793 / 1070
-BooK ·V.
Royal
Commentariet.
' was ac
Panama,
and of che Condition of the ·Captains and Souldiers which were
embarked chereupon, and how chat
Pedro de Hinojofa
was Admiral thereof: for all
which Advices and Promifes the Prefident returned him chanks
~
·and ,promifed
him
in
che name ofhis Majefiy a fuitable reward, defiring his fecrecy in the whole
macter : . And -chus Peac~ and Friendíhip being agreed between chem, . they pri,·
vacely, -d1fcourfed every mght cogecher, and
He-rnan
Mexia
gave him an account of
ali matters, which they wr~te to him fr~m
Panama.
.
Thus did che Prefident gain
every day upon che good w11ls and affeéhons of che People and Souldiery,
fo
thac
many of the111 went to dine and converfe with him ; and in ali bis difcourfes , he
told them plainly chac he carne thither to no ocher end and intention, chao onely
to reduce chem co cheir obedience and loyalcy due co his Majeíly by terms of peace
and friendíl1ip, and wich promifes.ofreward: That che King had given bim
full
power and authoriry to promife thern a general Pardon for all crimes and·faults
which were a\ready paíl:; and chat if People would noc be contented herewith.
on fair tenns, he for his pare was r-eady, wichout farther force, to return fpeedíly into
Spain.
This was bis common difcourfe and declaration at ali
times,
when he wk
in publick, with intention thac che repor~ hereof mighc be fpread in ali pares of
che Empire: fome few days after che arrival
of
che Prefidenc at
Nomhre de Dios;
Me!chior de Verdugo,
of whom we have formerly made mention apl)eared before the
City of
Panama,
·witb intencion to ~ncer with his cwo Ships into the Port: Bun
che Citizens were in great combuíl:ion hereupon, by reafon that they feared and
hated che perfon of
Verdugo,
and believed thac he was commanded thicher by the
order ofche.Prefident: bue to clear himfelf of chis fufpicion, he wrote a Le¡ter,
him[elf to
Verdugo,
and fent it by che hand of an intimare friend of his, who was
a
Church-man, ordering
Verdugo,
upon no terms whatfoever to come to
Nomhre
de
Dios,
but to go to any qcher place, which íhould be more conver,iient, and thac.
he
fhould reíl:ore che Ships and Goods which he had taken to che true Proprierors.
, Tbis was che Contents of what was wrore in the Letter ; but then privatdy,
:md
by word of mouth; he gave.him orders to return to
Nicaragua
1
and chere
to
expeél fuch farcher·direfüons which fhould
be
fent him, che which would rend
greatly co his Majeíl:y's Service. Bue
Melchior Verdugo,
iníl:ead of returning to
Ni–
caragua,
failed into
Spain,
much doubting his fecuricy in chat Countrey ; for chat
·he fiad rendred himfelf
fo
odious to the People, that he thonghc himfelf in no
place fecure or fafe. And being in
Spain,
bis lmpei;ial Majefiy honoured him with
the habit of
Santiago.
I
faw him once in che Anti-charnber of rhe molt Cacho-,
lick King
Phtlip
che Second, in rhe year
156
3.
Bue foon afcer Informations c¡¡me
againíl him of
ali
che Pyracies he had commirced in
Peru
,
and che other Vio–
lences and Mifchiefs he had done in
Nicaragua
and
Nomhre
de
Dios
;
which were
fuch great and crying fins, chat he was in·danger of being deprived of che honout
of his habit, with which he became fo fad and dejeéled, that .his Cúuntenance.
changed and fhewed the inward forr6w of bis mind : but afcerwards, ac che In–
terceffion of Friends he obtained his Majeíl:y's Pardon, and returned into
PerÍI.
e
a
Aº
P. . IIL
tbe Prefident fends
Herrian ~exia
to
Pana~a
t~ quiet the,
Diflurbances whicb were 1i1ade by
Pedro _HmoJofa ,
and
difpatches an Ambaf~dour to
Goq~alo P1~arro;
who
_ha–
ving_ Intelligence
of
the coming
_o/
the Prefident
;
fends
Melfengers to the ~mperour.
·
T
HE Prefident iiiad1 preparations
tó
return agaiq
fo
Panam1;,.
where
_he ho!
ped by means}lf
hi~
~9od conduét
t~
reduce
Pedr~ de HmfJJofa
,
_w1th
che
other Captains whidi were, there quarrered , to due aHegiance unto the1r
E1;1pe–
.rour : for according
to
the relation which
Hernar1do Me~ia de G~man
had
gi.hiv~n
.
m