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their sons and daughters were demanded of
them for sacrifice, and others for service in the
houses and plantations of their conquerors,”
wrote Bernal Díaz del Castillo. “They said that
[Moctezuma’s] tax-gatherers carried off their
wives and daughters if they were handsome,
and ravished them.” Cortés announced that
he had been sent by his king to stop such
crimes and stunned the caciques with the
audacious act of imprisoning two of
Moctezuma’s tax collectors when they arrived
demanding humans for sacrifice.
After four months’ encampment on the
tropical coast, Cortés left a small force at Vera
Cruz (now Veracruz) and headed west,ascending onto the great plateau of central
Mexico. Wary of attack by the Aztec military,
Cortés cautiously avoided the southerly roads
from Cholula to Tenochtitlán. The expedition
instead climbed high into the desolate, snowy
pass between the summits of Popocatépetl
and Iztaccíhuatl. Both volcanoes rose more
than 17,000 feet above sea level, higher than
any mountain in western Europe. Cortés
ordered a small company to explore the smol-
dering crater of Popocatépetl, but the men
were driven back by an eruption.
Moctezuma continued to send ambassa-
dors to Cortés, warning him to stay away,
while promising “tribute would be paid in
gold and silver” if the foreigners would leave
Mexico. The promise was accompanied by
gifts of golden necklaces, which simply made
the Spanish more determined than ever to
march onward.ARRIVAL AT TENOCHTITLÁN
As they descended into the Valley of Mexico,
the Spaniards marveled at the sight of
Tenochtitlán in the distance, surrounded by
the saltwater of Lake Texcoco. They reached
the broad, fortified causeways leading into the
city on November 8, 1519. “We were amazed
and said it was like the enchantments told of
in the legend of Amadis [hero of a Spanish
story], on account of the great towers and cues
and buildings rising from the water, and all
built of masonry,” wrote Díaz del Castillo.
“Some of our soldiers even asked whether the
things that we saw were not a dream?”
A thousand Aztec citizens and nobles lined
the route, welcoming the Spaniards. At the
edge of the city, Moctezuma met Cortés and,
according to the account of the Aztecs
recorded by Fray Sahagún, Cortés said, “We
have come to your house in Mexico as friends.
There is nothing to fear.”Moctezuma, shown in an undated woodcut, was
the ruler of the Aztecs at the time Hernán Cortés
explored Mexico, and he initially greeted the explorer
with curiosity about his origins. (Library of Congress,
Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZ62-43534])
(^58) B Discovery of the Americas, 1492–1800
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