side,’ and in a way it could be said that they did, because in a simple case of mistaken identity,
the Aztecs opened their doors and welcomed the murderous Spaniard invaders right into their
midst as honored guests and even held a mighty banquet in honor or their arrival.
The arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors was perceived to be a great and long-awaited day by
the Aztecs and many people came to the banquet to greet and honor the visitors. But when the
Spanish arrived at the Aztec city and saw the riches that adorned it the cunning Conquistadors
placed armed guards on all the doors of the banquet hall and slaughtered the entire gathering of
unarmed Natives with sword, axe and musket and then brutally looted the city showing no mercy
to the inhabitants. One of the most brutal and merciless was a commander named Francisco
Pizzaro who became almost obsessed with finding a mythical city of gold that the Spanish called
‘El Dorado’ – City of the Golden man. (There are some fascinating and details tales regarding
this ‘Golden King’ but their inclusion in this book is unnecessary for this story.)
The story of the Spanish conquests is quite detailed and very tragic but to put it all in a greatly
simplified nutshell, eventually through a serious of ignoble events the Spanish succeeded in
taking the Aztec king Montezuma as hostage and demanded no less than a room full of gold to
secure the kings release (a very large room, actually more like a small hall). The people complied
with their demands, but when the Spanish saw how easily the ransom was raised they demanded
more and again his subjects brought the gold for the invaders. But no matter how much gold the
people brought to secure the release of their king, the Spanish kept their king imprisoned and
continued demanding more; in fact so much, that they earned the nickname “the gold-eaters”
from the Natives who felt certain the Spanish must use the yellow metal for food, so great was
their need for it.
When it became obvious to them that the Spanish would never free their king, so great was
their lust for more gold, the Aztecs gathered all their remaining treasures and hid them away from
the Spanish in a secret place where it still remains, hidden and still undiscovered to this day.
Montezuma was eventually beheaded by the Conquistadors even after the ransom was paid
many times over and it is likely that it was never Cortez’s intention to release him.
But why did the poor Aztecs welcome the ruthless and gold hungry Spanish so freely and
openly into their midst and then comply sp readily to their ruthless demands?
It’s because the very day that Cortez arrived on their shores, it was a very significant date in a
very significant year and in reality they were actually already expecting a long anticipated visit
from someone else.
The Luck of Cortez
The ancient legends of the South Americas talk of a visitor that had once came to their shores.
The exact date of the arrival of this mysterious stranger has been heavily debated, many scholars
believe it to have most likely been sometime after 500 BC, but there is other evidence to suggest
it may even have been a great deal earlier than that. The visitor is described as a man “bearded
and fair-skinned” who dressed in flowing garments marked all over with crosses.
The legends call him ‘Quetzalcoatl’ and describe him as a God of learning and life; a great
leader and teacher of infinite wisdom. One legend has it that Quetzalcoatl came to their shores on
a “Raft of Feathered Serpents” that was drawn by clouds and later disappeared on such a raft,
saying to them upon his departure that he would return one day to reclaim his throne and depose
his enemies. The name Quetzalcoatl itself translates as “Plumed Serpent”.
Quetzalcoatl is said to have shown them how to plant corn and grow crops, (something which
greatly changed their quality of life). They say he taught them writing and the Calendar; it
was Quetzalcoatl, say the Mayans, who taught them to build and it was he who constructed their
wondrous megalithic structures. He is described by them as “the author of all activities that are
beneficial to man”, a person of great wisdom who lived by a strict moral code, forsaking all
intoxicating or carnal pleasures.