A Spanish Conqueror's Impressions PDF

Enrichment A Spanish Conqueror’s Impressions When Spaniards came to the Americas in the 1500s, they were seeking gold, silver, and other riches. They also sought to topple empires and replace them with their own. Hernán Cortés, one of these Spanish explorers, conquered much of Mexico. Cortés w...

Enrichment A Spanish Conqueror’s Impressions When Spaniards came to the Americas in the 1500s, they were seeking gold, silver, and other riches. They also sought to topple empires and replace them with their own. Hernán Cortés, one of these Spanish explorers, conquered much of Mexico. Cortés wrote a letter to Charles V, the king of Spain. This adaptation of his letter describes the splendid Aztec city of Tenochtitlán and its advanced civilization. I am writing to your Majesty to tell you of this noble city of Tenochtitlán, and of the many rare and wonderful objects it contains. I also wish to tell you about the government and religious customs in this empire, which Moctezuma II rules. I would need much more time and many more writers to tell you everything, but I will do my best to describe what we have found in this part of the Americas. This great city of Tenochtitlán is situated in a lake. Four wide artificial causeways form the four entrances to the city. Ten men, riding side-by-side on Hernán Cortés horseback, could easily cross each causeway at once. They all lead to the mainland, which is about three miles away. 72  The city is as large as any I have ever seen in Spain. Its main streets are very wide and straight. Canals intersect with many streets. People use canoes to navigate the canals. There are also very wide bridges throughout the city. Public squares with markets for buying and selling fill the city. People sell every kind of merchandise imaginable in the grand marketplace. It draws more than 60,000 people to the city daily. The marketplace is made up of many different sections. Each section is full of stalls, set up side-by-side, selling the same merchandise. For example, all the cloth is sold in one quarter and all the gold in another. For such a large market, it is very orderly. If arguments arise in the marketplace, the magistrates settle the disputes inside a large central building. They punish people who are not behaving properly. Marketplace at Tenochtitlán 73  This great city contains a large number of temples honoring many gods. There is one district within the city that far surpasses all the rest. Surrounded by a lofty wall, there is room enough for a town of 500 families. Priests live in its stone-carved temples with large rooms and long hallways. There are 40 tall towers, beautifully made of wood and stone, which serve as burial places for the nobles. It is not humanly possible to describe the exquisite architectural details of these towers. The largest of these has 50 steps leading to its entrance. Inside, chapels dedicated to Aztec gods contain the work of the nation’s best artisans. Images are carved in wood. Walls are painted with figures of monsters and other objects. These are sacred places and only the noble classes may enter them. Temples and pyramids in the city center This great city contains many other fine and magnificent houses. Nobles, the city’s wealthiest citizens, live in the city center. In addition to large and spacious rooms for ordinary purposes, each house has conservatories of flowers on both upper and lower floors. I cannot begin to describe the luxury of these nobles’ homes. Moctezuma’s people have devised a clever way to bring fresh drinking water to the inhabitants of this city. Two stone pipes, each of which is two paces wide and about five feet tall, line one of the causeways that lead into the city. An abundant supply of excellent water flows through one of these pipes to be distributed throughout the city. The second pipe, running beside the first, usually remains empty. People only use the second pipe when they are cleaning the main pipe. Fresh water flows from the pipes into canals built along the city’s many bridges. This aqueduct, made of pipes and canals, serves the whole city. 74 Canoes pass under the freshwater canal bridges. From the canoes, people reach up and pay men stationed on the bridges to fill their vessels with fresh water. The people of this great city have excellent manners, treating one another politely and with respect. They are clean and dress in attractive clothes, paying close attention to how they look. This has surprised me as I did not think we would find such civilized people in this distant land. They are, in fact, as civilized as any people I have encountered in Spain. No person dresses in finer clothing than the emperor, Moctezuma. Every day, he wears four different suits and he never wears the same suit twice. Such extravagance is apparent in every part of his life. I know not where to begin. Six hundred nobles and men of rank serve his highness every day at the palace. They serve his meals in a large hall filled with spectacular dishes. Everything is orderly and clean; servants bring water for Moctezuma to wash his hands between courses. They serve each new course on clean plates with fresh napkins. Moctezuma rarely appears in Moctezuma II public but when he does, people show their respect by turning away from him or lying down in the streets until he has passed. I do not have room here to recount all the amazing ceremonies that are held in honor of Moctezuma and the gods, but never have I seen such lavish events as are held in Tenochtitlán. It is indeed a most magnificent city. Your humble servant, Hernán Cortés 75