American Demons

Old Nobility Versus New Money

"Wohin du sihst nur Eitelkeit auff Erden - Wherever you look, only vanity on earth," wrote Andreas Gryphius in the orthography of his time. When Juan Díaz de Solís, suffering from melancholy and wanderlust after a love bankruptcy, steered his ship into a bay on the southern east coast of America in 1515, he believed he had reached the waterway of his fame - i.e. a passage to the Pacific. He has "discovered" an estuary basin. The local vigilante group greets Solís with spears.

Johannes Blattschneider turns it into an opera: "With the pride of the explorer, Solís gave the river its name: Río de Solís. But as soon as he set foot on land, the wild Charrúa deceitfully caught the unfortunate man. They fried and ate it in front of the companions who had stayed behind in a sloop in temporary safety."

At that time everyone wanted to go to where the pepper grew - to the Spice Islands. Royal expectations continued to be directed towards the "sea route to India". Captains explored the South American east coast line. The monumental mouth was still called the Solís River when Sebastian Cabot designated it as an anchorage. He used the wood from two ships to build a fort, then threw himself into exploring the Uruguay, hoping that the Uruguay would allow passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Militia forced Cabot into his fort, and in a huff he slammed the door behind him. He felt misunderstood by the narrow-minded and backward backwoodsmen. Cabot then followed Uruguay's twin stream, the Río Paraná. Cabot had the foresight to build the next fort in the area of Cara-Cara (today Río Tercero). Building the fort drew the surrounding tribes together; the Spaniards were as exotic as aliens in a clearing. Tin comrades come into the forest and first build a huge fence around their shithouses. How crazy are they?

The locals traded gold and silver for rubbish. Cabot believed his El Dorado was right in front of the palisade. He renamed the Solís River "Rio de la Plata" (Silver River). That was a propaganda coup. By rushing to raise expectations in Spain, Cabot "added a delusion to the world." (J. Blattschneider)Old nobility versus new money. The wealth of robber barons and social climbers, dusted off in the bloodlust of the conquistadors, shifted the balance in Spain. Scions of great families faced competition from Tom, Dick and Harry. Sons of cleaners suddenly joined in. New alliances presented themselves. This is how I understand the connection between Cabot and Pedro de Mendoza. Mendoza wasn't just "rich." His greeting was tantamount to a promotion.

Mendoza was cupbearer of the Spanish king. He could send his own fleet to the bottom of the sea without going bankrupt. On August 24, 1534, Mendoza spat into the harbor of Seville for the last time. He started with fourteen "proud gallions" (J. Blattschneider) and one hundred and fifty Germans and Dutchmen on board. In total, Mendoza brought seventy-two horses and his country's best to the New World. Thirty-two mayorazgos - pure nobility - rode with him. New fortunes put pressure on the super aristocrats. Some people would have preferred to stay at home and avoid too much formality in the Red Parrot secret bar.

Mendoza had carte blanche. He was promised lands by the emperor. He lived with the prospect of rewards "for every cacique killed or captured."

Envy sailed along. The procession also numbered eighteen missionaries and three thousand common men. A storm scattered the ships.​ ​