Peninsula, one of its first objectives was to
find an interpreter. Incredibly, for a small ran-
som, the inhabitants produced a Maya-speak-
ing Spanish priest, Jerónimo de Aguilar, who
had been shipwrecked on the Mexican main-
land eight years earlier.
Cortés’s ships continued west along the
gulf coast of the present-day states of
Campeche and Tabasco, finally anchoring
March 12, 1519, near the town of Tabasco.
Cortés declared to thousands of armed Maya
waiting on the shore that he wished to trade,
but the Tabascans refused, explaining that
they had been accused of cowardice by
neighboring villages for not killing Juan de
Grijalva the previous year. Cortés ignored
Tabascan warnings not to land and fought
his way into town, claiming the land for
Charles V. After several days of battle, the
Tabascans pleaded for peace and presented
Cortés with gifts, including 20 of their female
slaves. One of these young women would
play a major role in Cortés’s expedition.
Known eventually to the Aztecs and later
Mexicans as “Malinche” (a nickname mean-
ing “the Captain’s Woman,” according to Díaz
del Castillo)—the Spaniards baptized her
with the Christian name Doña Marina—she
spoke both Maya and Nahuatl, the language
of the Aztec. Her facility with languages
enabled her to learn Spanish so quickly that
she became Cortés’s translator and strategic
guide. Malinche was such an invaluable
adviser to the Spanish conquerors that futureCortés the Explorer B 55