Hd. Final Glory and Destruction Nothing but dowers and songs of sorrow te kt in Mexico and Tlatelolco, where once we saw wartioes and wise men ‘We wander here and there in our delat povery ‘We are morel men, We have seen bloodshed and pain where once we saw beauty and Yaloe ‘We are crushed to the grounds, wwe lie ia is. “There i nothing bur grief and sufering in Mexico and Telok, ‘where once we saw beauty and valor Have you grown weary of your servant? ‘Ate you angzy with your servans, O Giver of Lit? ‘Aatec poem! Aztec civilization reached the height ofits development in the years following AD 1500, only to be cut short by a band, Spanish conquerors between 1519 and 1521. The coming the Europeans in the aftermath of Christopher Columbus voyages spelled doom for many hundreds of native euleres Nocth and South America. Some peoples, including the were conquered by force, thers submitted peacefully, and: Others resisted European advances for centuries. Some ‘wiped out by epidemic disease before they were able ro ‘esistance or submission. The Aztecs were the fist state Soviety encountered by the European invaders, and the mes ‘of their conquest ~ military defeat combined wit by epidemics - were to he repeated many times across the ‘World. ‘The inal Century: 1428-1519 27s ‘The Final Century: 1428-1519 Most of tis hook describes Aztec iilization daring the 91 ‘ears between the formation of the Triple Allane empie 428 and she arial ofthe Spaniards im 1519 In many ways thi interval he Late Arter B period epreveted the pinnacle of cultural development im ansent Mesoamerica. The expan Sion ofthe empice rought peace and iw to central Menica. ‘The explosive growth of markers and craft prodocton joined diverse regions and sectors together in a burgeoning economy ‘hat browghepeospesty and oppomnty ro many people Cit ite flourished and rural pence opened up new Land to cul Siration to feeds growing population. Polis! aod economic succes were aided bya vigorous state eligon, which ncn Allowed leaning and the ars to thrive Imporeane inlet Advances wore made in the diverse feldsof Rstory poetry, Thiosophy, medicine, astronomy, and engincering. Pating, Culpur, and other vol are were elevated to new asthe Feige under the patronage of the ste and religion. These developments came ata ost, however. ‘ates society was sharply ividd by clas. Economic and cultural rewards were not evenly disbsted. Homan sacriice wna sed by the state to rerrorze the commoner, who had 90 force inthe arena of police. Nobles controled mont of the Sralth and had more feedom than did commoner. Prosperity ‘fed all lasses in some way (except perhaps the lve, But limately che economy rete upon the backs ofthe peat” ns in the Bel. As the empire expanded, some of his buen wea shifted fom she Vly of Mexico to more distant prov inet through the oystem of imperil tut, Nevetels, the trbue system was fot protxctive enough to fly compensate for the api growth ofthe Artec population, Population growth scmolaed the growth of markets com- mech and eat prodcion, but exomic prosperity 6 rm, Encouraged people to hae lager families, Demographic growth ‘was a major factor pushing the expansion of cities, city-states, and the empire, which furthered the evolution of religion and inet Me The most immediate aad dct effec of the ‘asec population expnon war the incniication of agree26 Final Glory ond Destraction eanalreee 7 Duriag the Late Anes B patio, howevss,sockry ben ol she ene ce icc show sign of sre. Feeding the theee milion Aztecs was ine ‘Among the women was Malin, «noblewoman, Binal it esa fc, and famines ore wih more eng Nahuatl and Maya, whoa bees sold int vey, THE com- yrbencingied meonerwcipes Sites syew wert pola bined linguistic abilities of Malintzin and Aguilar enabled Cortés: Sharp decines in the standard of living of Aztec peasants under be tn. crietgeray te ore Agere the empire owing most likey to deciming agricul prose tt Malnche) proved o bea wsefl anuran fo the Spaniard tivity, gee ‘tributary exploitation by city-states and the ‘She later became Cortés’s mistress and bore him a son, Martin. smpits, o bl "When the Spanard landed inthe