Chapter Thirteen: THE BROMAS

Chapter Thirteen:  The Bromas

Upon reaching Villa Rica there was a welcome surprise: a ship had arrived from Cuba with a detachment of seventy soldiers, nine horses, and a goodly supply of arms, commanded by Cortez’s friend, Francisco “Pulido” de Saucedo. His nickname of Pulido – Dandy – came from his handsomeness and immaculate appearance. “I and my men have come to place ourselves at your command and seek our fortune with you!” he grandly declared to Cortez.

All rejoiced at the reinforcements, but when Dandy sat down with Cortez in private, the news was not so good. “Governor Diego Velasquez’s procuradore – representative – in Spain, Friar Benito Martin, has persuaded the Court in Seville to grant him a license for exploring this territory, with the profits going to him,” was the message. “Only one-tenth of any gold found goes to the Crown, not the Royal Fifth. You, of course, and those loyal to you, will get nothing.”

“My old enemy once again,” mused Cortez. He called in Alonzo Puertocarrero and his closest officers, had Dandy repeat the news, then said, “Gentlemen, the only solution is to petition the King directly. Here is what I suggest we do…”

Within an hour, before any word of Velasquez’s appointment could seep out to his supporters among the soldiers, Cortez had the entire command assembled in the sandy plaza facing the sea. Between them and Cortez the men found the treasure sent by Montezuma. Gonzalo de Mexia and Alonso de Avila, Villa Rica’s treasurers, estimated that the gold and silver by weight alone was worth 22,500 pesos (1).

Cortez began by comparing this to the entire production of Cuba, which for the last several years combined was 60,000 pesos, with King’s Royal Fifth being only 12,000.

“Yet what you see before you is only the smallest hint of the fortunes that await us. Each of you can look forward to having your own estancia, estate, and personally amass a far greater fortune that is here right now. Soon we will embark on our journey to meet the Mesheeka Lord, Montezuma. But before we do, before we seek our fortune in this new land, we must gain the blessing of His Majesty King Don Carlos, which will secure the fortunes we are about to acquire.

“I propose that the Council of Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz send two procuradores, representatives, to His Majesty’s Court at Seville to petition for recognition of our city, and to ask His Majesty’s blessing upon our efforts on his behalf.”

The Council members, standing together, quickly conferred and gave their assent. Conrtez continued.

“I appreciate the Council’s decision. The question we must now answer is how much of this treasure before us do we send to His Majesty? Do we send him only the Royal Fifth, or more so that he better see the worth of what we are about to achieve?

“I believe that it should be more, for by doing so we will gain in return the direct interest of the mightiest king in all Christendom. The least of us will be Counts, Dukes, and Noblemen. As your Captain-General, my share of this treasure is one-fifth. The remaining three-fifths is yours, to be divided amongst you. I hereby relinquish my share, for the sake of His Majesty. If there be any among you who wishes to keep his share, rather than it be a part of our gift to our King, then he should step forward now and it shall be given to him by our treasurers.”

None among the Spaniards had ever seen such wealth as was before their eyes. They stared at it longingly. But none stepped forward. Cortez stood in silence. The men stood in silence. Still not one stepped forward.

“It is decided,” Cortez pronounced finally. He paused. “I wish for you all to know that it is my highest honor to lead such men as you. It is both a wise and a noble choice you have made today.” He paused once more. “What is left is for us to choose our two procuradores to represent us and lay this treasure at the feet of His Majesty. I, for one, can think of no one better than the two Alcaldes, Mayors, of Villa Rica, Francisco de Montejo and Don Alonso Hernandez de Puertocarrero.”

With this, the men roared their approval. All those standing near the two nominees shook their hands, patted their shoulders, and offered their congratulations. It was clear their nomination was popular and approved. Malinali stood motionless in shock. Her face was a mask, but the thoughts swirling through her brain and the emotions swirling through her chest were making her dizzy.

Don Alonso would not ask to take me with him, she asked herself. No, he must know that only I can talk to the Mesheeka. Besides, he now has Doña Francisca. He would take her, yes? And with Don Alonso gone, then… then…

She had to find a place to sit down. Her heart was racing, she tried to control her breathing. She knew she had fallen in love with Cortez, but she had never admitted to herself just how much until this moment. Did she dare hope that they would be together now, and that… that Cortez would return her love?

She clutched the cross she wore around her neck. “Give me hope, give me strength, Virgin Mary,” she prayed. The picture of the Virgin in her mind calmed her. She closed her eyes and focused on it. As the image of the Blessed Virgin soothed her, her breathing slowly returned to normal. When she opened her eyes, there stood Bernal.

