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285 introduction i n santo Domingo on the caribbean island of española, Gonzalo fernández de oviedo y valdés, in his capacity as official chronicler of the indies, was always alert for news of major events occurring in the new world. so when Bernardo de molina, a criado of adelantado pedro de Alvarado, reached santo Domingo sometime early in 1541, the chronicler interviewed him and even, evidently, managed to get a look at and copy a portion of a report he was carrying from Alvarado to the king. 1 the report, destined for spain, told of the launching of a major sea voyage under Alvarado’s command in August 1539. the voyage began from Guatemala and slowly progressed up the pacific coast to Acapulco and the port of colima, soon to be known as La navidad. 2 it was undertaken initially under authority granted to Alvarado by means of a contract between himself and the king, which had been formalized in 1538. the contract specified that for a period of eight years Alvarado was to have the exclusive right to make seaborne reconnaissance from Guatemala on the pacific ocean toward the west and north over a distance of 1,500 leagues (about 4,000 miles). 3 that arrangement had been made more than a year before fray marcos de niza returned from his trek to the north with word of the seven ciudades of cíbola. such an enticing discovery lured the adelantado and put him into immediate conflict with viceroy mendoza, who was planning his own land expedition with the same destination. contention between the two men was settled in november 1540 with the signing of an agreement of partnership that had been mandated by the king. 4 it was after this resolution was reached that Alvarado finally put to sea in search of the seven ciudades. the date was probably in December 1540, not the best season for sailing up the pacific coast. And indeed, as oviedo later reported, the ships “returned to port because of violent weather [rribaron por tiempos forzosos].” 5 Before repairs could be made and the fleet could reembark, the viceroy appealed by letter to Alvarado for reinforcements in cristóbal de oñate’s effort to put down the native uprising in Jalisco known as the mixtón war. the adelantado went to oñate’s aid, with a force from his fleet, and was killed when a horse fell on him during a retreat. 6 As a result, the voyage never continued. oviedo is ordinarily clear about which passages in his Historia represent his own opinions or conjectures and those that are verbatim reports from participants or observers of the events under consideration. in the case of the message carried by Bernardo de molina, he is more ambiguous than usual. He fails to introduce the excerpt from the report with any phrase such as so-and-so “wrote exactly these words,” as he does in Document 7 of this volume. 7 it seems most likely, however, that the direct quotation begins with the words, “After he had pacified the jurisdiction of Honduras.” 8 the end of the quoted passage is much easier to discern; it is followed immediately by the statement, “this report was Document 21 Account of Pedro de Alvarado’s Armada, 1541 Biblioteca real, madrid, ii/3042 Gonzalo fernández de oviedo y valdés, Historia general y natural de las Indias, tercera parte, Libro xL, capítulo ii, 1547, fols. 23v–24r 286 DocuMent 21 made known, exactly as it is stated.” 9 the quoted material therefore consists of two paragraphs giving details of the plans for and start of Alvarado’s reconnaissance. the molina message does not reveal the precise intended course of the fleet. But because it launched after the return of Hernando de Alarcón’s three-ship squadron, it is not difficult to imagine that Alvarado and mendoza’s plan was to have part of the huge force retrace Alarcón’s earlier route, then disembark a large party that would head overland to link with vázquez de coronado’s land expedition. Besides his inclusion of the transcribed excerpt from the molina message, oviedo provides valuable information as a witness himself. He reports that he talked with the messenger and saw at least some of the ancillary items with which he had been entrusted. these included “a painting . . . depicting the types and number of ships the adelantado was taking.” 10 this is...

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