to the arrival of the Spaniards, a vague apprehension seems to have
troubled the minds of Montezuma and his people, respecting the downfall
of their empire, an event which was supposed likewise to be portended
by a comet. But the history of this catastrophe must be reserved for
another chapter.
MEXICO, FROM THE ARRIVAL OF CORTÉS.
Mexico was first discovered by Juan de Grijalva. He, however, seems to
have made no attempt to penetrate into the interior from the sea-coast.
In 1518, when its conquest was undertaken by Cortés, the Mexican
empire is said to have extended 230 leagues from east to west, and 140
from north to south. After arranging his expedition, on the 10th of
February, 1519, Cortés set sail from Havana, in Cuba, and landed at the
island of Cozumel, on the coast of Yucatan. His whole army consisted of
but 553 soldiers, 16 horsemen, and 110 mechanics, pilots, and mariners.
Having released some Spanish captives whom he found there, he proceeded
to Tabasco. Here he was attacked by the natives, but defeated them,
and then pursued his course north-west to San Juan de Ulua, where he
arrived on the 20th of April.
Hardly had the Spaniards cast anchor, when they saw two canoes,
filled with Indians, put off from the shore, and steer directly for
the general’s ship. Cortés received his visiters courteously, and, in
exchange for the presents of fruit, flowers, and little ornaments of
gold which they brought, gave them a few trinkets, of European fabric,
with which they seemed to be greatly pleased. Through the medium of an
interpreter, whom he chanced to have on board, a Mexican female slave,
the celebrated Marina, he learned from the Indians that they belonged
to a neighbouring province which was subject to the emperor of Mexico,
a mighty monarch who lived far in the interior, called Montezuma;
and that they had been sent to ascertain who the strangers were, and
what they wanted. Cortés replied, that he had come only with the most
friendly purposes, and expressed a desire for an interview with the
governor of their province. Their inquiries being satisfied, his guests
shortly afterwards took their leave, and returned to the shore.
The next morning, Cortés landed with all his troops and munitions of
war, and immediately set to work, with the assistance of the natives,
in erecting barracks. One can scarcely help being reminded, on reading
the account of the readiness with which the simple Indians engaged in
this object, of the fatal alacrity with which the Trojans are said to
have received within their walls the wooden horse that was so soon to
prove their ruin.
Once on shore, Cortés informed the governor, Teuhtlile, that he must
go to the capital. He said that he came as the ambassador of a great
monarch, and must see Montezuma himself. To this the governor replied,
that he would send couriers to the capital, to convey his request to
the emperor, and so soon as he had learned Montezuma’s will he would
communicate it to him. He then ordered his attendants to bring forward
some presents which he had prepared, the richness and splendor of
which only confirmed Cortés in the determination to prosecute his
schemes. In the mean while, some Mexican painters who accompanied the
governor were employed in depicting the appearance of the Spaniards,
their ships and horses; and Cortés, to render the intelligence to be
thus conveyed to the emperor more striking, arrayed his horsemen,
commanded his trumpets to sound, and the guns to be fired, by which
display the Mexicans were deeply impressed with the idea of the
greatness of the Spaniards.
Couriers, stationed in relays along the whole line of the distance,
in a day or two informed Montezuma of these things, though it was 180
miles to the capital. The monarch, who, in the midst of his fears,
seems to have summoned somewhat more resolution, commanded Cortés to
leave his dominions. He likewise sent him more presents; fine cotton
stuffs resembling silk, pictures, gold and silver plates representing
the sun and moon, bracelets, and other costly things. Cortés, however,
still persisted in his purpose; on hearing which, the Mexican
ambassadors turned away with surprise and resentment, and all the
natives deserted the camp of the Spaniards, nor came any more to trade
with them. Cortés, already threatened with a mutiny among his soldiers,
evidently felt his situation to be critical, but he nevertheless went
on to found a city, and establish a government for his colony.
