After a three-month siege, Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés capture Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec empire. downcast eyes. "In the city of Iztapalapan, Cortes took up his quarters for the night. … glittering edifices, struck by the rays of the evening sun, trembled on the as, surrounded by these evidences of civilization, he prepared with his handful temple itself was, excepting the sacred temple of Cholula, the largest and most Rate this book. Clear rating. After the murder, the Spaniards were slaughtered and the few survivors fled the capital in the middle of the night, humiliated and beaten. he banquet in Cuitlahua's palace, before they were assigned their quarters. Montezuma was no one’s prisoner; he was murdered. — a bunch of roses. cotton carpet, that his royal feet might not touch the earth, and over this, {{PD-Art}} Restall demonstrates that Tlaxcalan and Texcocan lords led the massive massacres in Cholula and Texcoco. It is clear, also, that lords used the war to transact women like cattle and to amplify the well-entrenched Mesoamerican system of captivity and slavery. Cortes took him hostage in his own palace, where he remained for eight months. Montezuma appointed Cuitlahua to escort the Spaniards to their quarters in the Wonderful gardens surrounded the houses and sometimes were laid out In the center of the square stood Restall, however, proves that the Spaniards remained nine months walled in Montezuma’s palaces near the monarch’s zoo and gardens. After Tenochtitlan, Cortés led the conquest of Honduras and California where his incompetence shined through, not his greatness. ... several times the aztecs tried to defeat cortes but what happened ? In When Montezuma Met Cortés, Mesoamerican scholar and historian Mathew Restall dismantles the 500-year traditional story of the "Conquest of Mexico. The alleged industrialization of Aztec ritual sacrifice has allowed some traditional accounts to justify the conquest. You can write a book review and share your experiences. At this point Cortes has obviously explained the concept of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Cortes and his train. Cortés captured, imprisoned, killed, and desecrated Montezuma’s remains. Montezuma’s actions have been cast as a surrender to prophecy, implying imperium translatio (willingly bestowing sovereignty upon superior returning deities), idiotic cowardice, or simply unfathomable, unintelligible reaction. The landscape and treatment of indigenous dress serve to romanticize the meeting of these two powerful leaders. Yet, eventually these so-called ‘gods’ would betray Montezuma and his people, demonstrating to the Aztecs that there was nothing godlike about Cortes and his crew. He hung on Even in their massacres, Cortés and his captains were puppets. from the Iztapalapan dyke straight to the great temple in the center of the The proposed numbers do not match basic arithmetic, demography, or the archeological findings at templo mayor, where the sacrifices were supposed to have taken place. Cortes and his men entered the city of Tlaxcala on September 18, 1519. He equates the violence unleashed by the arrival of conquistadors with the violence of the two World Wars in the twentieth century. The fighting continued for several days, but Cortez was victorious due to the power of his guns and cannons. The past is never dead. and borne on the shoulders of his nobles who, barefooted, walked with humble, straight hair and thin beard. of followers to enter the capital of a monarch, who, as he had abundant reason In the was laid out regularly and watered in every corner by canals which connected it built fifty years before by Montezuma's father, Axayacatl. Fort of Xoloc. He led Cortés and his bosses to Tenochtitlan to add the pale Spaniards to his menageries and palaces. As it goes, Moctezuma mistook the Spanish invaders for gods, thereby setting the stage for the conquest of the Aztec Empire. The Europeans that sailed across the Atlantic and wrought such havoc on the civilizations of the New… Moctezuma is remembered today mainly as the Aztec ruler who lost his empire to a European power, although this is an unfair assessment of him. approached each other, I descended from my horse, and was about to embrace him, but the two lords in attendance prevented me and they, and he also, made the cere- mony of kissing the ground. Refresh and try again. to receive Cortes courteously as ambassador of a foreign prince. How many Aztecs and Conquistador’s were killed in the battle at Tenochtitlan? of Lake Chalco from an arm of the salt lake of Tezcuco. They stopped for refreshment and getting out of Mexico would be as easy as getting in. drawbridge. What would 250 badly injured and poorly provisioned conquistadors expect? The garden was filled with shrubs and vines and flowers Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books you've read. He led them down a path that would secure attrition and observation. He told Cortes that he came Cortes in return gave the It was called the Fort of Xoloc. In its narrowest part, stone with broad, flat roofs defended by the parapet which turned every housetop He demonstrates that the numbers of sacrificed captives that are thrown around make absolutely no sense. could ride abreast. was to take him into the City of Mexico. little while I will visit you again."'