Tag: Cortes

Great Treasure of Moctezuma

Below are lists and descriptions of the Great Treasure presented to Cortes in San Juan de Ulua. This is the legendary gift presented by Tendile and includes the much mentioned gold sun-disc and silver moon-disc. The descriptions of the treasure and the place vary by writer, but most place the exchange on either Cortes’s flagship or the beach where his men were setting up camp.

Florentine Codex – Moctezuma sends five leaders to greet Cortés, who he believes to be Quetzalcoatl and to take the gifts he had made when Grijalva was spotted off the coast. These things were carried from Tenochtitlan to the coast and presented to Cortés.

Turquoise Mask – snake design, inlaid turquoise with a crown of rich long plumes. It also had a crown and a chest piece attached that covered the chest and shoulders.
Shield – beaded and jewelled shield, round shape.
Anklet, strings of precious stones with Golden Bells
Scepter covered with turquoise snake design
Headpiece, shell shaped, of gold.
Accoutrements of Tezcatlipoca
- Headpiece of rich plumes with golden stars
- Gold ear plugs with attached sea shell chest plate
- Corselet of white cloth, painted cloth with feather bands
- Cloak, light blue, “tzitzilli”
- Sandals of lords
Accoutrements of Tlalocan teuctli –
- Mask with plumage and chest piece
- Ear plugs
- Coreselet of green cloth
- Medallions
- Staff
- Anklets
- Serpent staff of turquoise
Quetzalcoatl’s Belongings
- Jaguar skin miter (headpiece) with pheasant feathers
- Turquoise ear plugs
- Gold necklace with medallion
- Shield, round with gold plate in center, rich feathers on the edge
- Cloak
- Anklet bells
- Staff encrusted with pearls
- Sandals of the lords
Gold miter with rich plumes

Annal of Tlatelolco – Very basic narrative, tells that they met Cortes at Tecpantlayacac and gave him the listed gifts. Also that a sacrifice was performed and rebuked with punishment of death by Cortes.

Suns of yellow and of white (gold and silver)
Mirror
Golden helmet
Golden shell headcover
Head fan of plumes
Shield of shell

Annals of Quauhtitlan – Briefly describes the coastal contacts and mentions gifts sent to Moctezuma as well.

Green frock
Two capes,red and a black
“Two pairs footwear, shoes”
A knife
A hat; cap
A woolen cloth
A Cup
beads

Andres de Tapia – In his Relacion, deTapia mentions gifts of gold and silver including the discs. He then describes the robes, necklaces and beads Cortes sends to Moctezuma.

“present of gold and silver, and in it a wheel of gold and another of silver, each one as large as a cartwheel, though not very thick, which say they are made in the likeness of the sun and the moon.”

Diaz – San Juan de Ulua, (Diaz 93) – Gives a very brief description of the treasure presented initially by Tendille (meager gold and food). A week later he presents the grander treasure.

Gold Sun-disc, as big as a cartwheel, worth 10K pesos
Silver Moon-disc
Helmet full of gold granules (as requested by Cortes), worth more than 3K pesos
20 golden ducks and other golden animals
Bow and 12 arrows
Golden staffs (two)
Gold crests
Fans and plumes of green featherwork
Silver crest
30 loads of cotton, decorated with feathers.

Gomara – Camp at San Juan de Ulua (Gom 59) – Presented by Teudilli at the Ulua camp.

Many mantles and garments
Many plumes
Many gold objects
Jewels and gold and silver pieces
Gold sun-disc, weighs 52 marks, worth 20,000 ducats
Silver moon-disc, weighs 100 marks

Cortes “First” Letter (Cort 74) – Briefly mentions several gifts over a period of time. There is a list of the gifts provided.

Gold wheel representing the sun.
Silver wheel representing the moon.
2 Gold necklaces with inlaid rubies, emerald, pearls.
Headdress withhold and plumes.
Skins,leather shoes with gold trim.
24 gold shields with feathers and jewels.
Animals made of gold.
Several fans.
Large mirror
Cotton robes
Tapestries and blankets

Burning the Boats and Sinking the Ships!

One of the great mythologies of the Conquest of Mexico is Cortes burning, or sinking his ships in order to secure his men’s commitment to the march to Tenochtitlan and Moctezuma. The incident is cited in motivational speeches, and among historians as one of history’s greatest gambles. With dissent in the ranks and factions pushing for different goals and loyalties Cortes did seem to at least dismantle some of the ships, and possibly did sink a few.