In this juncture of his affairs, he was visited by some people from
Cempoalla and Chiahuitztla, two small cities or villages tributary to
Montezuma. With the caciques of these places he formed a treaty of
alliance, and agreed to protect them against Montezuma. Encouraged
by his promises, they went so far as to insult the Mexican power, of
which they had before stood in the greatest dread. Having secured
their submission, Cortés, to take away all hope of a return to Cuba,
and inspire his soldiers with a desperate courage, burned his fleet;
and, leaving a garrison in his new city, called Vera Cruz, he set out
for the capital of the Mexican empire with 400 infantry, 15 horsemen,
and seven field-pieces, having also been furnished by the Cempoallans
with 1300 warriors and 1000 _tamanes_, or men of burden, to carry the
baggage.
On the route to Mexico lay the little republic of Tlascala, and
between these two powers there had existed for a long period an
inextinguishable feud. On arriving near the confines of the republic,
therefore, Cortés sent forward an embassy of Cempoallans inviting the
Tlascalans to an alliance, and requesting, that, at least, he might be
allowed to pass through their territories. The senate was immediately
convened to decide upon this application. Maxicatzin, one of the oldest
of the senators, alluded to a tradition respecting the coming of white
men, and favored the request. He was opposed by Xicotencatl, who sought
to prove that the Spaniards were magicians, and asserted, as they had
pulled down the images in Cempoalla, that the gods would be against
them. They resolved therefore on war; seized the ambassadors, and
placed them in confinement.
Their plans were well laid. They prepared an ambush, allowed Cortés
to pass the frontier, and then, after a little skirmishing, suddenly
fell upon him with an overwhelming force, which to the astonished view
of the Spaniards appeared to number 100,000 men. Notwithstanding the
immense odds opposed to them, the Spaniards bravely maintained their
ground; and at length, after a desperate conflict, the Tlascalans,
daunted by the horses and the fire-arms of the Spaniards, to which they
were unaccustomed, and disheartened by the havoc they sustained in this
to them novel species of warfare, retreated. Among the slain were eight
of their principal chiefs. On the side of the Spaniards the loss was
inconsiderable.
Thinking that this experience of the prowess of the Spaniards might
have wrought a change in the disposition of the Tlascalans towards
him, Cortés now determined to send an embassy to their camp with
overtures of peace. The proposals were promptly rejected, and a message
of defiance was returned from the Tlascalan general. The next day
another battle followed, the odds being even greater than in the former
engagement; but Spanish prowess, aided by dissensions in the Tlascalan
camp, again proved victorious.
The Tlascalans, thus repulsed, were assured by their priests, that
their enemies, being children of the sun, received strength from his
beams by day, and therefore must be attacked in the night; and that,
being withdrawn from his rays, their vigor declined, and they faded and
became like other men. A renewed trial, however, proved the falsity of
this assertion, and, after desperate efforts against the invading foe,
the Tlascalans were compelled to sue for peace. A treaty of alliance
was formed for mutual protection, and Cortés and his troops were
received, as beings of a superior order, into the city of Tlascala.
After recruiting himself for twenty days at Tlascala, during which
time Cortés sought to gain all the information he could respecting
the condition of the Mexican empire, he prepared to resume his march.
During his stay, the Tlascalans yielded readily to all his requests and
commands, except the one by which they were required to dethrone their
own gods, and substitute the objects of the Spaniards’ worship. Cortés,
indignant at their refusal, was going to effect his object by force,
had he not been restrained by the prudence of his chaplain, Olmedo,
who represented to him the danger of such an attempt. The Tlascalans,
therefore, were left to their own religious rites and objects of
worship.
