Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs
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PHOTO CREDITS:
Hernando Cortés (1485–1547) (copy of an original) (oil on panel) by Master of Saldana. © Museo Nacional de Historia, Mexico City, Mexico/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Spanish School (seventeenth century). © Museo degli Argenti, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Manuscript, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence, Italy / The Bridgeman Art Library International
From the Codex Magliabechiano (vellum) by Aztec (sixteenth century). © Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence, Italy/ The Bridgeman Art Library.
Ms Laur. Med. Palat. 218 f.84v: Human sacrifice at the temple of Tezcatlipoca, from a history of the Aztecs and the conquest of Mexico (pen and ink) (sixteenth century). © Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Florence, Italy/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Hernan Cortés (1485–1547) orders the sinking of his ships, Mexico, July 1519 (engraving), Spanish School (nineteenth century). Private Collection, Ken Welsh / The Bridgeman Art Library International
Massacre of the Mexicans (vellum) by Diego Duran (sixteenth century). © Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid, Spain/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Ms Palat, 218–220 Book IX: Marina interpreting for the Spaniards at a meeting between Hernando Cortés and Montezuma (1466–1520), from an account written and illustrated by Bernardino de Sahagun, Spanish (mid-sixteenth century). © Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Florence, Italy/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Montezuma (1466–1547), captured by the Spaniards, pleads with the Aztecs to surrender as they attack his palace in 1520 (panel No.4) by Spanish School (sixteenth century). © British Embassy, Mexico City, Mexico/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Codex Duran: Pedro de Alvarado (c.1485–1541), companion-at-arms of Hernando Cortes (1485–1547), besieged by Aztec warriors (vellum) by Diego Duran (sixteenth century). Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid, Spain / The Bridgeman Art Library International
Battle of Otumba, Mexico, 7 July 1520 (engraving) by Spanish School (nineteenth century). © Private Collection, Ken Welsh/ The Bridgeman Art Library
The Taking of Tenochtitlan by Cortes, 1521 (panel) by Spanish School (sixteenth century). © British Embassy, Mexico City, Mexico/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Map of Tenochtitlan and the Gulf of Mexico, from “Praeclara Ferdinadi Cortesii de Nova maris Oceani Hyspania Narratio” by Hernando Cortés (1485–1547), 1524 (color litho) by Spanish School (sixteenth century). © Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, USA/ The Bridgeman Art Library
The Capture of Cuauhtémoc (c.1495–1522), the last Aztec Emperor of Mexico (panel No.8) by Spanish School (sixteenth century). © British Embassy, Mexico City, Mexico/ The Bridgeman Art Library
Portrait of Hernán Cortés (1485–1547) (oil on canvas) by Spanish School (sixteenth century). © Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, Spain/ Index/ The Bridgeman Art Library
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Authors never write books alone, even if it often feels as if we do. As usual, I first have to thank my writing family, the Free Range Writers: Kim Barnes, Jane Varley, Lisa Norris, and Collin Hughes. They keep the fire stoked, the cabin warm, and the music going. Thanks, always, to my literary agent Scott Waxman, who suggested I see a man about a horse, and that man ended up being Hernán Cortés. Scott’s imagination is sweeping and boundless, his ability to see his way to the good story uncanny. Thanks also to foreign rights agent Farley Chase, whose hard work has ensured that Conquistador will reach readers in numerous languages.
I’m deeply grateful to my intrepid first readers, compadres John Larkin and Kim Barnes, for their careful proofing and surveillance of the text. Thanks, John, for the humor and scathing honesty, and thank you, Kim, for your profound ability to see the larger narratives.
In June 2006 I took a lengthy research trip during which I followed the route of the conquistadors from where they landed on the Gulf Coast at San Juan de Ulúa, over the mountains and across the plains to Mexico City. Many people assisted me during my journey, making it among the best, most educational experiences of my life. Thanks to the Museo de Antropología, Xalapa, for the wonderful tour and detailed explanations of stunning pre-Columbian works, particularly the awe-inspiring Olmec heads. Thanks also to Veracruz University in Xalapa.
