age of conquest

7/28/2019 Age of Conquest

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COLONIALLATIN AMERICA

FOURTH EDITION

Mark A. BurkholderLyman L. Johnson


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TWO

THE AGE OF CONQUEST

The Conqlll'st oj MexicoTh e conqllest of 1\1cxico gave sllbstance to the Spaniards' dreams of findin g great wf'alth in th e New Wodd an d initiated a frenzy of later expeditiolls anxious to e11lulate this remarkable success. For the daring an d imaginative EeIll


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Thc conqucror of Mcxico Fcrnando Carles

MoctezulIl


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46 Co/rmin/ tn / i l l Am(,-icabuildings an d many morc people than Granada bacl when it was taken, an dvery much better supplied with th e produce of th e land, namely, bread, lowlan d game an d Ii'esh-water fish an d \'egetablcs an d other things they eat whichare vel)' good. There is in this city a market where each an d every day upwardof thirty thousand people come to buy an d sell, without counting the othertrade which goes on elsewhere in th e c i t y . ~

noth the indigenous tribute system an d the urban-based political ordersuited perfectly the needs and resources of the conquistadors. A smallnumher of Spaniards could control an enormous area an d draw off hugeamounts of wealth by usurping the traditional prerogatives of the nativeUdJaT1 elite an d rulers. Because Spanish colonial development would takeon this urban character, it was fitting that the military campaigns for COll-trol ofTenochtitlall, the region's preeminent urban center, dominated theremainder of the conquest.

Moctezuma's agents arrived soon after Tlaxcala's submission an d attempted to convince Cortes that the Tlaxcalans would betray him. Nowappreciating how serious the Spanish threat was, they presented :'vloctezuma'soffer to become a tribntal], of Charles I in return for Cortes's abandollinghis march. Cortes cleverly played off these traditional rivals. He replied politely to ;\Ioctezuma's offer but informed the amhassadors that he wouldgreet their lord in Tenochtitlan. As th e Spaniards marched toward the Mexic a capital, they were reinforced by thousands of Tlaxcalan warriors.

En route to Tenochtitlan, the Spaniards entered Cholllla, an Aztec tributary. '\Then informed of a rumored surprise attack, the Spaniards an dtheir native allies responded by massacring some six thousand residents.Convinced by this action that the invaders an d their allies were militarilyinvincible, Moctezurna henceforth made only halfheaned efforts to disuade thelll from reaching the capital.

The Aztec CapitalCortes led his force across the volcanic moulltain chain that forms thesoutheastern boundaI], of the Valley of Mexico an d stood looking downon the splendid complex of cities, lakes, an d canals that served as the metropolis of Mesoamerican civilization. Bernal Diaz wrote years later:

An d when we sawall those cities anel villages built in the IVa tel', and other greattowns Oi l elry land, and that straight an d level causeway leading to Mexico, wewere astounded. These grea't towns an d cues [temples], an d buildings risingfro1ll the water, all made of stone, scttled like an enchanted vision from thetale o [ Amadis. Indeed some of our soldiers asked whether it was all no t adream .... It was all so wonderful that I do not know how to describe this firstglimpse or things nevel- heard of, scen or dreamed of before. 4

For the first time Cortes an d his followers fully appreciated their momentous undertaking.

17.e Age "l Conquest 4Members of th e royal court an d finally l\Ioctezuma himself me t the

Spaniards as they cmssed the broad causeway into the capital. After an exc h a n . g ~ of.ritual gifts in which the ruler stirred the invader's cupidity bypmvldlllg Items of gold, the gifts he knew the Spaniards valuecl most, hepel-sollally led Cones and his me n to quarters in the palace of his father,Axayacatl.

The. splendors of Moctezuma's COtIrt with its elaborate rituals an d opulence unpressed the Spaniards. Yet their precarious position ill the heartof the Aztec capital was frightening. In a characteristically audaciou s move,Cortes sought to strengthen his position by forcing Moctezuma uuuer thethreat of death to move to rooms in Axayacatl's palace.