Cortés, accompanied by 6,000 of them, now directed his course towards
Cholula. This place was only six leagues distant from Tlascala, was
formerly an independent state, and had been but lately subjected to
the Mexican empire. It was considered by all the people around as a
peculiarly holy place, the sanctuary or principal seat of their gods,
to which pilgrimages were made, and in whose temple even more human
victims were sacrificed than in that of Mexico. Montezuma professed
now to be willing to receive Cortés in his capital. He had, however,
laid a deep plot for the extermination of his enemies. They were to
be received into Cholula under the mask of friendship, and, when not
expecting it, a vigorous onset was to be made on them from every
quarter, while, by means of pits dug, and barricades erected, and
large collections of stones on the tops of the temples, their retreat
would be cut off, and their ruin completed. Cortés was forewarned of
the treachery, and took decisive measures to defeat the project. He
arrested some of their chief priests, and thus obtained a confession
of the meditated crime, drew up his troops, seized the magistrates and
chief citizens, and, on a preconcerted signal, both the Spaniards and
Tlascalans poured upon the multitude, who were so amazed, that they
were unable to offer any resistance. The streets were filled with blood
and carnage. The temples were set on fire, and many of the priests and
chiefs perished in the flames. More than 6,000 Cholulans are said to
have fallen in the massacre, without the loss of a single Spaniard. The
magistrates were then released, and commanded to recall the people,
who had, in the mean time, fled in every direction. After so terrible
a lesson, they dared not disobey the command of one who seemed to them
of a character something more than human, and the city was soon filled
again with those who yielded their service to the very men who had so
mercilessly butchered their friends and relatives.
Cholula was but twenty leagues from Mexico, and Cortés, on his march,
was everywhere hailed as a deliverer, who came to free the people from
the oppression of the Mexican yoke. Complaints were made of Montezuma
and his governors, and Cortés was encouraged in the belief of the
ultimate success of his enterprise against so mighty a monarchy.
Without entering into the details of his march, it is enough to say,
that, on crossing the Sierra of Ahualco, the valley of Mexico lay
outstretched below, and the city, the object of his schemes, with its
temples, and walls, and palaces, was in full view before him.
While the Spanish adventurer became more bold as he proceeded,
the Mexican monarch, on the other hand, seems to have grown more
irresolute and timid. The rapid march of the new enemy, the success
which had crowned his arms, his sagacity in detecting the plans for
his defeat,--all these things, combined with the traditions to which
allusion has been made, seem to have withheld Montezuma from that wise
and valiant course which might have been expected from the descendant
of a long line of brave men. Had Montezuma the First been in his place,
as the adversary with whom Cortés was to contend, the result might have
been different.
As the Spaniards approached Mexico, they were met by 1,000 persons
of high rank adorned with plumes and clothed in fine cotton mantles.
These saluted Cortés after the manner of their country, and announced
the approach of Montezuma. Next came two hundred persons dressed
alike, with large plumes, marching two and two, in deep silence, and
barefooted, with their eyes fixed on the ground. Then came a company
of still higher rank in their most costly and splendid attire, in
the midst of whom was Montezuma, borne on the shoulders of four of
his principal favorites, while others supported a canopy of curious
workmanship above his head. Before him marched three officers, bearing
rods of gold, which they lifted up on high at certain intervals, as
a signal for the people to bow and hide their faces, as unworthy to
look on so glorious a monarch. As he drew near, Cortés dismounted, and
respectfully advanced to meet him. Montezuma likewise alighted, the
ground being covered with cotton cloths, and, leaning on the arm of an
attendant, proceeded at a slow pace. For the first time, the invader
and the monarch stood face to face. They made their salutations, Cortés
after the European fashion, and the Mexican by touching the earth with
his hand, and kissing it. This condescension in so mighty a monarch
only tended to confirm his people in their belief, that the Spaniards
belonged to a superior race; and, as they passed along, these latter
heard themselves often called _Teules_, or gods.
[Illustration: ANCIENT SCULPTURE, FROM PALENQUE.]
This interview had no decisive results. Montezuma conducted Cortés
to the quarters he had prepared for him, being a palace built by his
father; he then left him, saying, “You are now with your brothers, in
your own house; refresh yourself after your fatigue, and be happy till
I return.” In the evening he returned, loaded with rich presents to
all. Cortés was now informed that the Mexicans were convinced, from
what they had seen and heard, that the Spaniards were the very persons
predicted by the Mexican traditions, and therefore they were received,
not as strangers, but as relations of the same blood and parentage.
Montezuma also recognized him as entitled to command, and assured him
that he and his subjects would be ready to comply with his will and to
anticipate his wishes. This impression Cortés sought to confirm still
more, while at the same time he treated him with the respect due to
the dignity of the sovereign. He had also a public audience with the
monarch, and then spent three days in viewing the city.
