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ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Martin Cortes conjuration 1565

Synopsis
Attempt of rebellion promoted by the sons of the Spanish ‘conquistador’ Hernán Cortés, in particular Martín Cortés (1533-1589), heir to the Marquisate of Valle de Oaxaca. He tried to put the sons of the conquerors of Mexico in contact (for example, the González Dávila brothers) to start an armed conspiracy in defense of their interests, namely that the ownership of the encomiendas they enjoyed could be bequeathed to their own children and future descendants against what was stipulated in the Leyes Nuevas of 1542, whose revocation they had not achieved through institutional appeals. The rebels are credited with the intention to separate the New Spain viceroyalty from the Hispanic monarchy and to name Martín Cortés as king. The main promoters of the rebellion were discovered, arrested on July 16, 1566, and sentenced to death a few weeks later by the Audiencia of Mexico. Differently, Cortés's sons were tried by the Consejo de Indias in 1567 and sentenced to exile and loss of their property. Pardoned in 1574, they did never manage to recover their former prosperity. This was the first attempt at Creole rebellion in the viceroyalty of New Spain.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 1 year. Name in sources: Conjura de Martín Cortés. Location: Mexico City Country (current): Mexico. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Local elites, Settlers/Colonists, Soldiers. Number of participants: 50-100. Main reasons & motivations: Economic, Fiscal, Political. Leadership: Martín Cortés. Relevance: high.

Further reading
OROZCO Y BERRA, Manuel (1853). Noticia histórica de la conjuración del marqués del Valle, años de 1565-1568, formada en vista de nuevos documentos originales y seguida de un estrato de los mismos documentos. México: Edición del Universal. TATEIWA IGARASHI, Reiko (2016). “La rebelión del Marqués del Valle: un examen del gobierno virreinal en Nueva España en 1566”. Espacio Tiempo Y Forma. Serie IV, Historia Moderna (29), 135–161. VINCENT, Victoria Anne (1993). The Avila-Cortes conspiracy: Creole aspirations and royal interests. Lincoln: University of Nebraska.
Cite this entry

Egío, José Luis (2023). "Martin Cortes conjuration 1565", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Encyclopaedia of Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. https://mappingrebellions.com/revolt/martin-cortes-conjuration-1565/ (accessed on 12 March 2026).