Juan de Zumárraga, born in 1468 of a noble family, in Durango in the Biscay province in Spain, had entered the Franciscan Order, and in 1527 was custodian of the convent of Abrojo.

Shortly afterwards he was appointed one of the judges of the court for the examination of witches in the Basque province.

From his writings it would appear that he looked upon witches merely as women possessed of hallucinations.

By this time more detailed accounts of the importance of the conquest of Hernán Cortés had begun to be received, and on December 20, 1527, Zumárraga was recommended by Charles V for the post of first bishop of Mexico.

Without having been consecrated and with only the title of bishop-elect and Protector of the Indians, he, accompanied by Andrés de Olmos, had left Spain with the first civil officials, auditors (oidores), towards the end of August 1528, and reached Mexico on December 6.

Thirteen days after, two auditors, Alonso de Parada and Diego Maldonado, persons of years and experience, died.

Their companions, Juan Ortiz de Matienzo and Diego Delgadillo, have assumed their authority, which is also shared by Nuño de Guzmán, who had come from his territories in the Pánuco Valley.

Their administration is one of the most disastrous epochs in New Spain and one of great difficulty for Zumárraga.

During the court case against Cortés in 1529, Guzmán accuses Cortés himself of being a traitor and a rebel.

Zumárraga, who had traveled with Guzmán to Hispaniola, in turn accuses Guzmán of having been a sworn enemy of Cortés even before setting foot in New Spain.

Meanwhile, news reaches Mexico that Cortés has been well received at the Spanish court and is about to return to New Spain.

Fearful of the consequences, Guzmán puts Ortiz de Matienzo in charge of the Audiencia.

Then, gathering a military force of three hundred to four hundred discontented conquistadors and between five thousand and eight thousand indigenous Nahua allies, Guzmán sets out on December 21, 1529, to the west of Mexico City to conquer lands and peoples who have so far resisted the conquest.

Among the officers on this expedition is Pedro Almíndez Chirino.