The city of Mexico was situated on a large plain surrounded by
mountains, the moisture of which collected in several lakes. The
two largest of these were sixty or seventy miles in circuit, and
communicated with each other. Mexico was built, as has been before
said, on some small islands in one of these lakes. The access to it
was by causeways or dikes of stone and earth, forty feet broad. As
the water overflowed the flat country, these causeways were somewhat
long. That of Tacuba, on the west, extended a mile and a half; that
of Tepejacac, on the north, three miles; and that of Iztapalapan
on the south, seven miles. The east side of the city could only be
approached by canoes. Each causeway had openings for the passage of
the water, over which were thrown bridges of timber and earth. Many of
the buildings, as the temples, palaces, and houses of the rich and the
nobles, were large; but there was also a great number of poor huts. The
great square, or market of Tlatelolco, was of vast extent, and would
hold 40,000 or 50,000 persons. The city contained 300,000 inhabitants,
at least, and some writers assert that there were many more.
The Spaniards soon began to feel uneasy, and to expect treachery on
the part of Montezuma; which suspicions seemed to be confirmed by
the information, that two soldiers belonging to the garrison at Vera
Cruz had been treacherously murdered by Quauhpopoca, a Mexican chief,
governor of a neighbouring province, instigated, it was believed, by
Montezuma; and that, in an expedition subsequently undertaken by the
commandant of the garrison for the purpose of avenging this act, this
officer, with seven or eight soldiers, had been slain. One Spaniard
had also been taken prisoner, and his head cut off and carried in
triumph through different cities, to show that the invaders were not
invincible. The charm was now broken, and Cortés felt that nothing but
the most desperate measures would save his enterprise from ruin. He
therefore seized Montezuma in his palace, and hurried him away to the
Spanish quarters.
The manner in which this was effected shows the power he had gained
over the monarch and his people. Admitted to his presence, the Mexicans
having retired from respect, Cortés reproached the monarch with the
conduct of Quauhpopoca, and demanded that Montezuma himself should
become a hostage for the fulfilment of an order for his arrest. The
haughty Mexican, surprised as he was, indignantly replied, that this
was contrary to all custom, and that his subjects would never suffer
such an affront to be offered to their sovereign; but, seized with
dread at the threatening language and gestures of one of the cavaliers
who attended Cortés, he finally yielded to the daring invader of his
kingdom and authority. Conducted to the Spanish quarters, he received
his officers, and issued his orders, as usual, but was carefully
watched by the Spaniards.
Quauhpopoca, his son, and fifteen of his principal officers, were
brought to the capital and delivered up to the Spaniards, and, not
denying their guilt, they were condemned to be burnt alive. The
Mexicans gazed in silence on these insults offered their monarch, who
is said to have been even put in fetters by Cortés, as a punishment for
his treachery. The daring adventurer had now so quelled the spirit of
Montezuma, that he became himself the virtual sovereign of the realm.
He displaced and appointed officers as he chose; sent out Spaniards to
survey the country, and selected stations for colonies, and by various
means sought to prepare the minds of this unfortunate people for the
Spanish yoke.
To secure the command of the lake, he excited the curiosity of
Montezuma to see some of those moving palaces which could pass through
the water without oars. Naval equipments were brought from Vera Cruz
by the aid of the Mexicans, and others of them were employed in
cutting down timber for the construction of two brigantines. Cortés
still further urged on Montezuma to own himself the vassal of the
king of Castile, and to pay him an annual tribute. With tears and
groans, broken in spirit, the Mexican monarch obeyed the humiliating
requisition, while the indignant people by their murmurs showed how
deeply they felt the degradation inflicted on the empire. Immense
treasures were lavished on the Spaniards, and, when Montezuma refused
utterly to change his religion, they became at last so daring, as to
attempt to throw down the idols by force from the great temple. The
priests then rallying to defend them, Cortés prudently desisted from
his undertaking.
