered, and to the authors of these discoveries and the manner in which they were carried out, I beg Your Holiness to now graciously give attention; because all these countries should become, as soon as known, subject to your domination. I have thus far spoken but little of Cuba, which Diego Velasquez,1 governor in the name of the Admiral Columbus, named

Diego Velasquez was a native of Cuellar, and was born about 1465. He sailed with Columbus on his second voyage in 1493. He was deputed in 1509 by Diego Columbus to effect the conquest of Cuba, of which island he was later named Governor. The story of his bitter rivalry and struggle with Fernando Cortes is told by Peter Martyr in his pages which follow. Compare with other narratives: Las Casas in his Historia General de las Indias; Gomara, Historia de las Indias; Bernal Diaz, Historia Verdadera; MacNutt, Fernando Cortes.

Fernandina. This island lies to the west of Hispaniola, but far enough to the north to be divided by the Tropic of Cancer, while Hispaniola lies some degrees distant from both the tropic and the equator. Six fortified stations have been already established in Cuba, the first being placed under the patronage of Santiago,' protector of all the Spains. Native gold is found both in the mountains and in the rivers, and one of the occupations is mining.

In the same year that I ceased the publication of the Decades, three of the oldest colonists of Cuba, Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba, Lopez Ochoa Cayzedo, and Cristobal Morantes, resolved to undertake the discovery of new lands. Fernando Iniguez, a Galician, receiver of revenues for the King of Spain, was to be captain of one of the ships. The Spaniards are of a restless character, and constantly seek to accomplish great undertakings. Their ships, of the kind called in Spain caravels, were fitted out at their own expense and sailed for the western extremity of Cuba, named Cape San Antonio. Altogether there were one hundred and ten soldiers on board, and the pilot was Anton Alaminos. This point of Cuba is well adapted for ships' repairs and renewing supplies of water and wood. Driven by a wind between the Zephyr and Auster, called by the Spaniards south-west, they discovered land the sixth day after sailing. They had only covered a distance of sixty-six leagues in those six days, for they anchored at sunset, fearing to strike upon reefs in that unknown sea or to be lost in the depths. The country they discovered being apparently very large, they landed, and were amicably received by the natives. When they demanded by signs and gestures what was

I The other settlements made by Velasquez were Havana, Trinidad, Matanzas, Puerto del Principe, and San Salvador.

* 1517.

› Bernal Diaz describes the voyages as lasting twenty-one days; see Historia Verdadera, cap. vi.

the name of the country, the latter replied Yucatan, a word which means in their own language, "I do not understand you." The Spaniards imagined that this was the name of the country; and because of that unforeseen circumstance the country will always be called Yucatan. The name given by the Indians to this country is Eccampi. The Spaniards discovered a fortified town on the bank, of such importance that they named it Cairo, after the capital of Egypt. It possesses houses with towers, magnificent temples, regular streets, squares and market-places. The houses are built of stone or brick, held together with mortar and skilfully built. Access to the first courts and habitations is had by stairs of six or seven steps. The roofs are not made of tiles, but of thatch or bundles of grass.

Presents were mutually exchanged between the Spaniards and the natives, the barbarians giving beautifully worked buckles and necklaces, in exchange for which they received silk stuffs, woollen garments, glass beads, and copper bells. These gifts were graciously received because they came from strangers, but they attached no great value to them, because they make much more brilliant objects themselves out of certain stones. The natives wore clothing, not of wool, because they have no sheep, but made of a thousand different kinds of cotton dyed in divers colours. The women are covered from the waist to the heels, and they envelop their breasts in several veils, and take modest care that neither their legs nor their feet shall be visible. The natives visit the temples, to which paved streets lead, starting from the residence of the principal people of the community. They worship idols, and some of them, but not all, are circumcised. They have laws, and are extremely honest in trading, which they carry on without money. Crosses1 have been

Whether the existence of these and other crosses in Mexico and Central America is to be ascribed to some remote and passing Christian influence or not, has been much discussed with a wealth of argument for and against

seen amongst them; and when they were asked, through interpreters, the meaning of that emblem, some of them answered that a very beautiful man had once lived amongst them, who had left them this symbol as a remembrance of him; others said that a man more radiant than the sun had died upon that cross.

this theory. The celebrated cross of Palenque is now held by the best authorities to symbolise the four winds; as the symbol of Quetzalcoatl, god of the air and particularly associated with the rain-bringing winds, the cross was the emblem of fertility. Consult Icazbalceta, Documentos para la Historia de Mejeco, tom. i., pp. 306, 307; Torquemada, Manarchia Indiana, tom. iii., p. 134; Las Casas, Hist. Apologetica, p. 123; Mota Padilla, Hist. de la Nueva Galicia, p. 36; Zelia Nuttall, Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilisations; Beauvois, Migrations d'Europe pendant le moyen âge.