Latin America In Colonial Times Summary read the all readings for summarizing the main ideas of the all readings. write within 125-300 words. 500″5 1, 5;m;

Latin America In Colonial Times Summary read the all readings for summarizing the main ideas of the all readings. write within 125-300 words. 500″5
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u fure< A 14 0 -ry 48 Ce 13 o . , - 0Ez 0 Gro-r< ( 0 °145 al nd c 1 6( WorIJ ' P(yfrf - tiea -NGs1 CONTRASTING VIEWS M I çjc), Native Peoples and Conquistadors Narrate the Conquest of Mexico 17.3 I Nahua Elders of Tlatelolco, Account of the Conquest of Mexico (c. 1540s) As seen in the previous chapter (Document 16.1), a main source of indigenous views of pre- and post-Conquest Mexican life comes from the so-called Florentine Codex, a vast collection of Nahuatl documents and drawings collated and edited by the Franciscan priest Bernardino de SahagOn. Contrary to his wishes, they were not published, and drew serious scholarly attention only in the twentieth century. In the following selection, translated directly from the Nahuatl in the 1960s, elders from Tlatelolco recall the march of Cort6s and his Tlaxcalan allies on Tenochtitlan, and the subsequent capture of their emperor, Moctezuma. The Tlaxcalans guided, accompanied, and led them until they brought them to their palaces and housed them there. They showed them great honors, they gave them what they needed and attended to them, and then they gave them their daughters. Then [the Spaniards] asked them, "Where is Mexico? What kind of place is it? Is it still far?" They answered them, "It's not far now. Perhaps one can get there in three days. It is a very favored place, and the Mexica are very strong, great warriors, conquerors, who go about conquering everywhere' Now before this there had been friction between the Tlaxcalans and the Cholulans. They viewed each other with anger, fury, hatred, and disgust; they could come together on nothing. Because of this they [the Tlaxcalans] persuaded the Spaniards to kill them treacherously. They said to them, "The Cholulans are very evil; they are our enemies. They are as strong as the Mexica, and they are the Mexica's When the Spaniards heard this, they went to Cholula. The Tlaxcalans and Cempoalans went with them, outfitted for war. When they arrived, there was a general summons and cry that all the noblemen, rulers, subordinate leaders, warriors, and commoners should come, and everyone assembled in the temple courtyard. When they all came together, [the Spaniards and their allies] blocked the entrances, all of the places where one entered. Then people were stabbed, struck, and killed. No such thing was on the mind of the Cholulans; they did not meet the Spaniards with weapons of war. It just seemed that they were stealthily and treacherously killed, because the Tlaxcalans persuaded the Spaniards to do it. Matthew Restall, Lisa Sousa, and Kevin Terraciano, eds., Mesoamerican Voices: NativeLanguage Writings from Colonial Mexico, Oaxaca, Yucatan, and Guatemala (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 28-33. CONTRASTING VIEWS 17.3 Account of the Conquest of Mexico 49 And a report of everything that was happening was given and relayed to Moteuczoma. Some of the messengers arrived as others were leaving; they just turned around and ran back. There was no time when they were not listening, when reports were not being given. And all the common people went about in a state of excitement; there were frequent disturbances, as if the earth moved, as if everything were spinning before one's eyes. People were frightened. And after the dying in Cholula, the Spaniards set off on their way to Mexico, coming gathered and bunched, raising dust. Their iron lances and halberds [lances fitted with axe heads] seemed to sparkle, and their iron swords were curved like a stream of water. Their cuirasses [breastplates] and iron helmets seemed to make a clattering sound. Some of them came wearing iron all over, turned into iron beings, gleaming, so that they aroused great fear and were generally seen with great fear and dread. Their dogs came in front, coming ahead of them, keeping to the front, panting, with their spittle hanging down. . . . Thereupon Moteuczoma named and sent the noblemen and a great many other agents of his, with Tzihuacpopocatzin as their leader, to meet Cortes between [the volcanoes] Popocatepetl and Iztactepetl, at Quauhtechcac. They gave the Spaniards golden banners, banners of precious feathers, and golden necklaces. And when they had given the things to them, they seemed to smile, to rejoice and be very happy. Like monkeys they grabbed the gold. It was as though their hearts were put to rest, brightened, renewed. For gold was what they thirsted for; they were gluttonous for it, starved for it, they piggishly wanted it. They came lifting up the golden banners, waving them from side to side, showing them to each other. They seemed to babble; they spoke to each other in a babbling tongue. And when they saw Tzihuacpopocatzin, they said, "Is this one then