terry ofthe Teronsc ‘Autee civilization during the final century thus ilustrates plies eae eta tee hails n eae te eee two headed est of demographic, cconomi, and polite et vegeta, eared ear escerice Nees ay oe pansion: pone and cultural ae at with gron ‘had been following their progress, and he sent Cortés gifts of tng hardship forthe commoner class and inpending ces precios fetes od ill Ths ing war made putt sock as whole. This was the situation that Hernando G ‘ital ad hes sepgeloetguesere Seas cape at and his army encountered in 1519. tHe penta eeld ad ptepae te roacio othe: git rool hep to caify ther nature: But the Spnsaas id nt : Teapond ike gods. fn the words of Friar Sehapins Naha Conquest by Spain -o Gs Cortés and Motecubzoma They lid before them golden steamers, gusta feather sean ‘sand golden necklaces. Inthe decades after Columbus's fist voyage of 1492, the 5 “An when they have given them the gif they appeared to smile, iards colonized the Caribbean islands and set up’ a base to rejpie exceedingly, and to take great plessure Like monkeys they Cuba. Several expeditions explored parts of the Mexican seized upon the gold. I was af then they were satis, sated, (Central American coasts, where the Spaniards heard rund land gladdened. For in truth thy thiested sghtly for golds they a dk: cad powerial Kingdon ia Mexic,Ia Feboaria Staffed themselves with it, and starved and lasted fori ike pis Hernando Cortés set sail fom Cuba with eleven ships and men to explore the Mexican coast. Funding forthe expedite was split between the Spanish crown, represented by Diego de Velisquez in Cubs, and Cort himself. At the ‘minute, Velisquer had second thoughts about the amt Cortés and withdrew permission forthe trip, but Cortés anyway. Later the governor tied unsuccessfully co recall imprison Cortés, On the island of Cozumel, off che eat cof the Yucatan peninsula, Cortés came upon, Gerdnit ‘Aguilar a Spaniard who had survived shipwreck several earlier Aguilar had leamed to speak Yucatec Maya, Corts imprisoned the mesengers and forced them to witea the fring of «cannon, whch ernied then, He then reaoed them oreurn ro Morecuoma with atngitening account of Sees Toe Mees Ling wes perplecad Ha need a rege ey bee ry to, res el fathom the nara ofthe Sponards, Corte and hs amy did tot hav ite gods, nord thcy behave ikea Mesoamerican Invading army, Motccuhzom chow to ait before taking 417 epee slntrengere His besten conrrbeeed tht Bedispeios vcr Heres Gores it wp camp ond reat ered moths joined the expedition as an inter ‘exploring the area in the vicinity of his landfall. aged pte soup the rounded the pena and atc ieee sin Thon ‘on the Gulf Coast local army came out fhacs soon came to respect the miliary abilices ofthe Spaniards, ae ards, but after a brief battle, the natives whose swords, guns, armor, horses, fighting dogs, and military,278 Final Glory and Destruction tactics held great advantage over Mexican obsidian s and the one-on-one fighting style of Mesoamerican arm Local rulers complained bitterly about the heavy burden, imperial tribute, and Cortés responded by taking some hat Mexica tribute-collectos pr astonished the Totonac nobles, who quickly came over to side of the Spaniards when Cortés offered to free them, ‘Mexia domination By this time, Cortés had heard descriptions of the imperial capital Tenochtitlan and its incredible riches. His set out for central Mexico accompanied by hundreds ofall ‘Towonae troops. The Spaniards did not head directly for Valley of Mexico, however. Cortés had learned that Mot 20ma could field armies of many thousands of soldiers, and ‘small group of Spaniards and Totonacs was no match for forces. Instead, the expedition headed for Tlaxcala, the ful Azzec state that still resisted conquest by the Triple ance. At frst Cortés’ soldiers were challenged by the Tlax “armies, but Cortés soon convinced the rulers 0 join him in march to Tenochtitlan, Moreculzoma was increasingly wort bout the Spaniards intentions, Several times he ent sift (including objects of gold) ro Cons, accompanied by ‘suggestion that there was no need for Cortés co visit the ca city. His troops were