| TRIUMPHS and TRAGEDY, a History
of The Mexican people (Chapter 1) |
by Prof. German Estrada
January, 2005 |
CHAPTER 1 THE FOREFATHERS (part 24th) continues ....
2
THE CONQUEST OF TENOCHTITLÁN
But, to fall back on an aphorism, "neither man nor angel can discern hypocrisy, the only evil that walks invisible." Cortés's claim aside, devotion to the faith was not necessarily a Spanish trade mark. Blasphemy, for one, was a characteristic of Spanish culture. Religiosity notwithstanding, the Spaniard was hot tempered, foul in his choice or words when angry and passionate when it came to gambling. Nothing moved him more to ejaculations and profanity than the vicissitudes of cards and dice. Many a conquistador took his faith in vain. Rodrigo Rangel, one of those who cast his lot with Cortés and later alcalde de Veracruz and Pánuco and regidor of Mexico City , for example, was known for his apostasy. Church authorities accused him of denying the virginity of Mary and of saying she was a puta , a whore. Rangel was not unique. Spanish religiosity must be taken with a pinch of salt.
At Cozumel, the first stop after leaving Cuba , Cortés reviewed his forces, the men who would conquer one of the biggest native empires in the New World . They were armed with the weaponry of Europe : crossbows, muskets, bronze cannons, and "much powder and ball." Of Herculean advantage were the horses, sixteen of them, which Bernal Diaz remembered by name, breed, and color. At first, the frightened natives thought horse and rider one and the same.
The Conquest was the labor of bold young men. Cortés, among the eldest, was just thirty-six; Alvarado, a key lieutenant, thirty-four; Gonzalo de Sandoval, a favorite of Cortés, a mere twenty-two. Alvarado, typical of one group among the Conquistadores, won fame for his daring and cruelty; the Aztecs nicknamed him Tonatiuh (the sun) for his haughty bearing and blond hair. A good horseman, he loved to dress up and wore a gold chain around his neck and a diamond ring on his finger. One intrepid black man accompanied the Spaniards, recalled Diaz, and, "like the horses, (was) worth his weight in gold." Later, five young women from Castilla joined Cortés; one of them María Estrada, survived the debacle of the Noche Triste, a terrible defeat at the hands of the Aztecs. Ironically, with notable exceptions, the conquistadores died poor. At first, a spectacular rise from anonymity to prominence by way of wealth, maybe marriage to a woman of better class, then misfortune and poverty in old age -this, more often than not, was the fate of the conquistador. Cortés, who died wealthy, was an exception to the rule.
At Cozumel , Cortés had a bit of luck. Until them, natives and Spaniards had communicated by sign language. Two Spaniards, Cortés learned at Cozumel, had survived a shipwreck, but Gonzalo Guerrero, who had acquired a native wife, had not wish to return to Spain ; Jerónimo de Aguilar, a native of Ecija, wanted to be rescued. Aguilar, who had studied for the priesthood in Spain , had learned Maya during his captivity. At Tabasco, the next stop for Cortés, the native caciques, in the manner of a peace offering, gave the Spaniards twenty girls, among them Malintzin, a slave. The daughter of a Náhua cacique, she new Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, as well as Maya. The Spaniards baptized her Marina . Since she and Aguilar could communicate with each other, Aguilar translated the Nahuatl spoken by the Aztecs.
Doña Marina, as history refers to her, proved invaluable ally of the Spaniards. She never failed them. "One of our women," tell the Indian chronicles of Fray Sahagún, had come with them; "she speaks Nahuatl. Her name is Malintzin." Able and attractive, she became the companion of Cortés, "his shadow," according to a Mexican intellectual. Baptized a Christian, for the Spaniards seldom slept with "pagan" women, Doña Marina eventually became the concubine of Alonzo Hernández Puertocarrero. When he returned to Spain , Cortés took her back and had a son, Martín, by her. With the arrival of Cortés's wife, Doña Marina became the companion of Juan Jaramillo, whom she married. A man of low moral character, Jaramillo was drunk during the wedding. Source: From the book Triumphs
and Tragedy, a History of the Mexican People by his
author Ramon Eduardo Ruiz, and with his authorization.
(W.W. Norton & Company. New York-London). We'll continue with this fascinating
book.
estradanav@yahoo.com
Prof. Germán
Estrada is the author of the best selling book,
"México
Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know
About... But Nobody Told You..." available in Puerto
Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc., Books,
Books as well as directly from the author by internet.
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