niards continually wrought in nearly four
hundred and fifty leagues of country belonging to the City of Mexico
and its surroundings, which numbers four or five great kingdoms, as
large and much more delightful than Spain.
4. All these countries were more populous than Toledo, Seville,
Valladolid, and Zaragoza, together with Barcelona; because these
cities have not, nor did they ever have so many inhabitants when
they were at their fullest, as God placed, and as are to be found in
all the said leagues; to go around which, one must walk more than a
thousand and eight hundred leagues.
5. In the said twelve years more than four million souls have been
killed by the Spaniards with swords and lances, and by burning alive
women and children, young and old in the said extent of 450 leagues,
during the time what they call "conquests" lasted. In fact, they
were violent invasions by cruel tyrants, condemned not only by the
divine law, but by all human laws; they were much worse than those
of the Turks to destroy the Christian Church. Besides all this,
there are the deaths they have caused, and cause every day by the
tyrannical servitude, the daily afflictions and oppressions above
described.
6. Neither language, nor knowledge, nor human industry could suffice to
relate in detail the dreadful operations of those public and mortal
enemies of the human race, acting in concert in some places and
singly in others, within the aforesaid circuit. In truth,
respecting the circumstances and conditions that rendered certain
deeds more grievous, no exercise of diligence and time and writing
could hardly explain them sufficiently. However I will recount
something of some of the countries, protesting on my oath, that I
believe I am not telling the thousandth part.

Among other massacres there was one took place in a town of more
than thirty thousand inhabitants called Cholula; all the lords of
the land, and its surroundings, and above all the priests, with the
high priest came out in procession to meet the Christians, with
great submission and reverence, and conducted them in their midst to
lodge in the town in the dwelling houses of the prince, or principal
lords; the Spaniards determined on a massacre here or, as they say,
a chastiseme