welcome to take the gifts and return across the water. The gold, of course, made the jards more anxious than ever to sce the city. Gold was they sought. “The Spaniards and their Toronac allies left ‘Tlaxcalla several thousand additional soldiers. The party first visited ‘ncathy holy city of Cholla. There they were welcomed by robles. Conés, however, fearing an ambush, ordered his mies to massacre thousands of unaemied Cholulan wa ‘Then, the people of Cholula were compelled to declare loyalty to Spain. Cortés and his forces now struck out TTenochitlan. Motecuhzoma continued to send gifts and. sages urging Cortés to head back to Spain, but the and thei alles pressed on. At last, they entered the “Mexico and approached the lake. The Spaniards were the sight of the great cites with their monumental (see the quotation chat begins chapter 1). er. The audacity ofthis acti Conquest by Spain 279 Figure 11.1. Motecubzoma welcomes Corts and gives bio gifs of jewelry (After Dario 1994158; draneng by Ellen Cesast) Cortés proceeded along the causeway toward Tenochtitlan, and Motecuhzoma went to greet him. In the words of Friar Dor ‘When Motecubzoma heard tha the Spanish captain was approach ing, he again ascended his liter and then, carried on the noble ‘man’s shoulders inthe same way he had come he went ou 0 mest him. On sceing Cortés, he deeended. When Cores saw this he climbed down fom hie horse and went to embrace the Aztec 0%" eign, treating im with much reverence. Motecuhzoma di the Sime, paying homage to the other with humility and words of ‘welcome, From one of hs noblemen he tok splendid necklace id with precious stones, and placed it around Cortés: “This dramatic seene is depicted in figuee 11.1. Great crowds hhad gathered to witness the mocting and gawk ar the Span- fards. The soldier Bernal Diaz later recalled: Who could now count the multitude of men, women, and boys in ‘the strets, on the rooftops and in canoes on the waterway, who So, with Tock on our side, we Bolly dan or Mexico on 8 Noveaber inthe ‘Motecuhzoma made the Spaniards welcome and pue them up fn the sumptuous palace compound of his father, the great "Mexsea taro Axayacatl, Cortés repaid this courtesy by taking230 Final Glory and Destruction Conquest by Spain Moreculzoma prisoner on the pretext that a group of lards on the coast had been attacked by native warriors. ‘began to govern Tenochtitlan through the fiction that Mi zoma_was stil in authority. The Spaniards tried to su Sacrificial rituals, with only partial sucess. This tense siti ‘continued for several months. Then, in April of 1520, received news that an expedition had landed on the coast orders from Velasquez to arrest him, He set off at once half of his forces, leaving Pedro de Alvarado in charge of ceapit ‘Cortés managed to defeat the newly arrived Spanish and won them over to his side. Meanwhile, Alvarado having serious difficulties in Tenochtitlan. When he heard. juman sacrifices were to be performed ata ceremony hon Figure 11.2. Aatec warrior attack the Spaniards, who try 10 Tsedopoctls Arend hed she Gaeta fe Tenchi A Darin 1849160 drawing by massacred in the temple courtyard. Outraged by the sla een cae the Mexica armies attacked the Axayacatl palace. At this Cortés returned with his troops and new recruits, who A | aged o fight their way ack into the place. The ruling close to 70,000 native troops. The army split into two pars, ‘of Tenochtitlan had long opposed Mowecuhzoma’s tnd each fought ts way tothe edge ofthe lakes bya different with the Spaniards and vored to depose the king. They toute. The combined Spanish and Tlaxcallan armies soccess his brother, Cuitabuae, 10 replace Motecuhzoma as fully defeated many loeal ciyrstates that had been fortied Hostites continued, and at some point Morccabzoma with Mexica soldiers figure 113). Numerous tatoque declared Killed. Spanish sources tated that he was killed by a their allegiance to Spain. When the armics met up, they laid thrown by one of his own peopl, whereas native siege to the island capital. The fighting was free, with many related that he was murdered by the Spaniards. Casualties on both sides, but the