Th e seizure of their ruler provoked a deep crisis among the highest levels of Aztec society . Moctezum


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48 Coloni"l Latill AIIl1'l1mDuring a major religious celebration, Alvarado ord!,Ted his troops to at-

tack the unarmed crowd gathered in Tenochtitlan's central square. Th eassault cost mallv Aztec nobles their lives, enraged the city's populace, an dprovoked a 1 1 1 a s ~ i v e popular uprising. Alvarado later claimed that the na-tives had planned to use the celebration as cover for an attack on the weak-ened galTison, bu t his attack, like the massacre that Cortes ha d ordered atCholllla, rf'lIlains onf' of the 1110st controversial e\'('nts of the conquest.

The Aztec made lI O effort to hinder the Spaniards' reentry into the cap-ital, thlls trapping them where their horses and weapons were less effec-tive. Cortes an d his reinforced columll soon felt the full brunt of Aztecrage. Although the Spaniards' harquebuses and small cannon claimedmany victims, the Aztec nearly succeeded iII forcing the palace walls defended by the Spanish. Finally the Spaniards led Moctezulila onto the walls,hoping his people would en d the attack at the sight of their O J ~ c e - l l 1 i g h t yruler. However, the storm of stones, spears, and arrows contInued unabated. According to the lTlost widely accepted account, a stone struckMoctezUllla on th e head an d led to his death three days later.

Convinced that his defeat was imminent, Cortes decided to flee undercover of darkness. His men made careful preparations tn avoid detection,covering the horses' hooves with cloth an d constructing portable bridgesto span gaps cu t in th e causeway. Finally, they divided th e loot they ha dcollected from Moctezuma an d others since l-eaching Mexico. MallY of themost recent arrivals loaded themselves down with gold an d silver, sacrific-ing physical mobility in flight for th e promise of social mobility later. ForhUllch'eds their greed proved a deadly mistake.

Despite the Spaniards' efforts to escape undetected, the Aztec attackedthem frolll all sides before they had cleared th e first causeway gap. All pretense of discipline an d military order collapsed under the onslaught. Corteslost more than [ollr hundred Spaniards, fOLlr thollsand native allies, an dlllallY horses before the fleeing Spanish force reached t.he mainland. June30 ... J ~ l l y ], 1020, truly had been La Noche Triste (the sorrowful night) forthe Spaniards. Confident of total victol)" Aztec warriors boasted to the harcl-pressed Sp


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50 Colonial Latin Ampricad " s to th e south'I ouraged and helped finance new expe Iuon,ergles, le en c

an d west. " ' 1524 ended the line of Mexica rulers,Th e executHlll of Cuauhte,moc 111 '1" atural rulers" of Mex-S 'd ontll1ued to recogJ1lze t Ie nAlthough th e pamar sC I I,d ther allies maintained some, ' I h t ' an d the T axca ans anICO In tI e s o r t ellll t arrivals from Spain an d from1 'stadors and more recenautonomy, t le conqul. 'I b beellne the indisputable lordsId I , of th e Can) ean soon L ' "th e 0 er co OJues 'd d first settlers took IndIan n11S-I d M ' J f these conqUlsta or s an .of th e a n , an} < " D - a M'll'ina Cortes's mistress,d t narried IndIan wornen, on L L,tresses, an a ew I 1 ber of earl)' colonial society an d mar-c I became a respectec meln Ilo r examp e, , h 'ld ' that resulted from th e onger-ried one of his followers, Th e mestIZO c I I en d' I' 'OIl of their fathers, 'fi d .. tl th e culture an ! e Ig!lived unions often ldenU Ie 1 k 'f S " h rule during the Indian re-, ortant bulwar 0 pamsan d became an lInp, B I 1550s Spanish authority was firmlybellions of the follow1l1g decades, Yt ;e , ' f New Spain, as th e con-established in th e densely populate regIOnS 0 .qllered te!Titory was known,

The Conquest of Pern, ' 1 I initial era of Spanish expansionTh e fall of th e Inca EmpIre dunaxec t le ,. . ' FI Do-, , x )editiol 1s continued to pursue lunlOlec "in the Americas, Late! e" I " " f t ' " settled vast new regions,IS ' . lane! t hn r mestIzo 0 Splll1grados, aile palllal

age of conquest

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