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VI.
Royal
Commentaries.
in the Prifon at
P'alladolid,
his Caufe was never determined.
I had once
in
my
poffeffion the reafons he produced in his own defence,
hich indeed
ate
fo
{l:rong
chat whofoever reads them mu!t nece{farily acquit him, and allow him to have
been
a
true and faithfull
fervant
to
his Majelty: He wa
more
happy
in
the goods
of mind than in thofe of fortune; for thougB he had amaffed vafi Ri h s and ac–
quired great Honours, yet I have feen him much affiieted, and neceffitous in pri-
foThus
far this Doetour, who giving
a~fo
a
rel~rio_n
of
the
death of Count
Pedro
Navarro
one of
the
moll
famous Captains
of
his time, fays
almofi
the fame that
we
hav~
done of the death of
Cepeda,
viz. Thar the
O~er
in whofe cufiody he
was being his great Friend , did ftrangle him in
prifon
to
prevent
an
An
inder )
havi~g
gained all the Kingdom of
Naple1,
&c. Thus fortune produces cafes of
the
like nature over all the World, that men comparing the miferies of others with
their
own
may learn to compaffionate each others farrows.
The
Pr~fident
Gafca
arrived in fafety at the City of
Panama,
with
more
than
a
million
and
a
half
of Gold
and Silver,
which he carried
imo
Spain
for account
of his Majefl:y
7
befides as
much more
for
private men,
who\~
ere paffengers '"
irh
him. Ac that place a fl:raoge accident happened which
Hifiorian~
mention: but
in regard
Auguftine de Carate
is more particular therein than any other Aurhour
~
we (hall make ufe of his
relation,
touching the Execution of one of thofe new Or–
dinances or
Laws which
have made fuch
a
noife
in
the World, and raifed Muti–
nies and Rebellions
in
all quarters : and therefore
we
!hall in the
firll:
place
repeat
what he fays of the beginning of this rebellion, and then as
to
the Proceedings
thereof, we !hall refer
our
felves;o the other Amhours , as
alf
o for the quanti–
ties
9f
Gold and Silver which were robbed
by
the
Contreraq
who,
if
they had
contented thecnfelves with the
prey
they had taken, and bad known how to fecure
it,
they
had
revenged
the
injuries they
fuftained
with
great advantage: but
the
heat of youth cranfported them
beyond
the terms of moderation; and being
un–
experienced in the
arc
of War, they loft all again
together wich their Jives:
all
which is fpecified by
.Augstftine
Carttte
in
the
fevemh
Book
of his Hifrory of
Per11t
Chap.
1z.
the Title of which
is
as
followech,-
and whi<:h we make the
eleventh
of
thefe our Commentaries.
XI.
Of
what
happened-- to
Hernando
and
Pedro de Contreras;
who were
at.Nicaragua,
and'"went in queft and purfuit
·
of
the
Pr-e
fident.
A
L
~T
that time, when
Pedro
ArilU
Davila
governed
aod difcovered
the
Pro–
vince of
Nicar-agµa
,
he married one of his Daughters called
Donna
MAria
Penna/ofa
to
Rodrigo
de
ContrerM
~
Native of the
City
of
Segovia'
a principal per–
fon, and one
of
a great Eflate there:
By
the death of
Pedro
AriM
the Govern–
ment
of that·
Province
fell
to
Rodrigo
de
ContrerM
;
who having been nominated
tbereunto
by
his
Father-in-law
Pedro
Ariat,
and
having deferved well
fo
his Loy..
al~y
to the
Crown,
~~s
Majelly was
pleafed to
confirm him therein
by
f
pedal
Com–
m1ffion; a.ncl
accordmgly he governed
for Come
years,
until1 a
new
Court of Judi–
cature was eretted in
tl1e
City of
Gracias
de
Dios,
whicn
botdets on the confines
of
Guatimala;
and then the new Jullices did not onely deprive
Rodrigo de
Contrer1t$
of his Government ; but likewife
putting
in execution one
of
the new Laws be–
fore
mentioned ,
they acquitted all his
Indians;
as
well
thofe which belonged
to
himfelf as tho[e \\•hich came
to
him
by
his Wife from their
duty
and fervices; as
alfo
thofe
Jndi~m ~shich
he had fet led upon his
Children during
the time of his
Office : of which hard ufa
0
e
Rodrigo
complaining petitioned
for
a redrefs in confi–
deration of
the
many fervices whkh both his Father-in-law and all his family
haq
performed