While at Villa Rica there arrived a ship that had been dispatched from Cuba. Cortes was informed by the ship s captain that Governor Velazquez had received royal permission to trade and found settlements in this land that Cortes was so desperately trying to tame. In fear that he would be brought back to answer to Velazquez, Cortes again with the promises of a share in the treasure was able secure the loyalty of these new visitors. A plan was quickly put together that the entire treasure along with the towns charter was to be sent to King Charles in hopes of securing his blessing. After the treasure ship left there arose a conspiracy against Cortes. These men planned to steal a ship and head back to Cuba where they could alert Don Velazquez of the treasure ships voyage in time to intercept it. When Cortes heard of this plan he arrested the conspirators and had them severely punished. Then to ensure that this would never happen again Cortes ordered that the ships be destroyed. (Marks 82-85). There was now no turning back. Cortes and his men had only two choices stay in Villa Rica with no treasure for their efforts or to proceed to in interior of Mexico.
On his march towards Mexico City Cortes came across the town of Xocotlan. There the chief of the town told Cortes of the splendor that was the capital of the Aztec Empire. He told Cortes of how the city was built in the middle of a lake and the only access was by three causeways. Each of these causeways had bridges built into them and when raised entry into the city was almost impossible. The chief also told Cortes and his men of the riches that Montezuma and stored in this magnificent city. Upon hearing this the men were frenzied with the thought of riches, and whatever hesitations they may have had about proceeding were quickly vanquished. (Diaz 136)
Cortes then continued his march into the interior of Mexico. However, Cortes first encounter with the Tlascala did not progress as he had hoped. The Totonac had portrayed the Tlascala as peace loving people with whom Cortes could become an ally. However, the Tlascala knew that Cortes was marching toward their city in the company of Aztec allies and instead of a peaceful people Cortes was to find out way the Tlascala were able to remain free of Aztec domination. They were fierce warriors who inflicted great casualties on Cortes men. However once again through better weaponry and tactics along with the release of captives bearing a request for peace, Cortes and his men would once again triumph and bring the Tlascala into their circle of allies. (Diaz 142-164) Cortes within the matter of only a few days was able to accomplish that which had evaded Montezuma for years; he was able to defeat and ally himself with the Tlascala.
Cortes would then spend over two weeks trading, resting and preaching in the Tlascala village. Cortes told them of the one true God asked the Tlascala people to convert to Christianity. The Tlascala leaders told Cortes that while intrigued by his God, if they were to totally abandon their idols their people would rebuff them. They told Cortes they were intrigued by his God and gave Cortes permission to convert one temple into a Christian Church. Then after receiving an invitation from Aztec messengers for Cortes to join Montezuma in Mexico City, Cortes heard mass, then marched with his new allies, which now included one thousand Tlascala warriors, to the City of Cholollan. (Diaz 180-188)
The Cholollans had convinced Cortes to ask the Tlascala to not enter the city, for they were not allies and were afraid of what the Tlascala might do. Cortes, seeing the sense in the Cholollan request asked his allies to wait for him outside the city boundaries. The Tlascala complied with Cortes wish but again advised Cortes not to trust Montezuma or his people. What Cortes did not know was that the Cholollans and the Aztec had agreed that with the aid of twenty thousand Aztec warriors the Cholollans were to entrap the Spaniards and after keeping twenty to be sacrificed to their Gods were to send the rest to Mexico. While as guests of the Cholollans Cortes and his men were treated badly, they were given water and firewood but no food. While investigating this maltreatment and with the assistance of Dona Marina and the Tlascala, Cortes learned of the Aztec conspiracy to attack them. A plan was quickly devised and the next day Cortes summoned a number of chieftains to hear his goodbye, after they arrived at Cortes house the exit were barricaded and there were told that Cortes was aware of their plan. Cortes then went outside and the signal to attack was given. The Cholollans were not warriors by nature and were easily massacred. Cortes in retribution for this act of treason allowed his army to plunder the city and act Cortes had never before permitted. (Diaz 189-200)
Cortes then summoned the Cholollan elders and asked them why they had treated him and his men so badly when they had come in peace. The Cholollans explained to Cortes that they had not wanted to take part in the Aztec plot but were forced to by Montezuma s warriors. Cortes believed the Cholollans and had them and the Tlascala make peace. This maneuver ensured Cortes of a safe route back to the coast and the town of Villa Rica. Cortes then summoned the Aztec nobles and led them to believe that he understood this attack was the fault of the Cholollans. That Cortes and Montezuma had showed no animosity toward each other and looked forward to their meeting. Cortes then let the Aztec go and rely his message to the Aztec Emperor. Cortes would spend the next two weeks resting preaching to the Cholollans and erecting a Christian temple in honor of the one true God and his holy mother as it became Cortes habit to do. After this it was on to Mexico City (Marks 114-115)