Moteuzcoma?" They said it to the Tlaxcalans and Cempoalans, their lookouts, who came among them, questioning them secretly. They said, "It is not that one, our lords. This is Tzihuacpopocatzin, who is representing Moteuczoma." The Spaniards said to him,. . . "Get out of here! Why do you lie to us? What do you take us for? You can't lie to us, you can't fool us, turn our heads, flatter us, make faces at us, trick us, blur our vision, distort things for us, put muddy hands on our faces. It is not you. Moteuczoma lives; he will not be able to hide from us, he will not be able to find refuge. Where will he go? Is he a bird? Will he fly? Or will he take an underground route? Will he go somewhere into a mountain that is hollow inside? We will see him, we will not fail to see his face and hear his words from his lips:' Thus they scorned and disregarded him, and so another of their meetings and greetings came to naught. They then went straight back, directly to Mexico. . . . And when the Spaniards had come as far as Xoloco, when they had stopped there, Moteuczoma dressed and prepared himself for a meeting, along with other great rulers and high nobles, his rulers and nobles.... On gourd bases they set out different precious flowers; in the midst of the shield flowers and heart flowers stood popcorn flowers, yellow tobacco flowers, cacao flowers, made into wreaths for the head, wreaths to be girded around. And they carried golden necklaces, necklaces with pendants, wide necklaces. And when Moteuczoma went out to meet them at Huitzillan, he gave various things to the war leader [Cortes], the commander of the warriors; he gave him 50 PART 3 / CHAPTER 17 CONTRASTING VIEWS flowers, he put necklaces on him, he put flower necklaces on him, he adorned him with flowers, he put flower wreaths on his head. Then he laid before him the golden necklaces, all the different things for greeting people. He ended by putting some necklaces on him. Then Cortes said in reply to Moteuczoma, "Is it not you? Is it not you, then? Moteuczoma?" Moteuczoma said, "Yes, it is me." Then he stood up straight, he stood up with their faces meeting. He bowed down deeply to him. He stretched as far as he could, standing stiffly. Addressing him, he said to him, "0 our lord, be doubly welcomed on your arrival in this land; you have come to satisfy your curiosity about your altepetl [city-state] of Mexico, you have come to sit on your seat of authority, which I have kept a while for you, where I have been in charge for you, for your agents the rulers Itzcoatzin, the elder Moteuczoma, Axayacatl, Tizocic, and Ahuitzotl have gone, who for a very short time came to be in charge for you, to govern the altepetl of Mexico. It is after them that your poor commoner [myself] came. Will they come back to the place of their absence? If only one of them could see and behold what has now happened in my time, what I now see after our lords are gone! For I am not just dreaming, not just sleepwalking, not just seeing it in my sleep. I am not just dreaming that I have seen you, have looked upon your face. For a time I have been concerned, looking toward the mysterious place from which you have come, among clouds and mist. It is so, that the rulers on departing said that you would come in order fo acquaint yourself with your altepetl and sit upon your seat of authority. And now it has come true, you have come. Be doubly welcomed, enter the land, go to enjoy your palace; rest your body. May our lords arrive in the land:' And when the speech that Moteuczoma directed to the marquis [Cortes] had concluded, Malintzin reported it to him, translating it for him. And when the marquis had heard what Moteuczoma had said, he spoke to Marina [Malintzin] in return, babbling back to them, replying in his babbling tongue, "Let Moteuczoma be at ease, let him be not afraid, for we greatly esteem him. Now we are truly satisfied to see him in person and hear him, for until now we have greatly desired to see him, to look upon his face. Well, now we have seen him, we have come to his homeland of Mexico. Little by little he will hear what we have to say:' Then the Spaniards took Moteuczoma by the hand. They came along with him, stroking his hair to show their good feeling. And the Spaniards looked at him, each of them giving him a close look. They would start along walking, then mount, then dismount again in order to see him. And as to each of the rulers who went with him, they were: first, Cacamatzin, ruler of Texcoco; second, Tetlepanquetzatzin, ruler of Tlacopan; third, the Tlacochcalcatl Itzquauhtzin, ruler of Tlatelolco; fourth, Topantemoctzin, Moteuczoma's storekeeper in Tlatelolco. These were the ones who went. And the other Tenochca [i.e., Aztec] noblemen were Atlixcatzin, the Tlacateccatl; Tepehuatzin, the Tlacochcalcatl; Quetzalaztatzin, the Ticocyahuacatl; Totomotzin; Ecatenpatiltzin; and Quappiaztzin. When Moteuczoma was taken prisoner, they not only hid themselves and took refuge, they abandoned him in anger. . . . And when they had reached the palace and gone in, immediately