Page "History of Mexico City" Paragraph 32

Cortés did not establish an independent, conquered territory under his own personal rule, but remained loyal to the Habsburg Emperor Charles V, who was also King of Spain and its associated European territories.

Although he was portrayed to the Spanish court as an ambitious and untrustworthy adventurer by his enemies, Cortés sought to prove his loyalty.

First, he wrote the Five Letters to explain what he had done and why, and between 1528 and 1530, he traveled to see the emperor in Toledo, Spain.

However, the emperor decided not to appoint him as governor of New Spain but rather simply as the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca.

The first viceroy of the new domain arrived in Mexico City fourteen years later.

By that time, the city had again become a city-state, with a large Indian population.

The ayuntamiento of the city had power that extended far beyond the city's established borders.

Such was approved by Charles V in 1522, authorizing the city to step into rural affairs to " protect and benefit " Indians as well as the Spanish.