LOPEZ, Martin, the first shipbuilder of the American continents. He was in the em ploy of Cortes, or formed one of the army of the conqueror when he began his famous march against the city of Mexico (Tenochtit lan). He was a shipbuilder by trade and had been attracted to the New World by the stories of wealth to be had there and the spirit of adventure that had taken possession of all Spain at the beginning of the 16th century. While Cortes was in the city of Mexico for the first time, he made the Emperor Moctezuma a prisoner in his own palace, and to please his captive he had Lopez construct two vessels to navigate the waters of Lake Texcoco, which then surrounded the capital of the Aztecs ex cept on one side. This gave him the idea, a year later, of building a number of larger vessels of various sizes with which to attack the city of Mexico from water while his army con tinued the siege from land. Lopez built 13 vessels in the neighboring town of Tlaxcala, all brigantines, and some of them of considerable size. He made them in parts, so that they could be carried on the backs of Indian peons over the mountains to the town of Texcoco, where he had them set up. From there a canal a mile and a half long and 12 feet deep was dug to the lake to float the vessels down to it. It required 20,000 men, warriors and car riers, to bring the ships from Tlascala to Texcoco, a distance of 60 miles; and the work of transportation occupied nearly a week. The
convoy stretched across the country for six miles. At the Texcoco end of the line 8,000 men were employed for over two months dig ging the canal to connect the city with the lake. All the Spaniards in Mexico, the Tlaxcalans in Texcoco and thousands of Texcocans, includ ing all the representatives of royalty and nobility, a mighty host in holiday attire, turned out to see the 13 vessels launched (1521) at an elevation of a mile and a half above sea-level. These 1.3 hrigatines played a very important part in the reduction of the capital of the Aztecs. They held the whole water front and prevented the Aztecs getting supplies of food and other necessities; and the guns on the vessels frequently directing a cross-fire at the besieged while the land cannon were pounding them from several other directions. Finally they prevented the escape of the emperor, Guatemotzin and numerous nobles after further defense of the city had become impossible. Consult Letters of Cortes; Diaz del Castillo, Bernal, 'The True History of the Conquest of New Spain' ; Prescott, 'The Conquest of Mexico.'