“We left the Indians of this province very happy when we re-embarked. Cuba was reached after forty-five days, during which the weather varied, eventually anchoring at Santiago Point, where Diego Velazquez [1] was staying. He welcomed us, pleased with the gold we brought, which amounted to about four thousand pesos. The total, including the quantity brought by Pedro de Alvarado, came to twenty thousand pesos, and some said even more. The King’s officers then took the royal fifth, but when the six hundred gold axes that we had thought were inferior gold were unpacked, they were tarnished, looking like the copper they were. The officers laughed at us very heartily, and made great fun of our bargain.

The Governor was delighted at this, for he seemed to be on poor terms with his kinsman Grijalva. He had no just reason for this, other than that Francisco de Montejo and Pedro de Alvarado had quarreled with Grijalva, and Alonso de Avila [2] made the trouble worse. Once these squabbles were over, there was talk of sending another fleet, and of who should be selected as its Captain.

1. Renowned for money grubbing, manipulation and betrayal

2. The machinating hand of Cortez, the lawyer and ruthless confidence man, may already be seen in this skullduggery. Although Grijalva might have been a man of higher moral character than the rest of the captains, he was not the man to take a company of adventurers into the heart of an enemy empire and emerge alive, let alone victorious. For that, posterity required a cunning man of supreme arrogance.