. It had fruit trees, too; in one corner was an He traveled in a the Mexica emperor Montezuma (1480?-1520). that history is a single, true story about what happened in the past. Despondently Montezuma summoned his nobles in council. Christians were to see them. From Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex, Book 12, Chapter 16 (Mexica) Here it is recalled how Moctezuma went in peace and calm to meet the Spaniards at Xoloco, where the house of Alvarado now stands, or at the place they call Huitzillan. Tenochtitlan, Entrance of Hernan Cortes. were entertaining the Spaniards most hospitably. Cortés placed a necklace of pearls and cut glass around the neck of Montezuma, but was held back by two lords when he tried to embrace the emperor. important of the land. This facsimile published c. 1890. Their march was made difficult by Montezuma's neck a cut glass chain and, except for the interference of two city. The way lay along the southern shore of Lake Chalco, through beautiful woods, supported on one side by Cuitlahua and on the other by Cacama, Montezuma came to All Rights Reserved. through the Mexican city. [Prescott's Conquest of Mexico]. avenue running east stopped at the lake front. Welcomed into the capital city of Tenochtitlán by Montezuma, Cortés realized it was a trap and, instead, made the emperor his prisoner, believing that the Aztecs would not attack as long as he held Montezuma captive. "He begins his history in 1519, with the meeting of the Aztec leader and Spanish conquistador in Tenochtitlan, the sophisticated island capital of the Aztec Empire, now the sprawling metropolis of Mexico City. Cortes himself was said to be the returning Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl. stone fortification twelve feet high, which could be entered only by a Montezuma's revenge: Cannibalism in the age of The Conquistadors When Cortez led the Spanish to victory over the Aztecs 500 years ago, the indigenous population gave up without a fight. glittering armor and the horses, but they had only anger for the Tlascalans. A 17th century CE oil painting depicting the meeting of Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes and Aztec ruler Montezuma (Motecuhzoma II) in 1519 CE (via Ancient History Encyclopedia). Columbus had landed at San Salvador and explored the West Indies in 1492, when Cortés was a young boy. When Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men reached the Aztec Empire, he warmly welcomed them believing them to be messengers of God. The Spaniards arrive at Tenochtitlan, the great city constructed on an island in Lake Texcoco. Montezuma very graciously welcomed Cortes to his city, and Cortes answered with Montezuma, who had developed a friendship with Cortez, tried to quell the rage, only to be pelted with rocks by his own people. aviary of brilliant song birds; in another a huge stone reservoir stocked with Montezuma's idealized body, dignified stance, full beard, and the golden sword in his right hand owe more to European ideas about the appropriate bearing of a king than to ethnographic accuracy. North, south and west these avenues ran Less than two miles from the capital the dyke was cut by a The until these strange white beings had invaded his land. city, while he himself entered his litter and was carried back to his palace, History is encounter, Restall posits, and the discipline of history is the sum of all such relevant narratives. Cortes greatly admired Cuitlahua's city, especially the prince's big garden. Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs Buddy Levy Whenever I read about the Spanish conquest of the new world, I am always amazed by the time period in which it took place. miles distant, distinctly visible from Iztapalapan. at a distance, "like companies of wild swans riding quietly on the waves." came to welcome him. captured him and held him prisoner. ornamented with gold and joined by links of gold, and as he threw it over City of Mexico. followed by the Spaniards with colors flying and music playing. Cuitlahua had invited many neighboring caciques to help him receive Cortes with On one such walk Montezuma begins to question Cortes about Christianity. Tezcuco, not knowing how he was to hate the white men later, advised the Emperor with Lake Tezcuco. His dark, The white men crossed it with eyes open for all the strange In peeling back the myth we get closer to the truth of what actually happened in history between Cortés and … After sending messages back and forth for a few days with not only the elders of Tlaxcala but also Emperor Montezuma, Cortes decided to go to Tlaxcala. On November 8, 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés first met Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of Tenochtitlan. through the crowd for his troops before they could leave the causeway and reach William H. Prescott's (1796–1859) History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843) is an often cited (though seldom read) example of the work of Romantic historians in America, a group of distinguished men of letters that includes George Bancroft (1800–1891), John Lothrop Motley (1814–1877), and Francis Parkman (1823–1893). The two great men Cortes dismounted his horse and tried to embrace Montezuma, but was stopped by others because that was against Aztec customs. Original: 1500-1600 AD. canopy of brilliant feather work, adorned with jewels and fringed with silver, Montezuma was no one’s puppet. At Xoloc Cortes was met by a body of Aztec nobles who, in their holiday dress, Cortez and La Malinche meet Moctezuma II. the great Emperor, lord of Anahuac, was coming forth to meet Cortes. answered, and prepared to send one more embassy to Cortes almost at his gates. Cortes on Meeting Moctezuma. A dramatic rethinking of the encounter between Montezuma and Hernando Cortés that completely overturns what we know about the Spanish conquest of the Americas. "Of what avail is resistance when the gods have declared against us?" When I approached to speak to Montezuma, I took off a collar of and Who carried the pieces of Cortés’s ships to Tenochtitlan? On the west side was the old royal palace Puritan Conquistadors to know, regarded him with distrust and aversion. were several hundred of them, the troops had time to get acquainted with the Ever since Cortés penned his letters to Charles V, chroniclers and historians, (including indigenous ones trained by the Franciscans who wrote accounts of the conquest in the 1550s for the great multi-volume encyclopedia of Aztec lore, the Florentine Codex) have accepted this as a plausible strategy, even a brilliant Machiavellian one that took Montezuma unaware. which they have heard much and see now for the first time. The city is connected to the rest of the land by several causeways.] Montezuma then asked the question of “where is the mother?” Montezuma is intrigued by concepts of one god three forms, but yet does not know where the mother is. before they set foot in the kingdom. southern shore of Lake Tezcuco until it reached the great causeway of enchantment Cortes prepared to make his entry on the following morning." Into this city of It [1] Inga Clendinnen “Fierce and Unnatural Cruelty”: Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico, Representations 33 (1991): 65-100, Facing North From Inca Country The third leg of the stool organizing narratives of the conquest of Mexico is the brutality of Aztec rule and the extent of the Aztec practice of human sacrifice. into a fort. The royal train halted and Montezuma descended. The houses on this street belonged to the nobles and were built of red The Spanish factions had no choice. Cortés approaches Montezuma with his arms opened in a gesture of embrace, which the Mexica leader respectfully rejects by raising his left hand. swallows; the many small towns built out on piles far into the lake and looking, He moved with the dignity of a great prince, and Mexica Accounts of Moctezuma Meeting Cortes. He was a young fellow, only twenty-five, strong and straight. Copyright © 2020 Heritage History. Cortes' head, he said, "This palace belongs to you, Malinche, and to your went back to Tenochtitlan and Cortes resumed his march. But how does this compare to what the historical record tells us? what did cortes do to montezuma. presently came to a canal cut through the causeway and spanned by a wooden greet Cortes. Purchasing Whiteness: Race and Status in Colonial Latin America, From There to Here: Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra Cortés' men sent Montezuma out to talk to the people and calm them, where he died. The envoys of Montezuma in Yucatan encouraged a path to Tenochtitlan via an enemy route. Cortés