Caravels out of Cádiz
Poetry
“We’ve hustled up the healthiest cows”
“By god’s will, we anchor at Vera Cruz”
“This landholding extends out that way”
“Señor what’s-his-name’s gonna build one”
“The neophytes appear reluctant (so far)”
“The holy sacraments—all of them”
“Without battle, if possible, as decreed”
“This captain’s ‘confidence’—is sus”
“Señores, begin by addressing privations”
“Lin’em up, six hogs and two horses”
“Deal, two masons, one cook, one healer”
“At your behest and wishes, Viscountess”
“Oat and rye flower arrives by late fall”
“Another surplus of chilies and chocolate”
“These five frontier towns as pious as any”
“Ten parishes in total without water”
“Complete aqueduct by June at the latest”
“Cut the sacraments to five (by July)”
“Señor, we don’t quite do it like that here”
“Andalusian ways are changing—daily”
“Parish rolls track all manner of trades”
“Four indigenous languages, kid’s gold”
“A hospital in this city is the goal”
“A university in this region is the goal”
“Atlacoya’s Castilian coming on strong”
“This quarried rock is the prettiest yet”
“Make a painful example of that rebel”
“Release them all, they’ll return, to a man”
“Build fountains where our youth may meet”
“The fashions are getting rather—extra”
“Please, no more rotten Portuguese cod”
“‘Avocado groves in all four valleys’, do it”
“Isabela’s daughter is fluent in Otomí”
“That bloke from Bilbao needs some sun”
“The holy mother now looks like us”
“Absolutely no more forced labor”
“Toltecatl studies law in Salamanca”
“Put that so-called ‘duke’ in chains”
“A three-day festivity for the harvest”
“Silk blouses from Fukkien via Manila”
“This here region’s a warless region”
“Two bands of bandits still to subdue”
“Niño, sharpen this sword—to its limit”
“The Shanghainese trade only in reales”
“Sire, they call the island, California”
“Cowhide pants are all the rage now”
“The English never marry africans”
“Correct, nor do they marry natives”
“Our fall armada barely avoided siege”
“These fortalezas pay for themselves”
“Lure the bastards into the back bay”
“Repair the fountains by springtime”
“Florid dresses twirling to florid music”
“People, stand back, wait for your cues”