“Doña Marina? Are you well?” he asked. She nodded and he sat down next to her. She felt like he could see her thoughts. “Our Captain-General was very famous in Cuba,” he said quietly after a while. “They tell so many stories about him – and so many of the stories have to do with women, the most beautiful women in Cuba. They tell one story about him jumping from the balcony of the home of one of Cuba’s wealthiest and most powerful men, and hurting his leg. The man had arrived home unexpectedly and the balcony was of his wife’s private chamber.”

Bernal turned to look at Malinali with brotherly affection. “Doña Marina, he has won the hearts of so many women, all of whom hoped they could win his. You are a great lady, Doña Marina, worthy of Captain Cortez. I hope that he shall prove worthy of you.”

* * * * *

A number of Doña Catalina’s relatives had accompanied her to Villa Rica. They assisted with the chores and building of the community along with other Totonacs. The first morning just after dawn, they assembled at a discrete distance from Cortez’s quarters to see Doña Catalina emerge into the day – in particular, to see if she was smiling when she did. She emerged happy and beaming. Her relatives nodded slightly to themselves and carried on with their work.

As this was observed by many of the Spaniards, it was difficult for them not to furtively glance at Cortez through the morning. Cortez of course caught the looks, and could easily guess what the men were laughing about as he saw them in small groups together. When he spotted a large collection of about two dozen of his soldiers loudly guffawing, he strode up to them with a fierce look in his eye. Instantly in place of the laughter there was fear and silence.

“Gentlemen!” Cortez announced to them in a stern voice. “Always remember – duty to your King, His Majesty Don Carlos, comes before everything – even in the bridal chamber!”

Then he winked at them.

Before he spun around and walked away, he let them see a slight smile play around his lips. Before noon, every soldier in the camp was laughing with Cortez and not at him. No one, however, laughed louder than Malinali when Bernal told her of the episode.

It was a grand moment when the treasure of Montezuma was loaded on the ship, including the helmet of gold dust and the great wheels of gold and silver, the two procuradores boarded, and to the cheers of all the men, the ship sailed away bearing their gift to the King of Spain.

Malinali had bid farewell to Don Alonso, and returned to his quarters, which she had now to herself. At last she was truly free – and she was alone. Would Cortez come to see her now, stealing away from his obese “wife” in the night? Not that night, she was to discover, as she lay sleepless and waiting until dawn. Nor the next, nor the next.

The following morning she was bidden to come to the Captain’s quarters. Morose and depressed, she dragged herself across the plaza. When she entered the room, she knew something was very wrong.

Cortez didn’t even take notice of her. His eyes instead were fixed upon four of his men who were hunched on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs. Bernal took her aside and whispered, “These men plotted to steal a ship last night to sail to Cuba and warn Don Diego de la Velasquez about our procuradores on their way to Spain. Just before they were to set sail at midnight, one of the sailors, Bernardino de Soria, reported the plot to Cortez.”

Around the captured men stood members of the Council of Villa Rica. Cortez sat in his chair. “Members of the Council,” Cortez addressed them, “stealing a caravel (ship) is a capital offense. Beyond that, they wished to have Diego Velasquez intercept our envoy to the King in the hope of sharing the captured treasure – as if Don Diego would share anything with them! – and steal from us our future in this land. What shall be their appropriate punishment?”

“There is only one thing appropriate, my Captain-General,” responded Pedro de Alvarado. “Death by hanging.”

“Do you all concur?” Cortez asked of the Council members. They nodded in assent. Cortez looked over to Gonzalo de Sandoval. “Order the construction of a gallows,” he commanded. He looked down at the captives, who were all crying and whimpering. “Juan Escudero,” he said to one of them, “you have admitted to being the leader of this plot. For this you shall be hanged by the neck until dead.”

Escudero’s tears dried up as he spat back to Cortez, “You are just getting even with me when I was alguacil, constable, of Baracoa (2), and I had you put in irons for escaping from Don Diego’s jail.”

Cortez’s smile was grim. “Yes, you broke into the church and violated its sanctuary to seize me, yet I escaped from your jail as well. Even so, I bore you no grudge, and welcomed you on our expedition when you begged to join – and this is how you repay me and all your fellows. You are receiving what you deserve.”

He looked at the other captives. One of them, Malinali noticed, was a priest, Padre Juan Diaz. He was especially terrified. “It is what you all deserve,” Cortez told them icily. He took a deep breath and stared at them in silence. Nobody moved, there was not a sound save for the muffled whimpering from the prisoners.

One by one, he recited their names. “Juan Cermeño, Velazquez de Leon, Diego de Ordaz, Gonzalo de Umbria, Alfonso Peñate, Padre – Padre! – Juan Diaz. I trust the execution of your leader will cause your loyalty to our King to never again be suspect. If it should be, I will immediately have you put to death. For now, I sentence you each to 100 lashes.”