It is reported he came to Mexico with 11 vessels. One ship was sent back to Spain with the first load of treasure and a few letters. The sources give several versions of the incident. Cortes, Diaz and Gomara all tend to agree that the main motivation was to halt the ambitions of the faction loyal to Diego Velazquez, which planned to return to Cuba and report Cortes’s illegal activity (he left Cuba against orders, and exceeded the mandate of the mission given to him). It certainly would behoove Cortes and his loyalists to cut off their exit or stymie any support they may have been able to muster.

Cortes states in a letter to Charles that he beached the boats. Bernal Diaz, writing some 50 years after the event said a group of men discussed it with Cortes and agreed to scuttle the ships. According to Diaz the important pieces were ordered removed, including “anchors, cables, sails.” Gomara, who was writing second-hand from Cortes, agrees with Diaz in that it was a group decision among the Cortes loyalists. Gomara goes on to say they beached five and sunk four. In his writing, conquistador Andres de Tapia said they scuttled six or seven ships. The former conquistador who became a priest, Francisco de Aguilar, said Cortes secretly sent someone back to the boats to drill holes. The remaining ship was sent to Spain, he notes.

It is clear that Cortes at least dismantled, or decommissioned the ships and ordered the vital parts brought ashore before destroying anything. He also had Martin Lopez with him, a ship builder. Acquiring new timber would not be difficult. Cortes did eventually have boats made to sail on Lake Texcoco and take part in the final Siege of Tenochtitlan. The dramatic reading of this event is that Cortes “burned his ships.” A more practical reading is that he stripped them of anything remotely useful with the intent of rebuilding them. The motive to dissuade Velazquez’s loyal men from returning to Cuba seems reasonable.

ARCHEOLOGY: In 2019 archeologists found an anchor off the location of Cortes’s early headquarters, Villa Rica. They suggest it could be from one of his ships, although sources say they brought anchors ashore.

Sword of Hernan Cortes

A sword claimed to be that of Hernan Cortes, used during the Conquest of Mexico, currently sits in the Real Armeria de Madrid (royal armory) in Madrid, Spain. It is a rapier, meaning it is a long, slender sword with a decorative, protected hilt.

While many famous swords are made of the legendary Toledo steel, there is speculation the Cortes sword is from the German competitor, Solingen steel, based on a “Wolf mark” that may link it to Solingen.

Both Toledo and Solingen had superior steel recipes and stellar reputations for craftsmanship.

If this sword were used during the Conquest of Mexico, it’s hard to imagine the tragedy it inflicted on the people of Mexico. This one sword could be responsible for the deaths of many Indigenous people and considered one of the cruelest relics of the colonization of the Americas. This sword would have been wielded against the Chontal Maya at the Battle of Cintla as Cortes led the cavalry. It would have been present at the Cholula Massacre where Cortes and his men hacked away at unarmed nobles and porters. And it would certainly have been present at the battles in Tlaxcala and the horrors of Tenochtitlan.

Perhaps that’s why the Real Armeria doesn’t publicize this artefact. I was not able to find any supporting information on the provenance of this sword and it is not on public display.

Sword attributed to Hernan Cortes. — Sword attributed to Hernan Cortes, hosted at the Real Armeria de Madrid in Spain.

Catalogue information for the sword attributed to Hernan Cortes.

Cholula Massacre

As Cortes moved closer to the Mexica capital of Tenochtitlan, he passed through Cholula. This town of about 30,000 (de las Casas) was a sort of religious capital in the region, comparable to Mecca or Jerusalem. The people of Cholula were allied with Moctezuma and were enemies of Tlaxcala where Cortes had been received. The Spanish account paints Cortes in a desperate situation, pinned in an enemy city and reacting defensively. Other accounts, both indigenous and European, tend to call it a massacre.

The Massacre at Cholula as depicted on the Lienzo de Tlaxcala.

The Cortes Narrative

After brief negotiations that Cortes felt were short of his esteem, he marched on Cholula with 1,000 Tlaxcala warriors (Cortes, 2nd Letter). Cortes was met with much fanfare and was admitted to Cholula. According to Spanish accounts and those of the Tlaxcala storytellers, Moctezuma and the leaders of Cholula had cooked up a scheme to trap the Spanish in the city and destroy them. Cortes’s Cempoalan allies noted trenches dug, and rock piles on rooftops and they reportedly saw women and children being led out of the city. In another account La Malinche, the indigenous female translator, was approached by a Tlaxcala woman who, in an offer of sanctuary, confided in her the plot to kill the Spanish.

