Atlas of Hispanic-American History

tress to the married Cortés, bearing him
a son. She was loyal and devoted to him,
serving him not only as an intepreter but
as a guide and advisor.
Before attacking the Aztec Empire,
Cortés founded the coastal settlement of
La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, “The Rich
City of the True Cross” (present-day
Veracruz, Mexico). There he established
a government that he declared independ-
ent of his superior, Velázquez, with whom
he had quarreled bitterly before leaving
Cuba. Instead of pledging loyalty to
Velázquez, Cortés claimed to be subject
only to the Spanish crown. He also made
his authority absolutely clear to his men,
first by crushing a mutiny and, then in a
dramatic gesture, by destroying all of his
expedition’s ships—thus preventing the
timid or rebellious among his crew from
sailing home. With no way back to Cuba,
his men had nowhere to go but forward
under his command.

Cortés and Montezuma

A daring general and a cunning politician,
Cortés used every advantage in his single-
minded drive to conquer the Aztec

Empire. He needed every advantage he

could get, for his position was almost

laughable: an army of 500 against an

empire of tens of millions, with an exten-

sive, battle-hardened warrior class and a

practice of sacrificing and eating defeated

enemies.

But Cortés did have advantages. The

Aztec had never enountered muskets and

cannon and were appropriately terrified

by their fire, noise, and destructive power.

With their steel armor and strange white

skin, the conquistadores looked like gods

or demons rather than men. Riding hors-

es, which looked like giant deer to the

Native Americans, and holding ferocious

dogs on leashes, it seemed as if they com-

manded even wild animals. They had no

fear of Native American gods and

smashed their idols without receiving

divine punishment, which seemed to sug-

gest that they themselves were divine or

at least worshipped a higher god. They

won their early battles easily and were

magnanimous at first to their defeated

enemies, giving them a reputation for

both invincibility and graciousness.

Another Spanish advantage was the

vacillation of the Aztec emperor

Montezuma II (ca. 1466–1520), who

SPAIN IN THE AMERICAS 33

In 1585, Spanish priest Father Diego Durán published an illustrated manuscript on Mexico’s history. In it, he included his depiction

of a confrontation between Spaniards and the Aztec. (Library of Congress)

Montezuma(Library of Congress)