Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 1.djvu/176

156 and that it seemed better to all of us that a town should be founded and peopled there in the name of Your Royal Highnesses. In this, there should be a court of justice, so that you would have your jurisdiction in this country just as in your kingdoms and dominions, since possibly this country, being peopled by Spaniards, in addition to the increase of the kingdoms and dependencies, and the incomes of Your Majesties, you might show some favours to us, and to the colonists who would come there hereafter.

Having decided this, we all agreed with one accord and mind, and we made a requirement to the said Captain, in which we told him that, as he saw how agreeable it would be to the service of God, Our Lord, and of Your Majesties, that this country should be peopled (giving the reasons which we have heretofore recounted to Your Highnesses), we required him to cease trading, as he was doing, inasmuch as it was equivalent to destroying the country to a great extent, and that Your Majesties would thus be but poorly served; and that, for the same reason, we asked and required him to name alcaldes, and municipal authorities, in the name of Your Royal Highnesses, for the town which was to be founded and built by us. This was accompanied by intimations in legal form that we would protest against him if he acted otherwise. This requirement having been made to the said Captain, he replied that he would give his answer the next day; and the said Captain, having seen how all that we had asked him to do would be profitable to the service of Your Royal Highnesses, answered us the next day, saying that he was exclusively devoted to the service of Your Majesties, and that, without considering the profit which might result to him from carrying on the trading as planned, so as to recover the great expenses which had been sustained out of his property in fitting out that armada with the said Diego Velasquez, but rather putting