the writing of their forebears’ histories, based on the old sources
they still had at their disposal. For years afterwards their families
treasured their work, but by the 18th century many of the native
historians’ descendants were selling their works to European
collectors. Some ended up in Mexico City, while others land-
ed in Spain, France or England. Some of Chimalpahin’s most
important papers were found in the 1980s in the collection
of Britain’s Bible Society, housed in Cambridge University
Library; in 2014 they were repatriated to Mexico, to the
Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. His record of his
own time has been translated into English, and is available to
read as Annals of His Time: Don Domingo de San Antón Muñón
Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin, edited by James Lockhart,
Susan Schroeder and Doris Namala (Stanford, 2006).Revisiting indigenous annals
At first, scholars paid little attention to what they called the
‘indigenous annals’ because, by western standards, they were dif-
ficult to understand. Parts of some were translated into European
languages, but still they seemed strange, and little use was made
of them except to date certain events or to name certain kings.
Only in the past generation have we been able to ma ke much
sense of them, as scholars have become able to read not just one
but many sets of such annals, and comprehension of classical-era
Nahuatl has improved – partly because living speakers were
finally asked for help. We can now see the patterns, and rec-
ognise Nahuatl modes of telling history. At
the time the stories were first told, they made
sense to the listeners and little or no explanation
was needed, but in modern times we have had to
work hard to figure out what they meant. Occa-
sionally, Chimalpahin helps us out by including
explanations here and there, but he doesn’t al-
ways do so. And, though he was the most prolific
writer, he was not the only one.The Aztecs and their allies who emerge from these documents
bear little resemblance to the people described in Spanish texts
of the colonial era upon which historians have, until now, mostly
relied. The Spaniards were intent on proving that the Mesoa-
mericans deserved to be defeated; moreover, since they didn’t
speak the local language, the Spanish often had no way of under-
sta nding what wa s rea lly going on. We have been taught that the
Aztecs were a nasty, brutish people intent on destroying others,
who suddenly became convinced that Cortés was a god and thus
were content to relinquish power.
In fact, the Aztecs were relative newcomers to the region.
On first arrival in central Mexico, they had had no land and few
resources. Eventually, they began to win some wars, but hunger
still dogged them until they launched an imperialistic campaign
that left them almost in sole charge of much of Mexico. Like
other people in powerful positions, they sometimes behaved
badly, by sacrificing many enemies to make a political point.
They saw themselves as people who had always demonstrated
courage and made the best of their situation, and they weren’t
going to turn back, nor allow themselves to be defeated again;
they had Shield Flower’s prophecy to live up to.
Texts such as those by Chimalpahin demonstrate that
the Aztecs loved a good joke and appreciated a compelling
story. After the Spaniards came, they certainly
never believed that Hernán Cortés was a god;
rather, they knew that they had lost a very
human war. In the history they knew, that
was a rather old human story. Chimalpahin,
a devout Christian and a good man,
felt respect and admiration for his forebears
and, the more he learned about them, the
sentiment only grew.We have been taught that
the Aztecs were a nasty,
brutish people – but the
texts demonstrate that
they loved a good joke
and a compelling story
Camilla Townsend is distin-
guished professor of history at
Rutgers University, New Jersey,
and author of Fifth Sun: A New
History of the Aztecs (Oxford
University Press, 2019)Devouring deity
An illustration from the
Codex Féjérvary Mayer
of a voracious god. The
Aztecs made human
sacrifices, but were
not the bloodthirsty
brutes portrayed
by the SpanishBR
ID
GE
MA
N