Convinced of the oncoming assault, Cortes called a meeting of all the men of matter in the Cholula region. Once they had gathered he explained their treachery to them and ordered a musket fired. This was the sign for the Spanish and their allies to begin the assault on the Cholulans. Cortes claims 3,000 were killed in a two-hour slaughter.

Cortes and Diaz explain it was a natural pre-emptive strike against an obviously hostile force. The Tlaxcala stories also justify their actions, including the mutilation and murder of one of their messengers before the attack. It seems a logical place for Moctezuma’s allies to make a stand if you were going to try and expel these invaders once and for all.

La Matanza de Cholula, Felix Parra, 1877.

The majority of the Tlaxcala army had waited outside the city and once the battle had begun entered Cholula. The Tlaxcala force fought through the streets toward the Spanish, who had already begun slaughtering people. For almost two days the Tlaxcala army pillaged and burned Cholula until even Cortes was taken by pity for the people of Cholula. He ordered the pillaging to end and demanded all the captives taken by the Tlaxcalans be returned.

Cortes was a cunning and brutal leader and he either anticipated the attack or simply intended to send a brutal message. And it seems to have worked as word spread far and wide of the destruction of the Cholula nobility by the invaders.

Other Accounts

Other accounts are not so clear on a sneak attack by the Cholulans and refer to it as an outright massacre. The Conquistador turned Mercedarian friar Francisco de Aguilar said the people killed were water-bearers and temames. Diego Duran also noted they were bringing supplies and highlights the incident as a dark point he must write about. The historian and early civil rights advocate Bartolome de las Casas called it a staged “massacre” and a “punishment” by Cortes to spread terror. Las Casas also said it was mostly temames, the most humble and respected worker in Mesoamerica, who made up the bulk of the victims.

The Florentine Codex describes the massacre as planned by the Spanish, but notes there was no Cholulan scheme, saying they were unarmed and were “treacherously and deceitfully slain.”

Within a few days the Spanish had moved out of Cholula toward Tenochtitlan, news of their terror well ahead of them. Cortes ordered the people of Cholula to resume their lives as before. Which they did, but forever tainted by the destruction brought by the Spanish.

Estimates from various accounts range from 2000 to 6000 victims with not a single Spanish casualty.

Battle of Cintla

The Battle of Cintla, fought between Cortes’s Spanish and Maya in mid-March, 1519, is significant for several reasons. Most notably this is the first cavalry battle fought on the mainland of the Americas. It also was the first major conflict for Cortes, and a decisive victory over the Chontal Maya of Tabasco.

Cortes, after several days of fighting with local Chontal Maya, orders his horses brought ashore and dressed for the first time. The next day, which Diaz says is “Lady Day,” Cortes orders 13 cavalrymen, artillery and an infantry force to advance to a place called Cintla. Leading the main infantry was Diego de Ordaz , with between 300 and 400 men, including foot soldiers, crossbowmen and musketeers. The artillery was under the command of a man named Mesa.

Map of Cintla — Map from The Battle and Ruins of Cintla, by Daniel G. Brinton.

On the march inland they came across the Maya force ready for battle (Diaz p. 75). In full battle dress, drums blaring, arrows and stones began to come at the Spanish. Diaz says immediately almost 70 Spanish were wounded and one killed. It seems the Maya abandoned hand to hand efforts and were most interested in raining projectiles against the steel blades. But this seems to have been quite ineffective, historically.

Cortes and the cavalry were delayed in arriving, possibly as long as two hours, as Diaz notes the delay was worrisome. But soon enough Cortes arrived and flanked the Maya force from behind. At that the infantry under Diego de Ordaz charged and the Maya forces quickly fell into disarray and fled.

Casualty counts vary, but for the Spanish, it appears, two Spaniards were killed, and the wounded ranged between 20 and 70. Dead for the Chontal Maya is estimated between 200 and 800.

After the battle Cortes established a cross and a town called Santa Maria de la Victoria, which stood for a few years before being abandoned. The regional chief Tabscoob also granted 20 slave women to Cortes, one of which was the famous Malinali, or La Malinche.

Today nothing remains of the battle, the town of Cintla nor the establishment of La Victoria. Only one thorough archeological effort has been conducted, by Dr. Berendt in 1869. He reports finding mounds, stairways and Maya pottery depicting Spanish men. His findings were included in the paper linked below.

For more read The Battle and Ruins of Cintla.