Chronology of American Indian History

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When the Spaniards reach the coast, they make
alliances with several Indian peoples, who have
been subjugated by the powerful Aztec empire (see
entry for ca. 1430 TO 1521). Embittered by their
treatment from the Aztec, they welcome the chance
to help the Spanish conquer them. Of particular
importance is the aid provided by Malintzin, a na-
tive woman whom Cortés takes as a mistress. She
informs him of the political atmosphere of Tenoch-
titlán, the Aztec capital, and identifies the enemies
of the Aztec ruler Montezuma (see entry for 1502).
Supported by his Indian allies, Cortés and his
men march on Tenochtitlán, where they are ini-
tially welcomed by Montezuma. Responding to a
legend propagated by Cortés, Montezuma takes
the Spanish leader to be the Aztec god Quetzalcóatl
(see entry for ca. 900 TO 1200), who had left the
earth but promised to come back one day. Cortés
returns his hospitality by taking Montezuma hos-
tage and pillaging a massive amount of gold that
had belonged to the ruler’s father. The Spanish also
begin slaughtering the Aztec people. During a reli-
gious ceremony, they massacre approximately 600
unarmed Indians.

“When we saw so many cit-

ies and villages built in the

water and other great towns

on dry land and that straight

and level Causeway going to-

wards [Tenochtitlán], we were

amazed.... And some of our

soldiers even asked whether

the things that we saw were

not a dream.... I do not know

how to describe it, seeing

things as we did that had never

been heard of or seen before,

not even dreamed about.”

—Cortés expedition leader Bernal

Díaz del Castillo, on the Spaniards’

first view of Tenochtitlán

The furious Aztec finally rise up against the in-

vaders. During the fighting, Montezuma dies. Cortés

and his men frantically try to escape Tenochtitlán,

but weighed down by their golden loot, as many as

two-thirds of them are killed before they can find ref-

uge with their Indian allies in the nearby city-state of

Tlaxcala.

1520

Guayocuya leads an Arawak revolt.

Rebel Arawak escape Spanish control by fleeing into

the mountains of Hispaniola. From there, under the

leadership of Guayocuya (known to the Spanish as

Enrique), they stage raids on Spanish settlements for

the next 14 years. The Spanish will finally yield to the

rebels in 1534 by offering a land grant and exempting

them from paying tribute to Spanish authorities.

1521

A Calusa warrior fells Juan Ponce de León.

Appointed governor of Florida after his explora-

tion of its coast (see entry for 1513), Juan Ponce de

León organizes a party of 200 to establish a Spanish

colony in the area. The men land on what is now

Sanibel Island, where they are attacked by Calusa

Indians. Ponce de León orders his men to retreat to

Cuba, but before they can, he is hit in the thigh by a

warrior’s arrow. Later, in Havana, the Spanish leader

dies from the wound.

May to July

Hernán Cortés and his men conquer the

Aztec.

With the help of their Indian allies in Tlaxcala, Span-

ish conquistador Hernán Cortés and about 200

soldiers stage a second attack on the Aztec capital of

Tenochtitlán (see entry for 1519). They surround the

city, cutting off the supply of food and water to an

already beleaguered population. Since their initial en-

counter with the Spanish two years before, the Aztec