Malinali thought she would never see men so grateful to be whipped 100 times. Padre Diaz passed out and fell over on the floor. It was then that Cortez noticed her presence. “Doña Marina,” he called to her, “please explain to our Totonac friends what is about to happen and why. I am sure they understand that every society has its traitors and thieves.”

She nodded, but stayed next to Bernal as the captives were removed. Cortez stood up and began to pace in frustration. “Again, Velasquez! How can loyalty to him – he who is loyal only to his own greed – be greater than loyalty to our King, or our loyalty to each other?” He asked this to himself as much as to his officers. “It is like an infestation among us, that keeps eating away at our morale and purpose, like a caravel that can be slowly rotted by the broma wood-beetle. The Velasquez loyalists among us are like bromas who will… who will…” Cortez stopped speaking, too lost in a thought.

He turned sharply to Bernal. “Señor Castillo – I wish to see the masters of all of our ships. Bring them here as soon as you are able.”

* * * * *

Juan Escudero was hung in the Villa Rica plaza the next morning. Cortez ordered that the gallows not be dismantled but remain as a caution to others. The remaining conspirators – save for Padre Diaz whom Cortez exempted “for benefit of clergy” – received their lashing as the entire Spanish command witnessed. Their wounds were then attended to, and Juan Escudero’s body was given a sober Christian burial. Word then began to spread that Cortez had ordered nine of the twelve ships beached on the sand for repairs.

“The ship masters have requested it,” went the word, “to scrape for barnacles and examine the hulls.” Malinali wondered if their request was just a coincidence after their speaking privately with Cortez for over an hour the day before. Late that afternoon, one of the shipmasters called for Cortez and a number of officers to inspect his ship. With the barnacles and growth scrapped off the hull, the ship master pointed out a number of small holes – the hull was riddled with them. “Bromas,” he declared.

Shaking his head, Cortez announced, “We have no choice – the ship is unseaworthy and must be dismantled. See that everything of use is taken off – all the sails, anchors, guns, everything – and the wood of the ship and the hull be sawed up and used to build our homes here in Villa Rica.”

Over the next several days, one ship after another was found to have its hull eaten away be the bromas. At each discovery, Cortez would be stunned and disconsolate. “What?! Another ship ruined?! How can it be?” he would yell angrily. One by one, the ships were beached and dismantled, until only one remained, that of Dandy Saucedo. The entire command had been put to unceasing work with the dismantlement, and constructing homes and buildings with the ships’ remains. It wasn’t until only Dandy’s was left that they fully realized what they had just done (3).

Cortez assembled his men and officers in the plaza.

“Gentlemen, I am as confounded as all of you about the misfortune that has befallen our ships. But we must not look upon this as a tragedy, but as the opportunity of history. We now can only depend upon ourselves. Look upon the man to your right. Look upon the man to your left. He is your brother. Your life depends on him, and his life on yours. We must recall the noble words of our greatest hero, El Cid Campeador (4), who began the great Reconquista, the reconquering of Christian Spain from the hated Moros (5):

We must live by our swords and lances
Or in this lean land we shall not survive
We must move on…

“Just as Caesar proclaimed at the Rubicon, ‘The dice have been thrown,’ we must go forward to make our future and our fortune. Caesar himself did not command braver soldiers than I command today, for you have all proven your worth in battles against vast Indian armies. Today we go on to further greatness that shall someday be compared to that of the Romans.

“Yet we have a wondrous advantage above those ancient heroes. Caesar’s Legions were not Christians. It is our Christian mission to liberate this land of bloody slaughter done in the name of evil gods, to replace this slaughter with the love of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

“Gentlemen! I call upon you today to serve our God and our King by embarking on a great Entrada (6) to bring the Word of the One True God to the Mesheeka capital and to Montezuma himself. Who among you is with me?”

To a man, the entire command shouted as one in assent.

Malinali stood by the door of Villa Rica’s small church as she listened to his words. The word entrada rang in her mind. How else could Cortez conduct his Entrada except with her, she asked herself. She closed her eyes to thank her new Christian God and the Virgin Mary for giving her this opportunity. She called out silently to her father. “Tahtli!” her mind cried out, “I promise I will make you proud of me!”

NOTES:

1. A peso de oro contained about 45 grams of gold. 22,500 pesos would represent approximately one ton (2,000 pounds or 990 kilograms) of gold by value.
2. The town in Cuba where Cortez than had his home.
3. It is a myth that Cortez set fire to his ships and burned them. The famous “burning of the ships” story began when historian Cervantes de Salazar, in his Dialogue of the Dignity of Man (1546) misread a description of the ships being broken apart – quebrando – as quemando – “burning.”
4. Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, 1043-1099.
5. Moors (after the Latin maures, itself after the Greek mauros, for “dark skin”), the Arab-Moslem invaders who conquered all of Spain in the early 700s.
6. Entrance, journey.