In Cholula, big embraces go out to Rodrigo Moctezuma and the amazing crew at Jazzatlán. I will always remember their kindness and enthusiasm for my project, and their suggestions for the music of Mexico. Rodrigo gave me a personal tour from Cholula to the Pass of Cortés in his Volkswagen van, a trip that was as informative as it was adventurous.
In Mexico City and environs, the attentive and knowledgeable curators and guides at the Museo Templo Mayor, Teotihuacán, and the Museo Nacionale de Antropolgía took excellent care of me and thoroughly answered my many questions.
Throughout the process of writing Conquistador, the folks at Random House/Ban
tam Dell have been fantastic to work with. My editor John Flicker brought his considerable expertise and vision to bear on the book at every stage, from conception to polished manuscript. His eye is sharp and his ear keen, and he understands the delicate balance of narrative pacing and historical accuracy. I look forward to working on more books with him.
The Washington State University libraries were instrumental in my research, especially everyone in Interlibrary Loans, and at Holland New Library. Their organization, knowledge, and timely retrieval of my innumerable requests made my work smooth and efficient.
Edward Whitley at Bridgeman Art Library offered invaluable assistance and expertise in my image search, and I certainly owe him a debt of gratitude for his expedient work and correspondence with me.
Finally, thanks to my wonderful family, extended and immediate. To my children Logan and Hunter, who endure my late nights, deadlines, and travel junkets, and to my partner, friend, and spouse Camie, who continues to support me: you allow me to live the life I always dreamed of.
ALSO BY BUDDY LEVY
American Legend:
The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett
Echoes on Rimrock:
In Pursuit of the Chukar Partridge
CONQUISTADOR
A Bantam Book / July 2008
Published by Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2008 by Buddy Levy
Maps by David Lindroth
Title page art: Ms Laur, Med. Palat. 220 f.406: The Spanish fleet disembarks in Mexico, from a history of the Aztecs and the conquest of Mexico (pen and ink), Spanish (sixteenth century). / Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Florence, Italy / The Bridgeman Art Library International
Bantam Books is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Levy, Buddy, 1960–
Conquistador : Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the last stand of the Aztecs / Buddy Levy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-0-553-90526-7
1. Mexico—History—Conquest, 1519–1540. 2. Cortés, Hernán, 1485–1547. I. Title.
F1230.L45 2008
972'.02—dc22 2007052178
www.bantamdell.com
v1.0
*1The term Aztec was originally coined (erroneously) by the nineteenth-century German naturalist-explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Aztec was actually an eponymous derivation of the legendary Aztlan, the mythical “Place of the White Heron,” the ancestral homeland of the people who eventually came to the Valley of Mexico and settled there after long years of migration and founded the city of Tenochtitlán in 1325. In only two centuries these agricultural and warrior people had developed a remarkable culture. The term Aztec has been widely replaced—primarily by scholars and historians—with the term Mexica, a designation that more accurately describes the people of the Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlán, Texcoco, and Tacuba. Numerous modern institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, the Smithsonian Museum, and even the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City still employ the term Aztec. Conquistador will retain the popular term Aztec and use it interchangeably with Mexica.
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*2Many modern scholars use the term Motecuhzoma (actually pronounced something akin to “Mock-tey-coo-schoma”), which presumably more accurately mimics the correct pronunciation, but the more popular and widely used Montezuma causes less confusion, so I opt for the popular usage.
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*3Cacique is a Caribbean Arawak word for “chief” that the Spaniards brought with them from the islands. Many of the chroniclers, including Bernal Díaz and to a lesser extent Cortés, use the term. The word would have been unknown to mainland Mexicans.
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*4Grijalva, Velásquez’s nephew, led an expedition to the Yucatán in 1518. He witnessed evidence of thriving civilization, including pyramid towers and great buildings that reminded him of the city of Seville. Grijalva and his crew also discovered evidence of human sacrifice near what is today Veracruz, and they named the place the Island of Sacrifices. Grijalva was unable to trade or settle and was eventually driven from Mexico by the native inhabitants and lost over thirty men.
