Note XVIII‑45 — Chapter XVIII · PROGRESS OF AFFAIRS IN GUATEMALA. 1541-1550.

The cabildo on March 30, 1548, thank the emperor for this concession which had been notified by their procurador Al.o de Oliveros. Id., 91-2. This privilege did not, however, last long. In 1564 the procurator at court sought to procure the passage of a law establishing encomiendas in perpetuity, but, owing to the prejudice of the existing council against the colonists, he dared not even broach the subject. In 1565 there were in Guatemala 72 encomiendas which produced 80,000 ducados annually. A royal cédula dated November 28, 1568, ordered encomiendas to be granted solely upon merit, the descendants of discoverers and conquerors being especially considered. But in 1572 the cabildo complained of the incessant arrival of persons provided with royal cédulas granting them encomiendas as they became vacant, to the detriment of deserving residents who had been long in the country. The attempt to obtain encomiendas in perpetuity was abandoned in 1585, and a petition made for their extension to a third life. This was also defeated in 1595. Pelaez, Mem. Guat., ii. 2, 3. Bernal Diaz in the latter years of his life represents himself, in common with four others, the sole survivors of Cortés' soldiers, as aged, infirm, very poor, with a large family, and small income. Hist. Verdad., 250.