Although Martín Méndez's parents married in Salamanca, shortly afterwards they settled in Seville [1], where their children Martín, Hernán, Isabel and Francisca were later born. Pedro Méndez, his father, died young, so the one who took care of running the house was his mother, named Catalina Vázquez. Martín received a good education and ended up being one of the most outstanding men on the expedition of the first round the world. It gives us a good idea of ​​it the fact that he was only surpassed by Juan Sebastián de Elcano in the amount received for his salary, boxes and quintalada after his return to Spain [ see table with the amounts received by each survivor].

His trade was that of a clerk. At that time, this involved much more than being a mere writer, since what was settled before a notary was awarded the category of truthful and legal, in a similar way to what happens with a notary in our days. Therefore, Martín Méndez legitimized and gave official character to the alliance sealed by the expedition members with the king of Tidore (Moluccas) as well as with many other kings allied to that environment, as reflected in the so-called Book of Peace , written and signed by him aboard the nao Victoria.

He was the leader of the group of 12 or 13 men who were imprisoned by the Portuguese in Cidade Velha , in the Cape Verde Islands, although the Emperor's negotiations with the King of Portugal would soon bear fruit and, on October 15, 1522, Thirty-seven days after the return of the ship Victoria, he ended up being released along with eight other of his companions [2]. His services were highly valued by Carlos V, who assigned him a life annuity of 200 ducats a year for his entire life, as a mercy for the services rendered in the expedition.

In 1526 he embarked again for the Spice, China and Japan in the expedition of Sebastián Caboto, with the position of lieutenant of captain general. He was accompanied by a servant of his, named Andrés de Villoria [3]. It was thus by the express will of the Emperor, who also wanted the Greek master Miguel de Rodas to embark, who had been another of the main men who had returned to Spain with Elcano [3]. Carlos V wanted to give weight to Cabot's expedition with these two men of his full confidence and proven worth.

However, this did not please Cabotus, who devised a different plan than the Emperor's idea. He had none of Martín Méndez even before he left, for which he was reprimanded and warned by Carlos V. Despite this, nothing changed and, while the expedition stopped on the island of La Palma, the old friends Méndez and Miguel de Rodas wrote letters to the Emperor, in order for the island officials to send them to the court. They were also joined in this by the captain of one of the ships, named Francisco de Rojas. [5]

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However, Caboto was warned of this and prevented it, imprisoning these three men since then, who received very harsh treatment. Later, off the coast of Brazil, he left on the island of Santa Catalina - halfway between Rio de Janeiro and the Rio de la Plata, very close to the mainland coast - both Martín Méndez and Miguel de Rhodes. [6] It was an island populated by cannibals, so his true intention was to permanently get rid of them. According to Catalina Vázquez later, Caboto gave them as slaves to the chief of the Indians, so that he could do with them whatever he wanted.

This decision is only explained by the fact that Caboto thought to disobey the royal orders, given that when he reached the Río de la Plata he decided to dedicate himself to exploring it, entering the Paraná River, and forgetting to continue his trip to the Species as he had been entrusted by the Emperor. When he finally headed back to Spain, they again passed that island and found on the mainland certain weapons that had belonged to Méndez and to Rodas, by which it was learned that they had died eaten , and this is thus true by voice. and the fame of the people who may have news of it , as the prosecutor later said. [7] However, the exact circumstances of their death are somewhat unclear, as they apparently tried to gain the mainland coast. Caboto would later claim that he came to pick them up, but that the exiles had left the island in a canoe, because they found one of the slaves on the coast of the mainland who went with the said Martín Médez and Miguel de Rodas drowned, and a rodela which belonged to Miguel de Rodas, and a flask of orange blossom water, for which they presumed that the said Martín Méndez and Miguel de Rodas were dead . [8]

Caboto's expedition was an absolute failure, returning to Spain in 1530 without the latter having managed to find the riches he sought in the Río de la Plata, and with great loss of people. The families of our sailors then received the sad news of their deaths and the terrible circumstances in which they had occurred.

Catalina Vázquez then furiously denounced Sebastián Caboto for all the damage caused, not only to her son but also to the Emperor. Caboto defended himself against the accusations for not having followed the royal instructions, claiming that he did not know how to find the way to the Spice, which was used by the prosecutor to redouble his accusations, for deceiving the Emperor when he was entrusted with that mission, and to recriminate him with more reason for something very interesting: that the Strait of Magellan did not come, having as he had news for certain that Commander Loaysa was in the strait marinating his ships [9] . Those of the Caboto expedition had this news from those of Loaysa by people from this expedition they met, who had remained on an island in Los Patos Bay, which is near Río de Solís [Río de la Plata] [10].

The letter that Dona Catalina wrote to the Emperor giving an account of Cabot's abuses against her son and demanding justice, which we have transcribed here , is a must read. In it we find all the keys to the history of her son in the Cabot expedition, and we will also find a cultured, determined, angry, and hurt woman.

The saying my son remained on said island without any maintenance or other goods, and there they killed him and the Indian sayings ate him and did what they wanted with him, because after here nothing has been known about his life, for which The said Captain Sebastián Caboto incurred the death penalty and many other very great corporal and penal penalties established in the law and laws of these kingdoms, and committed the crime lesy magistatis and many other ugly and infamous crimes, especially that it is believed and has for It is true that, if the saying my son lived and was not killed so unjustly, the said army would take the journey and path that the VA was commanded to take.

From this letter we know that Hernán Méndez, Martín's brother, had also embarked on this expedition, but was killed after falling ill. Catalina Vázquez therefore lost her two sons on the expedition.

