Cortés & Authority in Mexico: The Historical Reality

The premise that Cortés was "not worried at all" about his authority is a profound misreading of one of history's most audacious unauthorized expeditions.

The Actual Authority Crisis

• Diego Velázquez, Governor of Cuba, commissioned Cortés (1518) for exploration and trade only — explicitly forbade colonization
• Velázquez revoked the commission before departure (Feb 1519) — Cortés sailed anyway, knowingly mutinous
• No royal authorization existed for conquest — Cortés acted entirely extra-legally

Cortés's Masterful Improvisation

1. Vera Cruz founding (July 1519): Created Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, had town council "elect" him captain-general — manufactured legal fig leaf
2. Direct appeal to Charles V: Sent letters + treasure (Quauhquechollan gold) bypassing Velázquez — framed as Crown's interest
3. Co-opted indigenous law: Used Mexica tribute system, local alliances (Tlaxcala) as legitimacy veneer
4. Neutralized rivals: Defeated Narváez (1520, sent by Velázquez), absorbed his men

What He Actually Feared

• Velázquez's agents reaching Court first with "mutiny" narrative
• Charles V repudiating him — execution or exile
• Pánfilo de Narváez's 900-man force (1520) — defeated it while Tenochtitlan erupted
• His own men's mutiny (multiple attempts)

Outcome

Charles V retroactively legitimized Cortés (1522) — named Captain-General of New Spain — because the gold flowed and the deed was done. But for two years, Cortés operated on a knife's edge of treason.

Bottom line: Cortés was intensely, existentially worried about authority—hence the Vera Cruz theater, the treasure shipments, the desperate letters. His genius was converting existential vulnerability into political fait accompli.