In when montezuma met cortes, the american historian matthew restall examines documents concerning the military conflict that set the aztecs. Oct 10, 20 montezuma, or more correctly, motecuhzoma ii xocoyotzin aka moctezuma or angry like a lord was the last fully independent ruler of the aztec empire before the civilizations collapse. Cortes faces montezuma on the great causeway leading to tenochtitlan. Book from the collections of unknown library language english. But according to historian matthew restall, author of the book when montezuma met cortes, this is simply wrong. In the selection of a new ruler, about thirty lords, together with the kings of texcoco and tacuba, acted as an electoral college. Montezuma ii is the namesake of montezumas revenge, a form of diarrhea that arises when a tourist consumes a food that heshe does not often eat. At that time the great empire of the mexicanow known as the aztecs. For montezuma, leader of the mexicans, april 21, 1519 known in their sophisticated astronomical system as 9 wind day was the precise date of a dire prophesy. Although montezuma did not trust cortes, he thought that cortes might be the god quetzalcoatl in human form. Montezuma very graciously welcomed cortes to his city, and cortes.
While serving in rangoon, maurice collis fell into official disfavor for fraternizing with the burmese and chinese residents, and. Landing on the mexican coast on good friday, 1519, hernan. The book this grade is generally well kept and is in good shape to read and store. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The relationship between cortes and montezuma started to deteriorate, as montezuma faces a possible enemy and cortes no longer has the strategical advantages of being considered a god. Read unlimited books and audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and. Landing on the mexican coast on the eve of good friday, 1519, hernan cortes felt himself the bearer of a divine burden to conquer and civilize the first advanced civilization europeans had yet encountered in the west. Cortes and montezuma by maurice collis and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The book draws mainly from the selfproclaimed humble work of bernal diaz del castillo, a conquistador in cortes army. His new book, when montezuma met cortes, likewise presents doubts about the reputation of cortes as a great warrior and inspired leader. Montezuma, king of the aztecs, ruled over 15 million people when cortes arrived with a few hundred spanish soldiers and cuban porters. Digging into thousands of pages of legal testimony given in the 1520s by participants in cortes s expedition against the mexico of ancient mesoamerica, thomas revisits the spanish invasion of the.
Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including oxford university, michigan state university, and university of minnesota we have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications. Less than a week later, he seizes the aztec ruler and takes control of the city. Landing on the mexican coast on good friday, 1519, hernan cortes felt himself the bearer of a divine burden to conquer and convert the first advanced civilization europeans had yet encountered in the west. A dramatic rethinking of the encounter between montezuma and hernando cortes. Cortes and montezuma has 2 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. Conquest is the most detailed and engaging book i have read about cortes and his campaign in america. Cortes ordered montezuma to reopen the market, but the emperor said that he could not because he was a captive and no one listened to his orders anymore.
May 24, 2018 in when montezuma met cortes, the american historian matthew restall examines documents concerning the military conflict that set the aztecs in opposition to the spanish empire in 1520. Cortes and montezuma book ancient history encyclopedia. When montezuma met cortes matthew restall paperback. Cortes was not the brilliant, courageous, visionary, worldstriding conqueror he has long been presented as. As the long lines of celebrants wound into the temple precinct, the great drum played constantly, uniting their steps and their voices. The true story of the meeting that changed history.
Therefore, montezuma became suspicious of the spanish mens every actions and particularly cortes. Along with pictures, a bibliography and more, you will learn about cortes and montezuma like you never have before. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Hernan cortes, king montezuma, and the last stand of the aztec is the riveting and vivid account of cortes and his brutal conquest of the aztec empire in 1519 1521. On november 8, 1519, the spanish conquistador hernando cortes first met montezuma, the aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of tenochtitlan. Montezuma very graciously welcomed cortes to his city, and cortes answered with great respect, adding many thanks for all the mexicans gifts.