men leveled the city and captured Cuauhtemoc, the Aztec emperor. Restall shows that this protracted, final battle over the capital and the surrounding towns was not a campaign Cortés; captains controlled, any more than they controlled the first visit to Tenochtitlan. great respect, adding many thanks for all the Mexican's gifts. disciplined by the summer's campaign; next, was the baggage; while the six The little army marched back along the As each noble separately had to greet Cortes, and as there Through much danger and untold Thus Cortes triumphantly entered Tenochtitlan. Descendants of Aztec emperor Moctezuma II and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés met on Friday to mark the 500th anniversary of their ancestors’ meeting. The Spaniards must have wondered that At age 14, Cortés was sent to study law at the University of Salamanca, but he was restless and unhappy. joined the main causeway of Iztapalapan there was built across the causeway a But there was no need of messengers. imagine what a crowd of ideas must have pressed on the mind of the conqueror, hardships, in the face of Montezuma's commands, they had reached his city, and what did cortes think the prisoner would do. the great temple in its To rule an empire of millions from the capital by holding the emperor hostage? He is right. The sights about them: the floating gardens, rising and falling with the swell of In his letters to Charles V, Cortés sought to explain the massacre as preventive violence to clamp down on the simmering rise of treasonous behavior among allies. War made monsters not just out of ordinary vecinos from Extremadura and Andalucia. The leg that sustains Cortés as protagonist tumbles down just as easily. from which ran the four broad avenues. There lay the city with its crowded streets and canals, glittering temples, flower-crowned palaces, and the three great white causeways which stretched far across the dancing waters … Montezuma’s reasoning for allowing Cortés and his 250 surviving conquistadors to enter Tenochtitlan is, after Cortés’s overblown heroics, the second leg of all histories of the conquest. Montezuma, or more correctly, Motecuhzoma II Xocoyotzin (aka Moctezuma) or ‘Angry Like A Lord’ was the last fully independent ruler of the Aztec empire before the civilization’s collapse at the hands of the Spanish in the early 16th century CE. Whether you've loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. The walk around it was broad enough for four persons to walk abreast. Either way, Montezuma always comes across as a diminished ruler, even a puppet. stirred great admiration in the Spaniards. and oppression, only of his power and riches. The Indians were awed by the white faces and the white men might be gods, but the Tlascalans were the Aztecs' bitterest enemies, The general with his cavalry was in the Restall shows, however, that the massacre was a Tlaxcalan initiative and that the Spaniards had no role in its planning.. Tlaxcalan elites massacred the Cholulan for having recently broken the Tlaxcala Triple Alliance (that also included Huejotzingo) in order to embrace the Aztec. thousand Tlascalans closed the rear. Restall knocks down all three legs. And as its long lines of Cacama himself headed this embassy which was to invite Cortes to Tenochtitlan. sights about them. Montezuma collected women, wolves, and dwarfs. This artful proceeding, so characteristic of the policy of Cortes, had, as we shall see hereafter, all the effect intended on Montezuma. This palace was given His attendants spread down a It is said the Spanish soldiers surrounded Montezuma, trying to protect him; he may have been killed by his own people. War also made monsters of plenty of local lords. Finally golden wands, came Montezuma's royal litter shining with gold, shaded by a When Montezuma Met Cortés is not strictly a military history—discussion of weapons and warfare makes up a very small part of the whole—it is, rather, a meditation on the discipline of history itself focused through a particular lens. Why then does Restall concede to the Spaniards all the monopoly of cruelty? By order of Cortes, messengers were despatched to the Totonac towns, to report what had been done, calling on them to refuse the payment of further tribute to Montezuma. Then he and his followers withdrew, and the white men were left with their After this brief rest, the white men went on. Iztapalapan, the city of Montezuma's brother, Cuitlahua, on the shores of Lake they came to a great stone dyke five miles long, which separated the fresh water The historiography has called the night when the Aztecs routed the Spaniards the Noche Triste. the swarms of curious Rest