The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico

Description

Until 1959, when this book was published for the first time, the only organized testimony about the Conquest was the victorious chronicle of the Spaniards themselves. Miguel León-Portilla had the incomparable success of organizing texts translated from Nahuatl by Ángel María Garibay Kintana to give us the The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico: Indigenous people of Tenochtitlán, Tlatelolco, Texcoco, Chalco and Tlaxcala were formed about the struggle against the conquerors and the final ruin of the Aztec world. An account of the omens that announced the disaster, a description of Cortes' progress, a chronicle of the heroic battle of the ancient Mexicans in defense of their culture and of their own lives, a civilization that was lost forever, a great epic poem of the origins of Mexican nationality, The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico is already a classic book and an indispensable reading work. Contents Illustrations Translators Note Foreword To Whom Can We Attribute the Vision of the Vanquished? Beyond the Sixteenth Century Introduction Cultural Stages of Ancient Mexico Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Metropolis The Aztec Empire Aztec Society Warfare in Ancient Mexico Pre-Hispanic Education Pre-Hispanic Writing and Calendars Indigenous Literature Pronunciation of Nahuatl Words Conclusion One. Omens Foretelling the Arrival of the Spaniards The Omens as Described by Sahagun’s Informants The Omens as Described by Munoz Camargo1 The Wonders and Signs Observed in Tlaxcala Two. First Reports of the Spaniards’ Arrival Motecuhzoma Questions the Magicians A Macehual Arrives from the Gulf Coast Preparations Ordered by Motecuhzoma Three. The Messengers’ Journeys Motecuhzoma Instructs His Messengers The Gifts Sent to the Neto Arrivals The Messengers Contact the Spaniards Cortes Frightens the Messengers Motecuhzoma Awaits Word from the Messengers The Messengers’ Report Four. Motecuhzoma’s Terror and Apathy Motecuhzoma Sends Out Wizards and Magicians Motecuhzoma Learns of the Magicians’ Failure The Anxiety of Motecuhzoma and His People Motecuhzoma Thinks of Fleeing Five. The Spaniards March on Tlaxcala and Cholula The Spaniards March Inland The Arrival at Tlaxcala Intrigues Against Cholula The Massacre at Cholula Negotiations Before the Battle Death of the Envoy from Tlaxcala The Destruction of Cholula Six. The Gifts of Gold: The God Tezcatlipoca Appears The Spaniards See the Objects of Gold Tzihuacpopocatzin Pretends to Be Motecuhzoma The Apparition of Tezcatlipoca Motecuhzoma s Despair Seven. The Spaniards Are Welcomed in Tezcoco The March to Tezcoco The Arrival at the City Ixtlilxochitl Becomes a Christian The Reactions of Yacotzin Motecuhzoma’s Final Decision Eight. The Spaniards Arrive in Tenochtitlan Motecuhzoma Goes Out to Meet Cortes Speeches of Motecuhzoma and Cortes Attitudes of the Spaniards and the Native Lords The Spaniards Take Possession of the City The Spaniards Reveal Their Greed The Seizure of Motecuhzoma’s Treasures Nine. The Massacre in the Main Temple During the Fiesta of Toxcatl The Preparations for the Fiesta The Statue of Huitzilopochtli The Beginning of the Fiesta The Spaniards Attack the Celebrants The Aztecs Retaliate The Lament for the Dead Motecuhzoma s Message The Spaniards Are Besieged The Massacre According to the Codex Aubin Ten. The Night of Sorrows The Spaniards Abandon the City The Battle Begins The Massacre at the Canal of the Toltecs The Spaniards Take Refuge in Teocalhueyacan The Aztecs Recover the Spoils The Account hy Alva Ixtlilxochitl Eleven. The Siege of Tenochtitlan Tenochtitlan After the Departure of Cortes The Plague Ravages the City The Spaniards Return The Spaniards Launch Their Brigantines Defensive Tactics of the Aztecs The Spaniards Debark The Spaniards Advance to the Heart of the City The Aztecs Take Refuge The Last Stand Twelve. Spanish Raids into the Besieged City Fifteen Spaniards Are Captured and Sacrificed The Spaniards Attack Again Fifty-three Spaniards Are Sacrificed The Sufferings of the Inhabitants The Battle in the Market Place Other Battles The Catapult Is Set Up in the Market Place The Aztec Defense The Quetzal-Owl Thirteen. The Surrender of Tenochtitlan The Final Omen Cuauhtemoc s Surrender The Flight from the City The Spaniards Humiliate the Refugees Cortes Demands Gold The Ravage of Tenochtitlan The Capture of Cuauhtemoc Cuauhtemoc Acknowledges His Defeat The Length of the Siege Cortes Deals with the Nobles and Priests Fourteen. The Story of the Conquest as Told by the Anonymous Authors of Tlatelolco The Arrival of Cortes The Massacre in the Main Temple The Night of Sorrows The Spaniards Return The Siege of Tenochtitlan The Tlight to Tlatelolco The Tlatelolcas Are Invited to Make a Treaty The Fighting Is Renewed Epic Description of the Besieged City The Message from Cortes The City Tails The People Flee the City The Offering of Gold Cuauhtemoc Is Tortured The Return to Tlatelolco Fifteen. Elegies on the Fall of the City The Tall of Tenochtitlan The Imprisonment of Cuauhtemoc Flowers and Songs of Sorrow Sixteen. Aftermath Nahua Men of Noble Lineage Write to the King, May 11, 1556 Letter of the Council ofHuejotzingo to King Philip II, 1360 An Eighteenth-Century Nahua Testimony Dance of the Great Conquest, Eighteenth Century The Manifestos of Emiliano Zapata, April 1918 The Nahuas and the “Coyotes” Today Appendix Postscript: Reflection on an Unexpected Historical Account The Significance of the Indigenous Accounts The Rescue of a Memory Images of the Other The Story Continues Selected Bibliography Index