Links to the document: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1561aguirre.html (English)
                          http://www.lrc.salemstate.edu/aske/texts/agirre.htm (Spanish)

Once Spaniards were in control of much of the highlands of the former Inca Empire, they hoped to find further riches inland; in addition to reports of spices, they heard tales of a king (“El Dorado”) who covered himself in gold dust. In 1541, Gonzalo Pizarro (brother of Francisco) set off from Quito over the Andes and along a river down the eastern slope; most of the indigenous porters and many of the Spaniards were dying of hunger when Pizarro sent one of his lieutenants, Francisco de Orellana, ahead on rafts in search of food. Orellana and his men later claimed they were unable to make their way back to Pizarro because of the river’s strong currents and so forged ahead downriver, successfully navigating what they named the Amazon River because of female warriors they claimed to have sighted. Orellana, received permission from the king to return and govern over the lands through which the river flowed, but died in the attempt along with over 250 of his followers. Meanwhile, Gonzalo Pizarro, who considered Orellana a traitor, himself became a rebel against the crown. When Viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela arrived to enforce the “New Laws” and reign in the power of the original conquerors, Pizarro captured and executed him. By 1549, however, forces loyal to the crown (including many who had initially supported the rebellion but prudently switched sides) defeated Pizarro who was himself executed for treason.

One of the soldiers who had once fought under Gonzalo Pizarro but eventually joined the royal army to put down his rebellion was Lope de Aguirre. Aguirre arrived in South America around 1534, fighting in campaigns in the regions that today fall in the countries of Central America, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, but never striking it rich and often falling afoul of the law. Governors and Viceroys, confronted with thousands of unoccupied and unsatisfied Spaniards like Aguirre, frequently granted permission for expeditions to move them out of settled areas and in the hopes that they might bring more territory under Spanish control. In 1559 the Viceroy of Peru authorized Pedro de Ursúa to lead an expedition into the Amazon region (the river at this time was called the “Marañón”). Aguirre joined on and began plotting ways to turn the expedition from one of exploration into a military attack on the viceroyalty of Peru. First he convinced nobleman Fernando de Guzmán to overthrow the unpopular Ursúa and eventually proclaim himself the “lord and Prince of Peru.” When Guzmán no longer served his interests, Aguirre assassinated him and led the survivors of the expedition out to the Atlantic where they briefly captured the island of Margarita off the coast of what is today Venezuela. There, Aguirre penned his famous letter, before an unsuccessful assault on a settlement on the mainland where he was killed.

How does Aguirre use the language of vassalage to critique the royal management of the settlement of the Americas?
Although Aguirre’s actions and words were extreme, would they have resonated among other Spaniards?