Many sources claim that Cortes had the ships destroyed secretly. Very few state that Cortes told his men of his intent; but Bernal Diaz tells that Cortes was advised by his men to destroy his ships. (Diaz, 131) Diaz states, ". . . we who were his friends advised him . . . not to leave a single ship in port, but to destroy them all immediately, in order to leave no cause of trouble behind." (Diaz, 130) Diaz goes on to say, "The ships were destroyed with our full knowledge and not . . . in secret." (Diaz, 131) Salvador De Madariaga suggests that Cortes "planted" some friends to advise him to destroy his

There is much speculation about why Cortes performed this deed. Most everybody agrees that the rigging, sails, and other useful items were brought ashore to be saved and used later. Some sources go into greater detail about the psychological aspects of Cortes's action. Bernal Diaz doesn't go into much detail about the effects of the destruction. He just states that they had nothing to rely on except "their good swords and stout hearts." (Diaz, 131) Collis goes on to say that Cortes realized that he would have no control over the ships after he turned inland and that a successful escape attempt may be made by the Velazquez faction. (Collis, 72) Cortez himself put it, ". . .they had noting to rely on, apart from their own hands, and the assurance that they would conquer and win the land, or die in the attempt." (Thomas, 223) White goes farther in his account about the probable effects of the destruction of the ships. First, he was instilling in his soldiers his own all-or-nothing attitude. Second, he was destroying all possibilities of a retreat to the coast with a ship waiting to take them to safety. Third, he was preventing any of Velazquez's supporters from deserting and taking a ship to Cuba where Vesazquez could use information from them against Cortes. Lastly, he was gaining a large number of sailors to serve as infantry or to protect the fledgling city. (White, 186) Gomara points out that Cortes destroyed his fleet in order to find who and how many were enemies. (Gomara, 90)

This story has been legendary, most people know of Cortes "burning" his boats. Hug

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