Cortes continued his march to Mexico City in the company of some Aztec ambassadors who would serve as their guide. While Cortes made friends and allies of other Indians along the way his journey to the heart of the Mexican empire was otherwise uneventful. Cortes was warned by many of the Indians he met along the way that he should not trust the Emperor Montezuma and should turn back now before it was too late. Cortes was even warned of a planned ambush by Aztec warriors who had blocked one of the two paths to Mexico City and were now lying in wait. Cortes asked the Aztecs why the road was blocked who in turn told them it was because that way was hostile and longer then the path left clear. Cortes then decided he and his men would take the road that had been blocked. One ally of the Tlascala even warned Cortes that they had learned the Aztec plan was to allow Cortes and his men into the city where they would be killed or captured and made a sacrifice to the Aztec gods. Cortes then told all that could hear that their God protected him and his men and no one including the Mexican warriors could kill them (Diaz 205-211)
Finally on 8 November 1519, Cortes and his men after being greeted and escorted by great ambassadors of Montezuma arrived at the gates to the city. During their march down the causeway Cortes and his men were mesmerized by the splendor that lay before them. For out of the water arose impressive cities with temples and house made of stone Yet Cortes and his men were well aware of what peril this causeway presented them incase of attack. The lumber that formed the crossing could easily be removed and the Spaniards egress from the city would be blocked. Ahead the Spaniards could see the procession of Montezuma s approach. Then Montezuma stood before them; he was a magnificent sight bedecked in the finest clothing of Aztec craftsmanship. (Marks 122-125) Then after Montezuma and Cortes exchanged gifts of finely adorned necklaces Montezuma greeted his visitors with a welcome speech, O our Lord, thou hast suffered fatigue; thou hast spent thyself. Thou hast arrived on earth; thou hast come to the noble city of Mexico. Thou hast come to occupy thy noble mat and seat, which for a little time I have guarded and watched for thee. For thy governors of times past have gone the rulers Itzcoatl, Montezuma the Elder, Axayacatl, Tizoc, Ahuitzotl who, not very long ago, came to guard thy mat and seat for thee and to govern the city of Mexico. Under their protection the common folk came here. Could they, perchance, now find their descendants, those left behind? O, that one of them might be a witness to marvel that to me now hath befallen what I see, who am the only descendant of our lords. For I dream not, nor start from my sleep, nor see this as in a trance. I do not dream that I see thee and look into thy face. Lo, I have been troubled for a long time. I have gazed into the unknown whence thou hast come the place of mystery. For the rulers of old have gone, saying that thou wouldst come to instruct the city, that thou wouldst descend to thy mat and seat; that thou wouldst return. And now it is fulfilled: thou hast returned; thou hast suffered fatigue; thou hast spent thyself. Arrive now in thy land. Rest lord; visit thy palace that thou mayest rest thy body. Let our lords arrive in the land. (Sahagun 42) And so upon his arrival, Montezuma greeted Cortes not as a man but as the returning deified king Quetzalcoatl, the year according to the Aztec calendar was 1 reed. Although this translation of the address is doubted by many I find it fitting and quite well supported by other interpretations of Montezuma s and Cortes initial meeting.
After his return address Cortes and his entourage including the Indians where led to their quarters in the palace of Axayacatl, there they were allowed to rest. The Aztecs ensured that all the needs of their visitors were met, they were provided women to cook their meals as well as servants to bring them dishes, even the horses, which the Aztecs were very interested in, were taken care of. After diner and relaxation Montezuma came to visit Cortes, Montezuma again express his sincere pleasure in the fact that Cortes and come to join him. Cortes in turn told Montezuma of his king Charles V and how he had sent Cortes to Montezuma to convert them to the Christian religion so that the Mexican people could give praise to the one true God. Cortes then went on to tell Montezuma that over the next few days Cortes would explain to him how this transformation could be done. Over the next few days Cortes would come to tell Montezuma of the Christian belief in how the world was created and that we are all brothers sharing Adam and Eve as common parents. Cortes went further, explaining that Montezuma and his people must give up their idols and stop their pagan practices of human sacrifice, cannibalism and sodomy. Montezuma then asked Cortes to go no further with his teachings, Montezuma and his people have worshiped their Gods from the beginning of time and they have treated the Aztec well. (Diaz 220-223)
