4 INTRODUCTION
Figure A.1 The island city of Tenochtitlan at the time of Spanish contact. From a painting by
Miguel Covarrubias in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City.of retainers, who were not permitted to wear sandals in his presence nor to see his
face. The Aztec ruler changed attire four times a day, never wearing the same cloth-
ing more than once. Wherever he went he was carried on jewel-studded litters by
men of the highest noble rank. Hundreds of young men and women served his meals,
which included up to three hundred different dishes. Motecuhzoma conducted im-
perial business in the royal palace, amusing himself during breaks by strolling through
the surrounding gardens and parks stocked with every variety of plant and animal
known to the native world.
Motecuhzoma’s wealth in gold and other metal pieces; precious stone jewelry;
exquisite feather, stone, wood, and bone crafted items; beautiful cloths; and innu-
merable other objects so impressed Cortés that he was “doubtful whether any of all
the known princes of the world possesses such treasures in such quantity.” Cortés es-
timated the city’s main market to be twice as large as the one in Salamanca. The
quality of Aztec maize, in both grain size and taste, was said to be superior to that of
“all the other islands or the mainland.” The multicolored cotton cloth was as good
as any in Spain, and on a par with the silks of Granada. Cortés also marveled at the
number of commercial goods being exchanged in Tenochtitlan, brought there by
thousands of canoes bound for the city from every direction along the network of
canals. All goods that entered the city were taxed. In the marketplaces themselves,
every conceivable item and service were available, from barbering to prostitution,
and large numbers of skilled and unskilled laborers gathered there “waiting to be
hired by the day.”