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*5Sometimes referred to also as Tentlil or Teudile.
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*6The Spaniards, including Bernal Díaz, interpreted the term teule to mean “god” or “divine being,” whether that was correct or not.
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*7Her name had been something approximating Malinali, which the Spaniards mispronounced, and it became Malinche—the name by which she is now commonly known. She was baptized and referred to as Doña Marina by the Spaniards.
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*8The Aztecs used at least two calendars, one agricultural or solar, called the xiuhpohualli, the other sacred or ritualistic, called the tonalpohualli. The tonalpohualli was a calendrical system employing fifty-two-year cycles and the concept of “bundles of years.” The sacred tonalpohualli used a pair of interconnected cycles: a cycle of thirteen numbers and a cycle of twenty day names.
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*9Cempoala was the principal city of the Totonac federation, who were reluctant tributaries of the Aztecs. The term Totonac refers to a member of the federation, while Cempoalan refers to a Totonac from the primary city of Cempoala.
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*10According to Bernal Díaz and other sources, the practice of sodomy was frequent and also used as a form of prostitution. Díaz reports that the Cempoalans “had boys dressed as women who practiced the accursed vice for profit.”
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*11Díaz also witnessed his share: “Every day they sacrificed before our eyes three, four, or five Indians, whose hearts were offered to those idols and whose blood was plastered on the walls. The feet, arms, and legs of their victims were cut off and eaten, just as we eat beef from the butcher in our country. I even believe they sold it in the tianguez or markets.”
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*12These five missives have come to be known collectively as Letters from Mexico. Written over a seven-year span directly to Charles I of Spain, they comprise one of the most impressive and detailed first-hand accounts of the conquest of the Americas. Though they must be read with severe circumspection, understood in broad context as highly political documents, and considered vis-à-vis all the other accounts, both Spanish and indigenous, they provide tremendous insight into the mind and character of Hernán Cortés. In these letters, Cortés repeatedly and vehemently underscores his loyalty to the king and to the church.
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*13Though the Mesoamericans did invent wheels to use for children’s toys, they never considered building larger ones for use as traction devices or transportation, in part because they lacked proper draft animals for such purposes but also because much of the terrain was unsuitable, especially during the rainy seasons. See Charles C. Mann, 1491 (New York, 2005), 19, 222–23.
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*14Cortés, it will be remembered, was the first to reintroduce horses to Mexico since their extinction from the northern hemisphere during the Ice Age.
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*15The exact number of Tlaxcalan warriors is impossible to determine. Cortés, prone to exaggeration, estimated the army at over 100,000, while Bernal Díaz offered the more modest 40,000. Other sources confirm that Chief Xicotenga could quickly assemble, for battling the enemy Aztecs, an army of 40,000.
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*16A number of the chroniclers, including Cortés himself, say that he had the spies’ entire hands removed, but this rings as exaggerated and highly unlikely, as they most certainly would have bled to death before reaching the city of
Tlaxcala. Díaz mentions that Cortés had “some of their thumbs cut off,” which seems more plausible.
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*17Cortés had said that he would accept them only if the Tlaxcalans would destroy their own idols and agree to give up human sacrifice; he later agreed to take them only if they were allowed to be baptized. Once they were baptized, Cortés distributed them among his men.
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*18Cortés would eventually found a college for theology students training for the priesthood, a hospital, and a monastery, as well as provide financial endowments for the building and maintaining of Catholic churches.
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*19Cortés mentions this episode in his second letter to King Charles V, and Malinche’s “discovery” is widely and similarly reported by most of the Spanish chroniclers. Because the subsequent massacre is unprecedented by Cortés and might well have been unprovoked, the “discovery” rings to the skeptical ear as a bit too convenient, like an after-the-fact justification. For an intriguing argument against the likelihood of Malinche’s discovery of this supposed “plot,” see Ross Hassig, Mexico and the Spanish Conquest (Norman, Okla., 2006), 97–98.
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*20“Col” is a pass or depression.