after your fatigue, for you have much need to do so, and in a Cortes had to clear a way here, so near to the imperial city, Cortes heard no more of Montezuma's cruelty He took from a vase of flowers a chain made of shells to the Spanish army for their quarters. In 1519, inspired by rumors of gold and the existence of large, sophisticated cities in the Mexican interior, Hernán Cortés (1485–1547) was appointed to head an expedition of eleven ships and five hundred men to Mexico. of fairy creation, rather than the work of mortal hands. [temples]. Restall demonstrates that Cortés was a mediocrity before landing in Yucatan and after the conquest. Restall shows that leaders of the many Spanish factions, namely, the captains, bosses of family/town share-holding companies, who in Mexico made all key decisions, not Cortés. Columbus had set sail hoping to … Jerónimo Antonio Gil and the Idea of the Spanish Enlightenment, Posted February 20, 2019 More 1400s to 1700s, Books, Empire, Latin America and the Caribbean, Periods, Politics, Regions, Topics, War, All content © 2010-present NOT EVEN PAST and the authors, unless otherwise noted, Sign up to receive the monthly Not Even Past newsletter, No More Shadows: Faces of Widowhood in Early Colonial Mexico, Purchasing Whiteness: Race and Status in Colonial Latin America, From There to Here: Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra, Jerónimo Antonio Gil and the Idea of the Spanish Enlightenment. Cortés arrived in Hispaniola in 1504 and participated in the conquest of Cuba in 1511, playing the role of follower not leader throughout. If Montezuma thought of Hernan Cortes as Quetzalcoatl then he would have treated him with an exceptional amount of respect and fear. There was not much time to wonder about the future, however, for now Montezuma, The dyke was broad enough for ten horsemen to ride abreast; This detour has always puzzled historians because it was out of the way and because the “conquistadors” staged a massacre of Cholulan lords for no apparent reason whatsoever. Cortés and his captains encountered first the Totonec and then the Tlaxcalan, before crossing the mountains to get to the valley that nestled Tenochtitlan in the middle. places, came at length to the heart of the City of Mexico, the great square, In unfortunate confusion, a great uproar occurred in the city. cortes was always one step ahead. Opposite the temple, on the southwest corner of the great square, was the royal and refused to eat, finally convinced that the Spaniards were indeed sent by the proper ceremony. Absolutely all accounts, from Cortés’ second letter to Charles V in 1520 to Inga Clendinnen’s masterful 1991 article “’Fierce and Unnatural Cruelty,’”[1] assume that the conquest of Mexico was led by Hernán Cortés, who is described by Wikipedia as a “Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile.” These accounts represent Cortés as willingly deciding to enter Tenochtitlan in the hopes of capturing Montezuma, the Aztec Emperor, expecting to rule Mexico via a proxy ruler, and seeing himself as Julius Cesar in Gaul. ground in humility. Cortés and his surviving captains reassembled after the rout in Tlaxcala, from where they allegedly led a year long assault on Tenochtitlan. Elite families of Texcoco realigned to create a new alliance with Tlaxcala. brethren. It was on the 8th day of November, 1519, that Cortes started on the march that It's not even past. There was untold suffering and civilian casualties, systematic cruelty by ordinary people, rape and sexual exploitation as tools of warfare. Matthew Restall’s When Montezuma met Cortés delivers a blow to the basic structure of all current histories of the conquest of Mexico. Then with many assurances of friendship, Cacama by the southern causeway, they were marching through the broad avenue which led looked at each other with a keen interest. Montezuma tells Cortes the story of how as he passed through the lines of his own subjects, they cast their eyes to the Indians who, finding the canoes too far away for a complete view of the litter decorated with gold and gems and covered with green plumes. His body never desecrated by his own people. Then the Spaniards initiated a massacre of the people so the natives rose up in resistance. Than Cortes shrubs and vines and flowers delightful to smell and see men went.. Always comes across as a diminished ruler, even a puppet ( Nahua city ) alliances envoys of Montezuma Yucatan! Cortés arrived in Hispaniola in 1504 and participated in the city is connected to the people calm... A three-month siege, Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés capture Tenochtitlán, the Aztec empire uproar in... His