About this time, learning the success of Cortes in Mexico, and that he had applied to the emperor for the commission of governor, Diego Velasques, governor of Cuba, who considered that it ought to belong to him, fitted out an armament of eighteen ships, under the command of Pamphilus de Narvaez, already mentioned, with a thousand men and eighty horses, whom he sent to Mexico in order to supersede Cortes.  Landing in the neighbourhood of Vera Cruz, he sent an order to the garrison to receive him as governor; but they made his messenger prisoner, and sent him to Cortes, then at Mexico.  On this Cortes wrote to Narvaez, desiring him not to raise any disturbance in the country, and offering to submit to his authority if he held a commission from the emperor.  But Narvaez corrupted the people of the country; upon which Cortes went from Mexico, and took Narvaez prisoner in the town of Zempoallan, putting out one of his eyes.  After this the soldiers of Narvaez submitted to Cortes; who detached two hundred soldiers to the river of Garay or Panuco, and a similar detachment under John Vasquez de Leon to Cosualco.  He sent likewise a messenger to Mexico with an account of his victory; but the natives, having risen in rebellion, killed his messenger.

Cortes now set forwards on his return to Mexico, with one thousand foot soldiers and two thousand horsemen, and found Peter de Alvarado and the garrison he had left in Mexico in charge of Mutecuma, in safety.  But the Mexicans continued their insurrection, and on one occasion Mutecuma was killed by a stone thrown by one of his own subjects.  They then elected another king, and the Spaniards were forced to evacuate the city with great difficulty and danger.  Driven out of Mexico, and having only 504 footmen and 40 horse remaining, Cortes retired with much difficulty to Tlaxcallan, where he was well received.  He here mustered a force of 900 Spanish infantry and 80 cavalry, and gathered 200,000 Indians among the friends and allies whom he had secured, enemies of the Mexicans, and marched back to Mexico, which he took in August 1521[39].

In October 1521, Cortes sent 200 foot and 35 horse, with a number of his Indian allies, under the command of Gonsalo de Sandoval, against Tochtepec and Coazacoalco, which had rebelled, and which Sandoval reduced to obedience.  To retain this country under subjection, he built a town called Medelin, 120 leagues from Mexico, and another named Santo Spirito, on a river four leagues from the sea[40].  In this year 1521, died Emanuel, king of Portugal, and was succeeded by his son, John III.

In this same year, one of Magellan’s ships sailed from Malacca with a loading of cloves.  They victualled at the island of Burro, and went from thence to Timor, in lat. 11 deg.  S.[41].  Beyond this island, about 100 leagues, they came to other islands, all inhabited, one of which was called Eude.  Passing on the outside of Sumatra, they found no land till they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, where they took in wood and water; and sailing thence by the islands of Cabo Verde, they arrived at Seville, where they were received with great honour, both on account of their valuable cargo of cloves, and because they had circumnavigated the whole world[42].