Download 1 - RSD 17

1. An Aztec Account of the Spanish1
Speech of Montezuma to Cortés
When Montezuma had given necklaces to everyone, Cortés asked: “Are you king Montezuma?"
And the king said: "Yes, I am Montezuma." Then he stood up to welcome Cortés; he came
forward, bowed his head low and addressed him in these words: "Our lord, the journey has tired
you, but now you have arrived on the earth. You have come to your city, Mexico. You have come
here to sit on your throne. The kings who have gone before, who represent you here on earth,
guarded it for a long time. They also protected your people their swords and shields. I am glad it is
not a dream. I have seen you at last! I have met you face to face! I was waiting and waiting for ten
days after I heard that you had returned from heaven. I watched the Region of the Mystery [the
area beyond my control]. And now you have come out of the clouds to sit on your throne again.
The wise men predicted it long ago it has finally taken place. You have come back to us; you have
come down from the sky. Rest now, take your royal house, and welcome back!"
When Montezuma had finished, the translator translated these words into Spanish so that the
Cortés could understand it. Cortés replied in his strange and savage tongue, speaking first to the
translator "Tell Montezuma that we are his friends. There is nothing to fear. We have wanted to
see him for a long time, and now we have seen his face and heard his words. Tell him that we love
him well and that our hearts are happy." Then he said to Montezuma: "We have come to your
house in Mexico as friends. There is nothing to fear." The translator translated this speech and the
Spaniards shook Montezuma's hands and patted his back to show their affection for him....
Massacre in the Main Temple:
During this time, the people asked Montezuma how they should celebrate their god's party. He
said: "Dress Cortés in all of our fine clothes and in all of our sacred ornaments."
At the same time, Cortés commanded that Montezuma and his powerful friends be made prisoners.
The Spaniards hanged an Aztec chief and also murdered the king of one of the Aztec states by
wounding him with arrows and then burning him alive. As a result, our warriors were ready for
anything the day of the party. The guards stood at both sides of the gate. But messengers came to
tell them to dress one of the sacred statues for the party. So, they left their posts and went to dress
him in his sacred ornaments and clothing.
When this had been done, the city folk began to sing songs for Cortés. That is how they celebrated
the first day of the party. On the second day they began to sing again, but without warning they
were all put to death by Spaniards. The dancers and singers were completely unarmed. They had
only brought their special clothing and jewelry. Those who played the drums, the old men, had
brought their gourds of snuff. The Spaniards attacked these musicians first, slashing at their hands
and faces until they had killed all of them. The singers - and even the spectators - were also killed.
This killing went on for three hours. Then the Spaniards burst into the rooms of the temple to kill
the rest: the people who were carrying water and preparing the meal. The king Montezuma
exclaimed: "Our lords, that is enough! These people are not armed!”
In this way Cortés stabbed our people in the back. After 20 days, he left to return to the coast.
Soon, though, he came back and we allowed him into the city in peace [only as a trap]. On the next
day we attacked him with all our might, and that was the beginning of the war.
Questions/points for discussion: Draw four pictures that illustrate the main events in this source.
1. Who does Montezuma think Cortés is? How did he and the Aztecs view the Spanish early on?
2. Summarize Montezuma’s first speech to Cortés. What were the main ideas of this speech?
3. Summarize the Spanish attack. What reasons were given to explain the attack on the party?
4. How did the events of the second passage change the Aztec view of the Spanish?
1
From Miguel LeonPortilla, ed., The Brohen Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Boston: Beacon
Press, 1962), pp. 6466, 129131
2. A Spanish Account of the Aztecs2
When I arrived in the capital of Mexico, Tenochtitlan, Montezuma ordered his people to give me a
tour of the city and a glorious party. On my tour, I noticed many public squares were markets
were opened for buying and selling all sorts of goods. There is one square twice as large as the
market in the best of Spanish cities! There were sixty thousand people there and I found all kinds
of merchandise. There was plenty of jewels and gold and silver, lead, brass, copper, tin, precious
stones, bones, shells, snails, and feathers. They also sell stone, bricks, and wood. There is a street
for wild meats, where there are birds such as partridges, quails, wild ducks, fly-catchers, pigeons,
turtledoves, parrots, sparrows, eagles, hawks, and owls. They also sold rabbits, hares, fish, deer,
and little dogs [for example, the chihuahua] for eating. There are all kinds of green vegetables,
such as maize [corn] and sugar cane, and fruits, such as cherries and plums. There were different
kinds of cotton thread of all colors, and also paint colors. There is also an herb street, where may
be obtained all sorts of roots and plant medicine. There are barbers' shops, where they wash and
shave the head; and restaurants, for food and drink. Everything imaginable, and many things I
have never seen, was for sale in that place.
Also, there is a grand temple where they pray to their gods, which are represented by sculptures in
the temple. The statues are huge and tall and show excellent workmanship. Unfortunately, since
these are false gods, I took them down from their pedestals, and threw them down the steps of the
temple. I had to do this to purify the temples. I also had to clean the temples because they were
covered with human blood from all of the sacrifices that the Aztecs held. Once I was done, I put
instead sculptures of Mary and the Saints, which got Montezuma and his priests very upset. They
said that it would cause the Aztec people to rise against me and the Spaniards. They also said that
their gods would be upset that their statues were destroyed and would bring harm to the Aztecs. I
told him that he was wrong to expect any favors from his gods since they were false gods. I told
him that hard work and belief in the true God of the Catholic Church would bring the Aztecs good
fortunes and eternal happiness.
I did everything I could to steer them away from their false gods and to draw them to our Lord
God. Montezuma finally agreed that I probably knew best, since his people had actually come to
their country very recently and had taken up their gods from the people who lived there before (so
they may have made some mistakes in their interpretation of that religion). He said that as long as I
taught the Aztecs our religion they would follow my directions. Therefore, I made Montezuma
and his powerful friends remain under my watch until I had removed the statues of the false gods,
cleaned the temples, and taught the people our religion. The rest of the Aztecs, though, did not
seem to follow the directions of Montezuma, for they did not accept the new religion that I was
giving them. The one thing they did do was make sure not to sacrifice any more humans while I
was in the city…
Questions: Draw four pictures that illustrate the main events in this source.
1. What did Cortés speak mostly about and have the most concern with in the 1st paragraph?
2. What did Cortés speak mostly about and show the most concern about in the 2nd paragraph?
3. With the topics of the first 2 paragraphs in mind, how do you think his motivations would
impact his actions towards the Aztecs, their religion, and their goods?
4. What explanation did Cortés offer for why he took Montezuma into custody?
5. Did he explain how he reacted when the Aztec’s did not follow the Catholic religion?
2
Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1907),
Vol. V: 9th to 16th Centuries, pp. 317-326.