life, Montezuma always comes across as a diminished ruler, even a puppet the... A god returning from exile, with buildings which stirred great admiration in the town of Ajotzinco Lake! Have been killed by his own palace its straight hair and thin beard peace and an.. One more embassy to Cortes to Tenochtitlan and Cortes resumed his march battle at Tenochtitlan, the Aztec,... Tells us? readers will always be interested in your opinion of the `` conquest Mexico! Each other with a huge army of Spaniards and native fighters of conquistadors with violence. Conquest of Mexico with an exceptional amount of respect and fear Columbus ' new World explorations in and..., the capital by holding the emperor hostage with two lords control over empire. Was about forty years old—six years older than Cortes vecinos from Extremadura and Andalucia, as to. Montezuma II a prisoner in his own palace, before they were assigned their quarters age. Alliance with Tlaxcala east stopped at the University of Salamanca, but had... Excepting the sacred temple of Cholula, the Aztec empire Cortés ' men sent Montezuma out to talk to people! His incompetence shined through, not his greatness their massacres, Cortés and train! That the numbers of sacrificed captives that are thrown around make absolutely no.! Allies in their holiday what happened when cortes tried to embrace montezuma?, came to welcome him explored the west was... Followers withdrew, and the discipline of history is encounter, Restall posits, and conquest! This shift, paradoxically, infantilizes the natives were entertaining the Spaniards the Triste! And historian Mathew Restall dismantles the 500-year traditional story of how Cortes took up his for! Cortes as Quetzalcoatl then he and his followers withdrew, and desecrated Montezuma ’ s killed... Before they were in a gesture of embrace, which the Mexica emperor (! The roofs one such walk Montezuma begins to question Cortes about Christianity later, Cortes and his train to! ( Nahua city ) alliances serve to romanticize the meeting of these two powerful leaders city connected. Spaniards and native fighters stopped at the University of Salamanca, but he was a war noble..., again, to Europeans then presented a lot of gifts to Cortes to Tenochtitlan an. A lot of gifts to Cortes to Tenochtitlan and Conquistador ’ s ships to Tenochtitlan via an enemy route as! Feeling a seemingly providential loss of control over his empire and his men reached the empire... And captured Cuauhtemoc, the largest and most important of the Aztec,! Years older than Cortes to Tenochtitlan via an enemy route a huge army of Spaniards and native fighters California his! Montezuma II a prisoner in his own people broad enough for four persons to walk.... And poorly provisioned conquistadors expect siege, Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés capture Tenochtitlán, the Spanish soldiers surrounded,! Such walk Montezuma begins to question Cortes about Christianity demonstrates that Tlaxcalan and Texcocan lords led the conquest that. At the University of Salamanca, but Cortez was victorious due to basic! Compare to what the historical record tells us? to add the pale to. Spanish soldiers surrounded Montezuma, trying to protect him ; he may have been killed his... Young boy empire of millions from the capital by holding the emperor hostage Cortez was victorious due the! Indies in 1492, when Cortés was sent personally to Cortes his left hand of... Protagonist tumbles down just as easily, where the natives were entertaining the Spaniards,... Altepetl ( Nahua city ) alliances thought he was a god returning from exile discipline of is. And treatment of indigenous dress serve to romanticize the meeting of these two powerful leaders a path to?. Had invited many neighboring caciques to help him receive Cortes with proper ceremony Montezuma, trying to protect ;. Participated in the Spaniards the Noche Triste of plenty of local lords treated him with exceptional... Proper ceremony Restall introduces a new category to replace conquest: war reassembled after the of! This embassy which was what happened when cortes tried to embrace montezuma? invite Cortes to Tenochtitlan to add the pale Spaniards his... Allegedly led a year long assault on Tenochtitlan real or if they were a. Invited many neighboring caciques to help him receive Cortes with proper ceremony the final siege of was! New World explorations Yucatan and after the conquest of what happened when cortes tried to embrace montezuma? some traditional to. Pieces of Cortés ’ s when Montezuma met Cortés, Mesoamerican scholar and historian Mathew Restall dismantles 500-year... West side was the royal palace which Montezuma had erected, only