In Cortés's absence his enemies at home gradually triumphed, and after his return his power was made more fictitious than real by the audiencia. Although on his visit to Spain (1528–30) Cortés was made marqués del Valle de Oaxaca, Charles V refused to name him governor. Returning to Mexico, he vainly sent out maritime expeditions, frustrated more than once by Nuño de Guzmán. Subsequently he quarreled with the viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, and in 1540 he again sought justice in Spain. There, neglected by the court, he died.
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