they [the Spanish] seized Moteuczoma and kept close watch over him, not letting him out CONTRASTING VIEWS 17.4 A Letter to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V 51 of their sight, and Itzquauhtzin (ruler of Tlatelolco) along with him. But the others were just allowed to come back out. And when this happened, the various guns were fired. It seemed that everything became confused; people went this way and that, scattering and running about. It was as though everyone's tongue were out, everyone were preoccupied, everyone had been eating [hallucinogenic] mushrooms, as though who knows what had been shown to everyone. Fear reigned, as though everyone had swallowed his heart. It was still that way at night; everyone was terrified, taken aback, thunderstruck, stunned. 17.4 I Hernando Cortes, A Letter to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) (1 51 9) Hernando Cortes (1485-1547), like his distant cousin, Francisco Pizarro (who led the conquest of the Incas), was a native of the province of Extremadura in southwestern Spain. After serving in the conquest of Cuba, Cortes led a reconnaissance expedition to Mexico's Gulf Coast in 1519, sponsored by Cuba's governor, Diego de Velazquez. En route, Cortes acquired a young indigenous woman, known as Malintzin or La Malinche, to serve as interpreter. Once it became clear that he and his well-armed party might be able to reach the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, high in the mountainous interior, Cortes persuaded his followers to break ties with Governor Velazquez to share out spoils among themselves should they achieve any conquests. As a breakaway leader trying to redeem himself and seek reward for his maverick efforts, Cortes wrote several formal letters directly to Charles I, king of Spain (also Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire). The following is a selection from the second letter. The people of Tascalteca [the Tlaxcalans] . warned me many times not to trust Moctezuma's vassals [the Cholulans], for they were traitors and everything they did was done with treachery and cunning; and that in this manner they had subjugated the whole land. They warned me of all this as true friends, and inasmuch as they were people who were well acquainted with their behavior. When I saw the discord and animosity between these two peoples I was not a little pleased, for it seemed to further my purpose considerably; consequently I might have the opportunity of subduing them more quickly, for, as the saying goes, "divided they fall?' And I remember that one of the Gospels says, "Omne regnum in seipsum divisum desolabitur" ["Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation:' Matthew 12:25]. So I maneuvered one against the other and thanked each side for their warnings and told each that I held his friendship to be of more worth than the other's. . . . . During the three days I remained in that city [Cholula] they fed us worse each day, and the lords and principal persons of the city came only rarely to see Hernin Cortes, Letters From Mexico, ed. and trans. Anthony R. Pagden (New York: Orion Press, 1971), 69-88. 52 PART 3 / CHAPTER 17 CONTRASTING VIEWS and speak with me. And being somewhat disturbed by this, my interpreter, who is an Indian woman [Malinche, or Malintzin] from Putunchan, which is the great river of which I spoke to Your Majesty in the first letter, was told by another Indian woman and a native of this city that very close by many of Moctezuma's men were gathered, and that the people of the city had sent away their children and all their belongings, and were about to fall on us and kill us all; and that if she wished to escape she should go with her and she would shelter her. All this she told to Ger6nimo de Aguilar, an interpreter whom I acquired in Yucatan, of.whom I have also written to Your Highness; and he informed me. I then seized one of the natives of this city who was passing by and took him aside secretly and questioned him; and he confirmed what the woman and the natives of Tascalteca [the Tlaxcalans] had told me. Because of this and because of the signs I had observed, I decided to forestall an attack, and I sent for some of the chiefs of the city, saying that I wished to speak with them. I put them in a room and meanwhile warned our men to be prepared, when a harquebus [musket-like gun] was fired, to fall on the many Indians who were outside our quarters and on those who were inside. And so it was done, that after I had put the chiefs in the room, I left them bound up and rode away and had the harquebus fired, and we fought so hard that in two hours more than three thousand men were killed. So that Your Majesty should realize how well prepared they were, even before I left my quarters they had occupied all the streets and had placed all their people at the ready, although, as we took them by surprise, they were easy to disperse, especially because I had imprisoned their leaders. I ordered some towers and fortified houses from which they were attacking us to be set on fire. And so I