invaders’ wreaked the greatest Gonév and rou nee bed Ar he hing devastation with an unintentional weapon: disease. Friar made plans to fce the city (figure 11.2). On the night Sahagsins native informants described the situation a follows: 530, 1520, they attempred to slip out of Tenochtilan, err ere Se Seer had ae oe tren Teno I panto pend dig teers month aS jewel de tt oe Ihe month of Tepe Ocaber 11-30] and lated or seventy called the noche iite ("night of sorsowe) ae iam ays mening everywhere in the cy and lng 2 vast amber of casualties of the bloody battles that took place. Es ‘our people. Sores erupted on our faces, our breasts, our belles; we Cortés and his army made i across the causeway and 1 Seecbabiahiy slay angio cover the mountains to regroup in Tlaxcalla. Additional ‘The illness was so dreadful that no one could walk or move. The ish soldiers arrived to forty the positions onthe coast. sick were ey be hat try ld on bo the bel he reinforce Cortés’ army. The general kept busy reruiting ‘onpues I they’ did move thei Bodies, they sresmed seth pan. native alles and organizing his troops. ‘A peat many ded from this plague, and many oshers died of Several months Iter Cort set of for Tenochia tne The en ot ge up oth for fa, ed everyone ae agin. Ths tne he was supported by over 700 Span ‘tatoo ek wo car havo ey are o dex niet2s Final Glory and Destruction Pigure 113 Battle between the Mexica and Spaniards (with their Tlaxcala allies) (After Musios Camargo 198142 chawing by Ellon Cesrshi) ‘The siege of Tenochtitlan went on for several months which time many who were not injured became seriously ill, some point before or during the siege, Cuitlahuac died of pox. He was replaced by Cuauhtemoc, a nephew of ‘oma and a fierce warrior, The Spaniards blocked shi food into the city and cut off the fresh water supply by. stroying the aqueduct from Chapultepec, The Mexica ought bravely, but the outcome ofthe siege was inevitable, ‘August 13, 1521, Cuauhtemoc was captured and the fads claimed vietory over the Mexica, The Tlaxcallan however, went on to massacre many’ of the remaining ‘tants of Tenochtitlan. The defeat and destruction of the was remembered in the following elegy: Broken spears He ia dhe roads, wwe have torn our baie in gre. Conquest by Spain 283 The houses are roofless now, and their walls axe red with blood. We have pounded our hands in despair agsnst the adobe wall, for oar inheritance, our city is lst and dead “The shields of oar warriors were is defense, bust they could moe save Perspective ‘The question is sometimes asked, “How did $00 Spaniards ‘manage o defeat the Aztec empire whose armies had tens of thousands of warrion?" As the above account should make lea this question isnot well phrased, The Aztec empire was ‘fated by 800 Spaniards, aided by tens of thousands of native alles and a disease epidemic of proportions never before seen inthe New Word. Much af the Spanish ssceen was owed to the polca astuteness of Herando Cort, who quickly d wined the dsalfecuon towards the Mexia that prevatled in the ‘asten empire. He turned that desire Tor rebellion to his own benef through strategie alliances with the Totonacs and other Meica subjects as well as with their raditional enemics, the ‘THaxcllans, These indigenous toops deserve ered for a ma: jot pare ofthe Spanish victory. ‘Moteculzoma's hesitancy to atack the inital Spanish fores also contributed othe Aztecs defeat. Had the Mexia loan Challenged the Spaniards before they reached the Valley of Mexico, he almost certainly would have prevailed. Motecuh- oma’s actions 30 puzsled and troubled the Nahus nobility that after the conquest, they contrived a story 0 account for them. First, they created an “ancient” prophecy which stated thar the god-king Quectzalcotl would rerun from across the astern sea to rule Mexico inthe year 1 acat, or 1519. Next they invented a series of omens and signs that pointed to the coming of Quetalcoat. Finally they claimed that Morecuhzoma truly belied Cortés to have been the deity himself. In the ‘Context ofthis story, Motceuhzoma’s station made sense; he thatthe arial ofthe Spaniards was the second com