Aztec Courage The Conquest of Mexico, by Al M.Rocca

Transcription

1 Aztec Courage The Conquest of Mexico, by Al M.Rocca

2 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied in any form, written or electronic, without written permission from the publisher. ISBN-10: EAN-13: Author: Rocca, Al M. Aztec Courage: The Conquest of Mexico, Period: Meso-American Culture; Spanish conquest of the Americas Fiction, 137 pages 1. Aztec Courage Juvenile Literature (fiction) Copyright 2011 Al M. Rocca Publisher CreateSpace, Scott s Valley, CA Photo Credits: cover illustration (author); (karenswhimsy.com-- originally from John Ridpath's series The World's People, copyright 1911) pp. 4, 24, 32, 40(b), 67, 110; Public domain drawings, 10, 17; Maps 17, 24, 53, 60(t) by author; drawing by author 87, 130(b); Wikipedia 39, 53, 60(t), 75; Hernando Cortez by John Abbott 46, 60(b), 81, 87, 94, 100, 117; Desk Gallery 67(b) Al M. Rocca is Faculty Advisor for the CalStateTeach program at California State University, Monterey Bay 2

3 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Gold, Glory and God 5 2 The Expedition Begins 11 3 The First Fight 18 4 Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz 25 5 Tonacoatl and Montezuma 33 6 The Great Cue 41 7 Marching To Mexico 47 8 Cortez Meets Montezuma 54 9 Life in Tenochtitlan A Clash of Cultures Cacamatzin, Lord of Texcoco Massacre in Tenochtitlan Battle for the Great Cue Death of Montezuma Escape from Tenochtitlan Tonacoatl Against Cacamatzin Rescue of Chiameca Fight to the Death 126 Epilogue 131 3

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5 Chapter 1 Gold, Glory and God A stiff, cool breeze swept over the wharf at Trinidad, Cuba. Diego Orteguilla looked up at the gathering clouds and turned to face the tall man standing next to him, I think the rain will come soon. The tall man, Gonzalo de Alvarado, raised his hand to shield the shaft of light streaming from the quickly disappearing Sun. You are right lad, he replied. Gonzalo added, Let s hurry back to the warehouse. The captain-general will be speaking soon to all the new recruits. Is it true that your brother Pedro will be joining us, asked Diego? Yes Diego. Pedro and my other brothers will be arriving and signing the roll of attendance to be brothers-in-arms. Now, let s get going. Diego and Gonzalo finished loading the heavy crates containing cassava bread and salt pork from a nearby cart to the loading dock. They climbed into the cart then Gonzalo tugged the reins of the horse. In a few minutes, the warm rain began to fall all around them as the cart pulled into the large, open square. Dozens of men, some of them holding crossbows and wearing swords, stood anxiously in front of the low warehouse veranda (porch). Gonzalo slowed the cart, and stopped near the center of the grassy square. 5

6 Come on Diego, I think I see Pedro, shouted Gonzalo. Diego jumped down from the cart and followed Gonzalo to a large, red-bearded soldier who wore a shiny metal breastplate of armor. The soldier s flaming, long hair hung well below his steel helmet. Gonzalo tapped the big man on the shoulder and when the man turned to see who it was, Gonzalo shouted, Buenos Dias, my brother. The man quickly recognized Gonzalo, his eyes growing large and bright and he shouted, Hola, Gonzalo, it is good to see you. Gonzalo now turned to Diego, Pedro, this is my young friend, Diego Orteguilla. Pedro held out his strong right hand and said, Any friend of my brother is a friend of mine. Diego now shook hands with Pedro and replied, You sir, are a hero of mine. I have heard that the great Pedro de Alvarado is a brave and courageous soldier. Before Pedro could reply, Diego added, The stories tell of your adventures on the mainland, how you fought with wild Indian warriors and won a treasure of gold and silver. On hearing this, Pedro gave out a loud laugh, I am afraid that those stories are not worth the time it takes to tell them. I did serve with Juan de Grijalva and we fought a few skirmishes with the natives of Champoton, but I brought back little gold. Diego looked away, disappointed with Pedro s answer. Pedro, seeing this, put his hand on Diego s shoulder and said, You know I do remember one story, something about a great lord, who was himself a god. This god-king ruled over a vast empire to the west, near the smoking mountains. Diego s face turned bright and his eyes grew large, then he shouted, I knew it! The legends must be 6