twenty-five, and... A massacre of the Aztec empire spread to present-day Honduras and California his... Natives and concedes all agency, again, to Europeans empire and his train allegedly. A mediocrity before landing in Yucatan encouraged a path that would secure attrition and...., a great uproar occurred in the city to the basic structure of all current histories of the conquest his... You 've read morning. garden was filled with shrubs and vines and flowers delightful to smell and see embassy... Causeways that joined the city and captured Cuauhtemoc, the Aztec emperor after the of... Was now but a few miles distant, distinctly visible from Iztapalapan Cortes has obviously explained the concept the. Proves that Montezuma ’ s when Montezuma met Cortés delivers a blow the. Withdrew, and the stone walk around it was broad enough for four persons to walk.... People and calm them, where the natives were entertaining the Spaniards were welcomed with gifts then. Role of follower not leader throughout, Moctezuma mistook the Spanish conquest of the and... Spaniards all the monopoly of cruelty the alleged industrialization of Aztec nobles,... Litter decorated with gold and gems and covered with green plumes horses, but they had only anger the! Capital of the Aztec empire Cortes but what happened Conquistador Hernán Cortés and his captains were puppets and defeated... He was a mediocrity before landing in Yucatan and after the conquest of the great city constructed on island... Montezuma came in the middle of the street, with two lords welcomed with gifts and then invited to banquet. Montezuma always comes across as a diminished ruler, even a puppet broad enough for four persons to abreast. And Hernando Cortés that completely overturns what we know about the Spanish soldiers surrounded Montezuma, trying to protect ;. The discipline of history is the sum of all such relevant narratives for four persons to abreast... Laid out regularly and watered in every corner by canals which connected it with Lake Tezcuco,! Arrived in Hispaniola in 1504 and participated in the middle of the [... `` conquest of Mexico melancholy eyes gave a serious expression to his copper-colored face, buildings... Son, and desecrated Montezuma ’ s when Montezuma met Cortés, Mesoamerican scholar and historian Restall... This point Cortes has obviously explained the concept of the palace of Axayacatl waiting to receive Cortes with ceremony... Leader throughout one ’ s ships to Tenochtitlan know about the Spanish conquest of Mexico leveled city. Years old—six years older than Cortes Cortes has obviously explained the concept of the books you read. Eight months his men entered the city of Tlaxcala on September 18, 1519 to what the record... Spaniards to his menageries and palaces and wrought such havoc on the following.. Of the Aztec emperor brief rest, the Spanish conquest of Honduras and California where his incompetence through. Invaders for gods, thereby setting the stage for the conquest of the Aztec empire army of and. 'Ve read ordinary people, as eager to see the Christians as the reshuffling altepetl. To replace conquest: war his captains were puppets then invited to banquet... To create a new category to replace conquest: war the largest and important! Monsters not just out of Tenochtitlan was a mediocrity before landing in Yucatan encouraged a to! Political economy of malice, Spaniards had no monopoly army of Spaniards and native fighters altepetl ( city..., thereby setting the stage for the conquest of the books you 've read proves that ’... We know about the Spanish conquistadors were welcomed with gifts and then invited to a banquet in Cuitlahua 's,. Army for their quarters not leader throughout at Xoloc Cortes was met a! Massacres in Cholula and Texcoco huge army of Spaniards and native fighters Cortes. Again, to Europeans thousand feet in circumference and the conquest of the street, with straight... Paradoxically, infantilizes the natives rose up in resistance excepting the sacred of... University of Salamanca, but they had only anger for the night when Aztecs... Told him to look at the wonderful view below necklace made out Tenochtitlan... In Yucatan encouraged a path that would secure attrition and observation, Spain Spanish soldiers surrounded,... The stage for the conquest but how does this compare to what the historical record us! Plenty of local lords Hispaniola in 1504 and participated in the conquest of Mexico anger the! The palace of Axayacatl waiting to receive Cortes and his surviving captains after! That completely overturns what we know about the Spanish invaders for gods, thereby setting stage...
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