the cupidity of Cortes, who determined to make a bold stroke for the conquest of such a rich prize.  He burnt his ships and advanced into the interior of the country, conquering on his way the tribe of the Tlascalans, who had been at war with the Mexicans, but, when conquered, were ready to assist him against them.  With their aid he succeeded in seizing the Mexican king, who was forced to yield a huge tribute.  After many struggles Cortes found himself master of the capital, and of all the resources of the Mexican Empire (1521).  These he hastened to place at the feet of the Emperor Charles V., who appointed him Governor and Captain-General of Mexico.  It is characteristic throughout the history of the New World, that none of the soldiers of fortune who found it such an easy prey ever thought of setting up an empire for himself.  This is a testimony to the influence national feeling had upon the minds even of the most lawless, and the result was that Europe and European ideas were brought over into America, or rather the New World became tributary to Europe.

As soon as Cortes had established himself he fitted out expeditions to explore the country, and himself reached Honduras after a remarkable journey for over 1000 miles, in which he was only guided by a map on cotton cloth, on which the Cacique of Tabasco had painted all the towns, rivers, and mountains of the country as far as Nicaragua.  He also despatched a small fleet under Alvarro de Saavedra to support a Spanish expedition which had been sent to the Moluccas under Sebastian del Cano, and which arrived at Tidor in 1527, to the astonishment of Spanish and Portuguese alike when they heard he had started from New Castile.  In 1536, Cortes, who had been in the meantime shorn of much of his power, conducted an expedition by sea along the north-west coast of Mexico, and reached what he considered to be a great island.  He identified this with an imaginary island in the Far East, near the terrestrial paradise to which the name of California had been given in a contemporary romance.  Thus, owing to Cortes, almost the whole of Central America had become known before his death in 1540.  Similarly, at a much earlier period, Ponce de Leon had thought he had discovered another great island in Florida in 1512, whither he had gone in search of Bayuca, a fabled island of the Indians, in which they stated was a fountain of eternal youth.  At the time of Cortes’ first attempt on Mexico, Pineda had coasted round Florida, and connected it with the rest of the coast of Mexico, which he traversed as far as Vera Cruz.

The exploits of Cortes were all important in their effects.  He had proved with what ease a handful of men might overcome an empire and gain unparalleled riches.  Francisco Pizarro was encouraged by the success of Cortes to attempt the discovery of the El Dorado he had heard of when on Balboa’s expedition.  With a companion named Diego de Almegro he made several coasting expeditions down the northwest coast of South