proceeded through the city fighting for five hours or more, leaving our quarters, which were in a strong position, secure. Finally all the people were driven out of the city in many directions, for some five thousand Indians from Tascalteca [Tlaxcalans] and another four hundred from Cempoala [near the Gulf Coast] were assisting me. . . . At daybreak I departed for a town. . . called Amecameca. . In the aforementioned town we were quartered in some very good houses belonging to the lord of the place. And many persons who seemed to be of high rank came to speak with me, saying that Moctezuma, their lord, had sent them to wait for me there and to provide me with all that I might need. The chief of this province and town gave me as many as forty slave girls and three thousand castellanos [about 14 kg of gold], and, in the two days that we were there, he provided us very adequately with all the food we needed. On the following day, traveling with those messengers of Moctezuma who said that they had come to wait for me, I left and put up for the night four leagues from there in a small town which is by a great lake [Lake Texcoco]. On the following day I left this city and after traveling for half a league came to a causeway which runs through the middle of the lake for two leagues until it reaches the great city of Tenochtitlan, which is built in the middle of the lake. The causeway is as wide as two lances, and well built, so that eight horsemen can ride abreast. . . . Thus I continued along this causeway, and half a league before the main body of the city of Tenochtitlan, at the entrance to another causeway which meets this CONTRASTING VIEWS 17.4 A Letter to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V 53 one from the shore, there is a very strong fortification with two towers ringed by a wall of four yards wide with merloned [chimney-like] battlements all around commanding both causeways. There are only two gates, one for entering and one for leaving. Here as many as a thousand men came out to see and speak with me, important persons from that city, all dressed very richly after their own fashion. When they reached me, each one performed a ceremony which they practice among themselves; each placed his hand on the ground and kissed it. And so I stood there for nearly an hour until everyone had performed his ceremony. Close to this city there is a wooden bridge ten paces wide across a breach in the causeway to allow the water to flow, as it rises and falls. The bridge is also for the defense of the city, because whenever they so wish they can remove some very long broad beams of which this bridge is made. There are many such bridges throughout the city as later Your Majesty will see in the account I give of it. After we had crossed this bridge, Moctezuma came to greet us and with him some two hundred lords, all barefoot and dressed in different costume, but also very rich in their way and more so than the others. They came in two columns, pressed very close to the walls of the street, which is very wide and beautiful and so straight that you can see from one end to the other. It is two-thirds of a league long and has on both sides very good and big houses, both dwellings and temples. Moctezuma came down the middle of this street with two chiefs, one on his right hand and the other on his left. One of these was that great chief who had come on a litter to speak with me [earlier], and the other was Moctezuma's brother, chief of the city of Yztapalapa, which I had left that day. And they were all dressed alike except that Moctezuma wore sandals whereas the others went barefoot; and they held his arm on either side. When we met I dismounted and stepped forward to embrace him, but the two lords who were with him stopped me with their hands so that I should not touch him; and they likewise all performed the ceremony of kissing the earth. When this was over Moctezuma requested his brother to remain with me and to take me by the arm while he went a little way ahead with the other; and after he had spoken to me all the others in the two columns came and spoke with me, one after another, and then each returned to his column. When at last I came to speak with Moctezuma himself I took off a necklace of pearls and cut glass that I was wearing and placed it round his neck; after we had walked a little way up the street a servant of his came with two necklaces, wrapped in a cloth, made from red snails' shells, which they hold in great esteem; and from each necklace hung eight shrimps of refined gold almost a span in length. When they had been brought he turned to me and placed them around my neck, and then continued up the street in the manner already described until we reached a very large and beautiful house which had been very well prepared to accommodate us. There he took me by the hand and led me to a great room facing the courtyard through which we entered. And he bade me sit on a very rich throne, which he had had built for him and then left saying that I should wait for ... Purchase answer to see full attachment