She herself met her death that same year, 1530, finding herself in court pleading for justice to be done. His daughters testified as follows: the said Catalina Vázquez, his mother, dealing with the said pleyt, passed away this present life in the court of their majesties, in the town of Ocaña [11]. Thus, Martín Méndez's sisters remained his only heirs, since he had never married or had children, and it was they who continued with the lawsuit and claims that their mother had initiated. Both moved from the family home, located in the collation (neighborhood, parish) of San Martín, and settled in that of San Andrés. In 1531 they were single and declared their age, turning out to be still young: twenty-three years Isabel and twenty Francisca [12].

The two sisters claimed the amount owed to their brother by the Crown, both for the salary earned by Martín Méndez during Caboto's expedition until his death, as well as for the amount corresponding to that grant of the Emperor of 200 ducats for life swear for the services rendered in the expedition of the first round the world, which he had only received twice [13]. They took quick and multiple steps to do so, represented by the Sevillian Julio Velázquez, who agreed to represent them as curator ad litem in the lawsuit. From April 1531, they gave successively a punctual reply to the prosecutor who, as usual, tried to justify the reduction of the amount owed under any argument.

While the process dragged on, the Empress Doña Isabel de Portugal herself issued an order to the Council of the Indies for both sisters to be paid an advance of 70,000 maravedís [14], an amount more than enough to get them out of any jam, given that they said they were poor and needy [15].

Finally, in the year 1533, the prosecutor established that they should be paid 278,000 maravedís. It was less than what would have been fair, but it was still a high amount. The lords of the Council of the Indies wrote to the Emperor to give an account of it [16], and demanded that he issue the mandatory order of payment, as it happened [17].

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On February 1, 1532, the Council of the Indies issued two sentences against Sebastián Caboto, corresponding to the processes opened by Catalina Vázquez and her daughters, and by Captain Francisco de Rojas. In each of them he was sentenced to two years in exile in Oran. [18] However, the Emperor was condescending to Cabot and these sentences were never carried out. Later, this ended up passing to the service of the King of England.

References:

[1] AGIPatronate, 35, R.6. Autos of heirs of Martín Méndez. Image 25 in PAIRS.

[2] AGI, Contaduría, 425, N.1, R.1, folio 1v, Information on salaries, merchandise and grants related to the Armada a la Especiería organized by Fernando de Magallanes.

[3] AGI, Patronato, 42, N.1, R.1 Expedition of Sebastián Caboto. Block 3, image 1 in PAIRS . Andrés de Villoria survived the trip.

[4] It is more than probable that a third member of the expedition of the first round the world also embarked on the Cabot expedition. We find a Juan de Santander referred twice, who may well be the cabin boy who came with Elcano on the Victoria ship. In Patronato, 42, N.1, R.10, folio 1r this Juan de Santander appears as bosun in the Caboto expedition, while in Patronato, 42, N.1, R.6, folio 1r he is mentioned as “ pilot from Seville, about forty years old ”. This second document is not dated, but appears in a file from 1537, so it could be inferred that he would have been 22 years old when he embarked with Magellan. It would be fitting that it was the same person by age, since there were other cabin boys on the expedition who were over twenty years old, as was the case with Nicolás de Napoles. This Juan de Santander survived the Caboto expedition.

[5] AGI, Patronato, 41, R.7, folio 10v. Prosecutor's orders against Sebastián Caboto.

[6] Captain Francisco de Rojas was also exiled on the island of Santa Catalina, but after arguing with Méndez and de Rodas he managed to reach the mainland (as explained by Caboto), and then returned to embark during the return in Captain Diego's brig. Garcia, who did not wait for the rest of the army. Thus, Francisco de Rojas survived and returned to Spain, immediately opening a criminal case against Sebastián Caboto.

[7] AGI, Patronato, 41, R.7, folio 10v. Proceedings of the prosecutor against Sebastián Caboto.

[8] AGI, Patronato, 41, R.4. (image 168 in PARES) Catalina Vázquez's cars against Sebastián Caboto: mistreatment. According to Caboto and certain witnesses before a clerk, during the return they found a certain Durango on the island of Santa Catalina, who said he was from the Loaysa expedition, as well as "a black man" from the Juan Díaz de Solís expedition, who They explained the discussion between Méndez, de Rodas and Francisco de Rojas.

[9] AGI, Patronato, 41, R.7, folio 11v. Prosecutor's orders against Sebastián Caboto.

[10] AGI, Patronato, 41, R.6. Cars between Francisco de Rojas and Sebastián Caboto. Image 12 in PAIRS.

[11] AGI, Patronato, 41, R.4. Catalina Vázquez's cars against Sebastián Caboto: mistreatment. See digitization in PARES .

[12] Ibid.

[13] AGI, Patronato, 35, R.6, folio 4r. Autos of heirs of Martín Méndez.

[14] AGI, Indifferent, 737, N.29, folio 1r. Consultation of the Council of the Indies.

[15] AGIPatronate, 35, R.6, folio 4r. Autos of heirs of Martín Méndez.

[16] AGI, Indifferent, 737, N.29, folio 1r. Consultation of the Council of the Indies.

[17] AGI, Patronato, 35, R.6, folio 68r. Autos of heirs of Martín Méndez.

[18] We found both judgments, respectively, in AGI, Patronato, 41, R.4, Image 399 in PARES, Autos de Catalina Vázquez against Sebastián Caboto: mistreatment, and AGI, Patronato, 41, R.6, Block 4. Image 29 in PARES, Cars between Francisco de Rojas and Sebastián Caboto.

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