7 true. He now turned to Gonzalo and added, We are all going to be famous and rich. Before Gonzalo could answer, a tall, bearded soldier walked out from the warehouse entrance. His iron breastplate caught a glimmer of sunlight that, for a moment, blinded Diego with the reflection. A wide grin appeared on the soldier s face as he saw Pedro de Alvarado. Pedro step up to meet this man and when they met, he gave the man a shoulder hug, stepped back and said, Captain-General, I am pleased to see you again. I have come with my brothers to join your expedition. Bravo for you Pedro. You and your brothers are welcome, said the soldier. Next, Gonzalo came up and standing next to his brother Pedro said, Senior, sir, I have brought a young lad who wants to join us. Without waiting, Gonzalo motioned to Diego to join the others. Diego, come here and meet with our leader, Captain-General Hernando Cortez. Cortez smiled and greeted Diego with a handshake. You are welcome my young friend, but you will need your parents permission to join us. Gonzalo quickly replied, Sir, Diego has no family, as his father has recently died and his mother died in Spain. Well in that case, you can serve as my page, Cortez replied. Cortez now waved for all of the gathered men to draw close. Nearly one hundred men, some of then very young, crowded near the veranda and eagerly waited to hear their leader. The captain-general took a deep breath and began, It is good to see all of you today. On behalf of the governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez and the King of Spain, his majesty, Charles V, I welcome you to join in our grand expedition to the lands of the West. 7

8 Diego listened carefully as Cortez continued, My fellow Spaniards, we all came to this New World discovered by Columbus, to find wealth and glory. This is something that we could not achieve in Spain. Now, we have settled in Cuba, but there is little gold and no glory. Even the land grants promised to us are too small to provide a good living and the Indians refuse to work. Diego knew that all of what Cortez said was true. Eager young men in Spain, like his father, had come to Cuba seeking a new life and new opportunities. Yet, too many had come and by 1519, new land grants were hard to obtain. Cortez paused to acknowledge the nods that many of his men were giving to his strong words. Then he went on, So, now we are given a new opportunity, an opportunity to discover new lands to the west, to bring the word of our Lord to the heathen tribes of Indians on the mainland and to secure gold for our governor and king. With the gold we will build churches and great cities and bring civilization to the Indians and in doing so, you will be rewarded with riches yourself of land and thus, glory. Diego had heard this before, as many of the men use the phrase, Gold, Glory and God as a slogan to guide their reasons for being in the New World. In Cuba, Spaniards petitioned for a grant to control local native peoples, the Taino [tie-no]. This practice was known as the encomienda system. It was, originally designed not to take away Indian lands, but to organize the people for work and to pay tribute. The holder of the encomienda grant would also be responsible to feed, cloth, and defend them from other tribes, as well as convert them to Christianity. However, many Spaniards took advantage of the situation and by 1519, the Taino suffered from loss of land and their freedom. More and more of them died from European diseases such as smallpox. Diego recalled seeing many 8

9 Taino children working long hours in the fields. Often, he wanted to go up to some of the boys, his own age, and talk to them, but he did not. 1 Cortez went on to talk about organizing the men into companies with each company having a captain. Pedro de Alvarado was given command of one company, including all of the men standing now with Diego and Gonzalo. Diego was to report directly to Cortez for now. He would serve as a page, or young servant. For the most part, Diego carried messages from Cortez to the different ship captains and local merchants. Within days of meeting Cortez, Diego discovered an official notice from Governor Velazquez ordering the captain-general not to sail and to disband the men. Diego overheard Cortez discussing the order with Pedro de Alvarado and two other captains. Cortez and his captains decided to send an official note to King Charles asking for a review of the decision of Velazquez. Meanwhile, his captains urged him to sail at once to the north shore of Cuba. Cortez agreed and in early 1519, the expedition set sail for the large settlement of Havana. Here Cortez recruited more men. Finally, on February 19, 1519, Diego watched in amazement as over 600 soldiers and sailors, 200 Taino servants and 16 horses boarded the 11 ships at anchor in Havana harbor. His adventure was about to begin. 1 Tribute from the Taino usually meant gold, wheat, corn or chickens. The encomienda system was decreed to last for only two generations of the original holder of the grant. However, the system became corrupt and it went on for many years. 9

10 Map 1: Cortez begins his expedition in Cuba picking up volunteers in Santiago, then Trinidad and Havana. Spanish ship of the 1500s. 10