In episode 6, Cortes continues his march toward Tenochtitlan with a fateful and violent stop in Cholula.
Part 1 – Cholula
Cortes and his 400 Spanish soldiers enter Cholula while the nearly 10,000-strong Tlaxcala and Totonac armies wait outside the city. Here they commit one of the worst atrocities ever committed in the Conquest of the New World.
Part 2 – Word of the Destruction of Cholula
Word of the incomprehensible destruction of Cholula spreads, and with it; fear.
Part 3 – Up the Volcano
Diego de Ordaz heads the volcano Popocatepetl and gets the first glimpse of Tenochtitlan and Lake Texcoco.
Part 4 – Drunk Men Speak Truth
Mexica representatives are intercepted by a drunk man who blasts them with his truthful words.
Part 5 – Departing Cholula
The Cortes Expedition sets out for Tenochtitlan on the final leg of the journey.
Part 6 – Chalco
The Expedition arrives in the Chalco region, and moves to Moctezuma’s doorstep, just two miles from Tenochtitlan.
Episode 6 Breakdown – Cholula Massacre
Summary – Cortés was nervous from things he had seen and a villager had confessed they were to be attacked (Cort, p. 99). Diaz says an old woman confessed all to La Malinche (Diaz p. 197)(Gom p. 127). So Cortés asks lords of the city to come for a meeting in chambers. He ordered his men to be prepared and to attack at the shot of a musket. He seized the leaders and gave the signal. Below are summaries of the event by various sources. Note the different tones between the accounts.
- Cortés – He is very brief in describing the event. In three days in Cholula he found them not very hospitable. He mounted his horse, ordered a musket fired and they fell upon the leaders. Took two hours, 3,000 dead. Afterward he scours the city, burning strongholds for five hours. Returning to his camp he interrogates the Cholulan chiefs who say they were forced to attack by Culuans. He frees them on condition they reinvigorate the city and submit, which they did. (Cort 100).
- Diaz – They are up early, and see the Cholulan warriors eagerly packing the town. Cortes welcomes the papas and gives a big speech, then a musket is fired and two hours of carnage unfold. Tlaxcalans pushed into the city from the fields. The next day too more Tlaxcalans came to pillage until Cortes stopped it. “Killed many of them” – Peace was made, Cortes requested the people return, appointed a new leader, demands they throw down their idols – they agree but put it off. (Diaz 201). Freed people in cages being fattened.
- Florentine – Called everyone they could to the Temple of Quetzalcoatl then blocked entrances and “Killed as many as they could” (Flor 95), notes they were unarmed. Inspired great dread across the land, roads filled with messengers. Their weapons and animals now bringing great fear.
- Gomara – Early that day the men of the city begin to gather under the pretext of a goodbye to the Spanish. Cortes is ready to attack, but invites 30 men to a meeting where he says he knows of their plot. Executes a couple, then fires the gun and the attack begins with “great violence and ferocity.” In Two hours they killed 6,000. The battle in the streets continued on for five hours They looted everything. Stayed 20 days and people returned to the city.
- Aguilar – Says basically they killed 2000 people who were water and firewood carriers (Aguilar Ch 5).
- Duran – Highlights this as one of the cruelties he must tell about. Says “a great number of men…” were massacred (Dur 528). These people were bringing supplies.
- Bernardino – He glosses over it, says Cholula was destroyed, they feared treachery.
- Tapia – He’s all in on the Cholulans as vicious attackers story. They plotted to kill them so Cortes flipped the script and beat them to it. Has leaders confess before ordering the massacre. Doesn’t give numbers, but says “they all died.” They looted and killed people throughout the town for two days.
- Thoan Cano – Was not present as he came with Narvaez, but says it was a notorious event and some wondered how they had come to participate in it. Cortes asked for 3000 porters then had them all killed.
- Ixtlilxochitl – Entire council chamber was full of nobles and commoners. Calls 30 Cholulans to the front, arrests them for planning an attack on Moctezuma’s orders. He then calls the Mexica ambassadors and says these men confessed, the Mexica’s deny any role in the plot. He orders the 30 killed and the arquebus fired, which starts the bloodbath. In less than 2 hours killed more than 6,000 people, and sacked the entire city including a temple where most people died (Ixtlil 264)
Episode 6 Credits
Written, researched, performed and produced by Jeremy Lipps.
~ Music ~
Away by Meydän
Surreal Forrest by Meydän
guitar percussion by bangcorrupt
Daniel Birch, www.danielbirchmusic.com
Sustained Light
Breathe
The Gates Are Locked
intro by lost dream
Bountiful by Podington Bear
~ Sound Effects ~
rumble loop by unfa
horses by arnaud coutander
walk on dirt road by mikeypme
horse snort by bruno auzet
horses whinnying by leandiviljoen
ancient old time battle combat horses snorting… by ylearkisto
stones falling by iwanPlays
orest stream between mekhanizatorov settlement and akhtyrka vilage moscow region by halfofthesky
water-lapping by ceivh93
soft wind by florianreichelt
fire 2 by pushtobreak
horse whinny by inspectorj
coopers hawk by blimp66
walking2-gravel by tec-studio
All music was sourced from www.freemusicarchive.org
Sound FX via www.FreeSound.org