INTRODUCTION 5In an attempt to put Aztec society (and his own exploits) into broader perspec-
tive, Cortés summarized his observations about the Aztec city as follows:Finally, to avoid prolixity in telling all the wonders of this city, I will simply say that the man-
ner of living among the people is very similar to that in Spain, and considering that this
is a barbarous nation shut off from a knowledge of the true God or communication with
enlightened nations, one may well marvel at the orderliness and good government which
is everywhere maintained. (Cortés 1962:93–94)The Spaniards quickly determined that the Aztec empire was vast, extending for
hundreds of miles in all directions, and that, as Cortés exaggeratedly claimed, “Mote-
cuhzoma was feared by all both present and distant more than any other monarch
in the world.” Still, the Spaniards were well aware that they had seen only a small
part of the Mesoamerican world, and that many other kingdoms, large and small,
were yet to be explored and subdued.
With the fall of Tenochtitlan to the Spaniards in 1521 (see Chapter 4), Cortés
began to send his captains on military expeditions from the Basin of Mexico to con-
tact and, if necessary, conquer the diverse peoples and kingdoms of Mesoamerica. For
example, expeditions were sent to the great province called Michoacan in the west
and farther north from there to the province of Cihuatan, “which it is affirmed had
an island inhabited solely by women”; and to the rebellious province of Huaxteca in
the northeast. Other expeditions were dispatched to the southern regions of
Mesoamerica, such as Oaxaca, Chiapas, and “the very rich lands” of Higueras (Hon-
duras). One of the most important expeditions was entrusted to Cortés’s courageous
but ruthless captain, Pedro de Alvarado, who was sent to the “rich and splendid lands
inhabited by new and different races” in the kingdoms of Utatlan and Guatemala.DEFINING “MESOAMERICA”
AND OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS
We have referred to the world encountered by Cortés and his band as “Mesoamer-
ica.” What do we mean by this term? And, to what will the term refer in the chapters
to follow? In answering these questions, we should begin by noting that the term
Mesoamericahas varied widely in meaning, even among scholars. In fact, perhaps no
term is more debated in Mesoamerican studies than Mesoamerica itself. We do not
propose to settle the debate, but rather to define terms as we use them in this text,
and to try to employ them in clear and consistent fashion. We are aware that the na-
tive Mesoamericans themselves are sensitive about how such terms are employed,
and in the chapters to follow we have tried to keep their interests in mind.
Literally, the term Mesoamericameans “Middle America,” and it was at one time
widely used to refer exclusively to the aboriginal cultures of the region, whether in
their pristine pre-Hispanic or acculturated modern forms. That is to say, Mesoamer-
ica had a geographic reference: the region where the ancient Mesoamerican peoples
flourished prior to the coming of the Spaniards. This usage was problematic for mes-
tizo, European, and even indigenous peoples who had little or nothing to do with the