This insult to their deities roused at last the spirit of the people,
who had hitherto submitted to the exactions of their conquerors
and the indignities heaped on themselves and their monarch. They
determined either to expel or destroy the Spaniards, and nothing but
the captive condition of their monarch, and his danger, prevented an
outbreak. After many consultations between Montezuma and his priests
and officers, Cortés was decidedly told, that, as he had finished
his embassy, the gods had signified it as their desire, that he
and his band should leave the realm, or sudden destruction would
fall on them. Temporizing and affecting to comply, the wily Spaniard
informed Montezuma that he must have time to rebuild his vessels. To
so reasonable a request no objection could be urged; and Mexicans were
sent to Vera Cruz to aid in the prosecution of this labor, while the
Spanish carpenters were to superintend the work.
In consequence of the arrival of an armament from Cuba against him,
Cortés was forced to leave an officer with 150 men at Mexico, and
hasten towards Vera Cruz. He met the advancing foe and defeated them,
received the soldiery thus conquered into his own ranks, and hurried
back again to the Mexican capital. During his absence, infuriated by a
wanton massacre committed upon their nobles by the Spanish commandant,
Alvarado, the Mexicans had risen, attacked the garrison, killed and
wounded some of the men, and burned the brigantines, so that the
Spaniards, now closely invested in their own quarters, were threatened
with famine or by the fury of the people, by whom they were continually
attacked. On his return, Cortés found that the disaffection was widely
spread, and he was welcomed by none of the towns on his route, except
Tlascala.
On his arrival in Mexico, Montezuma, who still remained a prisoner in
the Spanish quarters, came to welcome him; but Cortés received him so
coldly that the emperor soon retired. Earnestly desirous, however, of
vindicating himself from the imputation of having been accessory to
the assault on the garrison, he soon after sent some of his attendants
to solicit an interview with the Spanish general. Irritated by the
continued demonstrations of hostility on the part of the people, Cortés
now threw off all restraint, and treated the message with the utmost
contumely, exclaiming, “What have I to do with this dog of a king?” The
nobles, swelling with indignation, withdrew.
Meanwhile the people of the city were busily engaged in preparing for
a vigorous assault on the Spanish quarters. Cortés had just despatched
a messenger to Vera Cruz, to announce his safe arrival in the capital,
and his confident expectation of a speedy submission on the part of
the rebels, as he termed them, when suddenly the din of war rose on
the air, and his messenger, who had been gone scarcely half an hour,
returned in breathless haste with the intelligence that the city was
all in arms. The appalling tidings were speedily confirmed, by the
appearance of the furious populace rushing on through every avenue
towards the fortress, as if determined to carry it by storm. The
conflict was fierce and obstinate. Nothing daunted by the storm of
iron hail poured in upon their defenceless bodies from the Spanish
ordnance, which stretched them on the ground by hundreds, they pressed
on up to the very muzzles of the guns. Repulsed on one quarter, they
turned with undiminished fury to another,--striving, now, to scale the
parapet, now to force the gates, and now to undermine or open a breach
in the walls,--and finally endeavouring to fire the edifice by shooting
burning arrows into it. In this last they were partially successful;
but the approach of night at length caused them to retire.
On the following day the Mexicans prepared to renew the attack; but
Cortés resolved to anticipate it by a sortie. Accordingly he sallied
out at the head of his cavalry, supported by the infantry and his
Tlascalan allies. The Mexicans fled in disorder; but soon rallying
behind a barricade which they had thrown up across the street, they
began to pour in volleys of missiles upon the Spaniards, which served
in a degree to check their career. With the aid of his field pieces,
however, Cortés speedily cleared away the barricade, when the Mexicans
again turned and fled. But now, as the Spaniards continued to advance,
the enemy had recourse to a new mode of annoyance. Mounting to the
roofs of the houses, they hurled down large stones upon the heads
of the cavaliers with a force which would often tumble them from
their saddles. Unable to protect themselves against this species of
missiles, Cortés ordered the buildings to be set on fire, and in this
manner several hundred houses were destroyed. The Spaniards were
now victorious at every point; at length, sated with slaughter, and
perceiving that the day was beginning to decline, Cortés withdrew his
troops to their quarters.