They say that Cortés returned to the Spanish Court to report to the King on his conquest of México. King Carlos V asked him to describe the lay of this new land

They say that Cortés returned to the Spanish Court to report to the King on his conquest of México. King Carlos V asked him to describe the lay of this new land adjoined to his kingdom. Cortés asked for a piece of paper (still an expensive luxury at the time) and, instead of drawing on it, he shocked the court by crumpling it into a wrinkly chaos. That is the topography of México.