ing of Quetalcoatl, not an invasion of strange foreigners” "ihnohistorian Ross Hasig has sugested a more reasonable284 Final Glory and Destruction explanation for Motecuhzoma'sindciion. He argues that st Mechanar ata te Sonate he ofthe Tile Alliance empire was great eno0gh t0 aie {hos potential enemies. Nor dd Cortés andthe Spaniards hae ike a Mesoamerican invading amy. Thee behave tras paling tothe Mexia, but not intaly threatening. I Mesoamerican warfare, invading forces didnot arive Announced, Intentions mere clary broadcast im advance te propose aa | ing the Spat fighting them as they would have met an enemy foree, ‘Aztecs permitted them to enter their capital, as they wok hhave if they were peaceful.”” Hassig also points out that the Spaniards’ arsival during fall harvest season, atime rarely used for war in Mesoameni as another reason for Moteahzoma italy to doubt ‘aggressive aims of Cortés. Moreover, had the emperor to fight there were fewer Aztec troops available fr bate, most of the parttime forces were home working on the ‘estBy the time the Spaniards were expelled from Tenoche fand Motecuhzoma was replaced by more aggressive first Cuitlahuae and then Cuauhtemoc, it was too late for ‘Aztecs. The invading force had been heavily reinforced by Spanish and native soldiers, and the dreaded smallpox: hhad begun to decimate the population. Ultimately, this ‘organism proved far more deadly than either Cortés’ ‘shrewdness or Motecuhyoma’s failure to attack. “The smallpox virus that devastated Tenochtitlan has traced to a single soldier who atrived in Mexico in 1520 CCoreés was in Tlaxcalla preparing for bis final assault ‘cause many communicable diseases, uch as smallpox, tnd typhus, were absent in the New Worl, the Aztecs ‘other native peoples did not have any resistance to them. situation was quite different in {and in. moxe ‘world today), where a long history of exposure 10 tases had rendered them childhood ailments that were fatal, When a disease such as one of these is unleashed ‘The Nabuas under Spanish Rule 25 new population, the resulting “ingin-soil epidemic” is usually catastrophic. The smallpox epidemic of 1520-21 was the frst ‘of many such virgin-sil epidemics to sweep through the New ‘World in the centuries following European contact. According to one estimate, the population of the Valley of Mexico was reduced from 1.6 million in, 1519 to 900,000 in 1521 as a result ofthis epidemic alone." ‘The Nahuas under Spanish Rule “The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican peoples was caried out for both economic and religious objec: tives. The conquerors initially sought gold (they “lusted for it like pigs” (Sahagin 1950-82:bk. 12:31), and later the colo nists and the crown exploited Indian labor in silver mines and in agricultural endeavors. The conquest was also conducted in the name of God, with missionizing and conversion as major goals. Consequently the ewo institutions with the greatest i mediate effect on people were the encomienda, which organ: ized Indian labor for economic gain, and the church. I am switching here to che term Nahuas to describe the Aztecs and theie descendants after che Spanish conquest, following the suggestion of ethnohistorian James Lockhart." Central Mexi ‘can civilization as described in chapters 1 through 10_was realy transformed after 1521, and I hesitate to use the term ‘Aztec for the modified Colonil-period culture. This should rot obscure the great continuity in many aspects of culture, particulary those related to the Nahuatl language. 1 use the term Indian o refer ont peoples ater 1521, both Nabuas ‘After 1521, boatloads of colonists began wo arvive from Spain. Mesoamerica became a Spanish colony known as Nueva Espara, ot New Spain, and its capital, Mexico City, was built ‘over the ruins of Tenochtitlan. New Spanish tovins and cites ‘were founded throughout central Mexico, usually onthe sites ‘of existing Aztec towns. Some Spaniards moved to rural estates to become holders of encomiendas, but most remained in ‘ban areas. As mining and sugarcane cultivation were estab- lished, the colonial economy of New Spain boomed, attracting