Many more meetings would take place between Cortes and Montezuma over the course of the next couple of weeks. And after each meeting Montezuma would present the Spaniards with great gifts. The Spaniards were given tours of the city and shown the temples of the Aztecs as well as the gardens, the market and even the zoo. Cortes then received word from a messenger that Aztec warriors at the order of Montezuma had killed men at Villa Cruz. Cortes and his men soon became distrustful of the Aztecs and worried that an attack such as that planned for them in the Cholollan town might once again be planned for them here. Cortes then asked for a royal audience with Montezuma, which was granted. At this meeting Cortes confroted Montezuma with the report but Montezuma denied having any part in the attack. Not believing Montezuma, Cortes and his men took the mighty Aztec Monarch. Cortes and his men then escorted Montezuma to the palace that they were living in. Montezuma had severely underestimated Cortes and his men, for now the people whom Montezuma believed he held as hostages in his city now held him captive. (Diaz 231-247)
While a captive of the Spaniards for the next several months, Montezuma continued to carry on his stately affairs. When the people of Mexico inquired as to his health and safety, Montezuma would assure them that everything was all right. Montezuma arranged that Cortes and his men were able to visit the local provinces to see the royal gold mines, which were the sources of the Aztec riches. By early the next year Montezuma even declared himself and the Aztec nation vassals of the Spanish Monarchy. Montezuma then surrendered to Cortes and his men vast riches that were part of the Aztec treasure. Montezuma even yielded to Cortes demand that a Christian altar be erected on the Great Pyramid, which was the holiest place in all of Mexico City. Then the Spaniards ascended the stairs of the Great Pyramid erected their altar and heard mass. The Aztec people saw this as the ultimate act of disrespect and their hostilities toward the Spaniards began to grow. (Marks 144-152)
It came to a point where Montezuma told Cortes that he could no longer guarantee the safety of him and his men and Montezuma implored Cortes to leave. Cortes then struck a deal with Montezuma, Cortes would send his ship builders back to Villa Rica and once the ships were completed Cortes would load them with them with his men, supplies and the gifts they have received from the Aztec and head back to Spain. Then there came a messenger to Montezuma with wondrous news, a new fleet of Spaniards had been sighted off the east coast. Montezuma sent word that these new visitors were to be treated well and all their needs provided for. Montezuma then told Cortes the good news, he would not have to wait for ships to be built for a new fleet of eight ships were at anchorage in San Juan de Ulua. However, this was not good news for Cortes for two reasons: (1) he longer had any reason to delay his departure form Mexico and (2) surely this fleet was sent by Velazquez to bring Cortes back. (Marks 152-153)
Panfilo de Narvaez who had led the conquest of Cuba with Cortes at his side captained this new fleet. Narvaez knew of Cortes settlement at Villa Cruz and sent out three men who were to announce their authority and seize the settlement. These men were quickly captured and sent to Cortes in Mexico City. While there Cortes showed these men that he was Christianizing the natives and the treasure they had collected. Cortes was quick to win these men over to his side and sent them back with treasure to spread among those who were not loyal to Narvaez and Velazquez. Soon Narvaez and Cortes were vying for the loyalty of not only the Spanish troops but that of the Indians as well. In this matter Cortes would win while he never took anything from the Indians they did not offer as gifts Narvaez was quite the opposite. He would not only take the Indians gold but their women as well. (Marks 153-158)
Cortes sent a letter to Narvaez which asked one crucial question; Did Narvaez posses a letter from the throne that had denied Cortes establishment of Villa Cruz? For if no such letter was in Narvaez possession then he and his men had no authority here and were to leave immediately. (Marks 157)
Cortes then left a contingency of about eighty men with Pedro de Alvarado in Mexico City and prepared to march back to the coast. The men left in Mexico City were well armed and fortified for Cortes and left them all the cannons as well as five horses. Montezuma had offered to send five thousand warriors to assist Cortes but know better than to trust Montezuma, Cortes declined his offer. Cortes then asked his allies the Tlascala for support. The Tlascala told Cortes that while they would be happy to wage war against the Aztec they would not send warriors to fight against other Spaniards. Cortes would then meet up with the troops he had left in Cholollan town, combined Cortes strength was only around three hundred and he had no cannons and only eight horses. In comparison Narvaez forces would number near fourteen hundred troops, eighty horses and twenty cannons. (Marks 158)
On the trail back to the coast Cortes came upon a party sent by Narvaez to effect Cortes arrest. Among its members was Andres de Duero, one of the governor s aides who had helped Cortes secure his commission. Duero informed Cortes that Narvaez was personally selected by the Governor for this mission and could not be swayed. Cortes then sent Narvaez party back empty-handed. Nothing less than a full confrontation between these two men would settle their differences and so battle plans were made. Cortes and his battle hardened veterans would prove too much for Narvaez and his men After a hard fought battle in the dark and rain Cortes and his men would emerge victorious despite being way out manned and outgunned. The battle would not only cost Narvaez his pride but an eye as well. Cortes then proceeded to give out gold to Narvaez fallen troops and enlist them in his army. (Marks 159 161)