The first inhabitants of that part of the continent seen by Spaniards
were Mayas from Yucatan. Columbus met them in 1502 at an island near
Ruatan, off the coast of Honduras. While he was stopping at this island,
these Mayas came there "in a vessel of considerable size" from a port in
Yucatan, thirty leagues distant. It was a trading vessel, freighted with
a variety of merchandise, and it used sails. Its cargo consisted of a
variety of textile fabrics of divers colors, wearing apparel, arms,
household furniture, and cacao, and the crew numbered twenty men.
Columbus, who treated them very kindly, described these strangers as
well clothed, intelligent, and altogether superior to any other people
he had discovered in America. Adventurers hunting for prey soon began to
make voyages in that direction and report what they saw. Sailing along
the coast of Yucatan, they discovered cities, and "the grandeur of the
buildings filled them with astonishment." On the main land and on one or
two islands they saw great edifices built of stone. The seeming riches
and other attractions of the country led the Spaniards to invade
Yucatan, but they were defeated and driven off. At this time they gained
considerable knowledge of Mexico, and persuaded themselves that immense
wealth could be found there.
Finally, in March, 1519, Cortez landed near the place where Vera Cruz
was afterward built, and moved on through the country toward the city of
Mexico. Studying, in all the histories of the Conquest, only their
incidental references to the civilized condition of the people, we can
see plainly what it was. As the invaders approached Tlascala, they found
"beautiful whitewashed houses" scattered over the country. The
Tlascalans had towns, cities, agriculture, and markets. Cortez found
among them all that was needed by his troops. His supremacy in Tlascala
was easily established; and it was not difficult to induce the people to
aid him cordially in his operations against Mexico, for they hated the
Aztecs, by whom they had recently been subjugated. In a description of
their capital, he stated that it was as large as the city of Granada, in
Spain.
He went next to Cholulu, where, near the great mound, was an important
city, in which they saw a "great plaza." Bernal Diaz said of this city,
"I well remember, when we first entered this town and looked up to the
elevated white temples, how the whole place put us completely in mind of
Valladolid." The "white temples" were "elevated" because they stood on
high pyramidal foundations, just as they are seen in the old ruins. It
is probable, however, that these were built of adobe bricks or of
timber. The city very likely was much older than the Aztec empire. A
Spanish officer named Ordaz ascended Mount Popocatapetl, and one thing
he saw was "the Valley of Mexico, with its city, its lagunas and
islands, and its scattered hamlets, a busy throng of life being every
where visible."