Mar 26, 2019 during his march to the aztec capital, cortes gathers valuable allies among enemies of montezuma. In todays world, people often find themselves in encounters like that between cortes and montezumainteractions with complete strangers. Cortes and montezuma book by maurice collis 2 available. Gender, lifecycle, and sacrifice in aztec culture was published by palgrave macmillan in 2008. Montezuma ii himself was taken as a hostage by the notorious spanish conquistador hernan cortes in 1519. Have students practice using the word corroboratein other words. Cortes and montezuma the meeting that killed 20 million. The reader of the book will share with both conquerors and conquered their feelings,their hardships, their sorrow,fears of the unknown,blood curdling human sacrifices,their battles,victories and defeats,death and destinies. Meeting montezuma ii when cortes arrived at tenochtitlan on november 8, 1519 he was welcomed by the aztec emperor montezuma ii. Cortes meets montezuma cortes letters 8th november. Hernan cortes, king montezuma, and the last stand of the aztecs. Thus the emperor in 1518, montezuma ii, was the eighth son of axayacatl, an emperor who died in 1481. Having skirmished their way along the coast, and met with montezumas emissaries, cortes and the conquistadors set out for tenochtitlan from their settlement of vera cruz. And it treats moctezuma deservedly as one of the worlds great men.
While it does give a reader pause to realize that cortes had only one truly successful. Jan 21, 2020 but to cortes, montezumas humble words sounded like surrender. Afterwards, cortes built his palace on the ruins of montezuma s. Read when montezuma met cortes by matthew restall for free with a 30 day free trial. When montezuma met cortes by matthew restall book read. Even more interesting is restalls view of emperor montezuma, whom history has called a coward. When montezuma met cortes and millions of other books are available for. Made more incredible by the fact of how a handful of spaniards300 to 400led by hernan cortes strategically managed to. Conquering the aztecs cortes had heard of the aztecs and knew that they, and their leader montezuma ii, were a primary force in mexico. Even document c indicates that moctezuma welcomed cortes, just not necessarily as a returning ruler. As it should be cortez is presented as an enigmatic character in history. It is the case of the victor writing the history, and cortes letter was the basis for it. Montezuma, leader of the mexicans, april 21, 1519 known in their.
The seven book history of hernan cortes, mayan and mexican civilization, united in. The despatches of hernando cortes, the conqueror of mexico, addressed to the emperor charles v. Discover librarianselected research resources on hernan cortes from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. Montezuma, or more correctly, motecuhzoma ii xocoyotzin aka moctezuma or angry like a lord was the last fully independent ruler of the aztec empire before the civilizations collapse at the hands of the spanish in the early 16th century ce. Cortes and montezuma by mara louise pratt chadwick, educational publishing company. Over 200,000 aztecs, including montezuma, perished in the resulting fight, which levy describes with the gusto of homers account of the fall of troy. This book is about why they often go wrong, and why we are so bad at understanding the strangers we come across. For those who wish to dig even deeper into the lives of cortes and the conquistadors, montezuma and ancient mexican culture, bernal diazs rich work is available in spanish and english. Taking the position of tlatoani, meaning speaker, in 1502 ce he would rule as an absolute monarch until 1520 ce, during. As montezuma approached, cortes threw his reins to a page and dismounted, and with a few of his chief men went forward to meet the emperor. A dramatic rethinking of the encounter between montezuma and hernando cortes that completely overturns what we know about the spanish conquest of the americas. Montezuma was not a blithering, cowardly, effeminate loser. Conquest is a gigantic book about montezuma, cortes and the fall of old mexico, as it states in the title. This is the story of one of the most momentous events of the spanish conquest of the aztec empire the meeting.
By looking at some stories from world history and recent news, youll begin to understand the strategies people use to translate the words and intentions of strangers. Cortes was a diplomat as well as a warrior, and, though the thrust of his negotiations with montezuma was outrageous, marks argues that the intention was never to obliterate the city or the empire. Jan 30, 2018 at the time of writing, he and his men were guests of montezuma and nowhere near subduing this highly civilized people. He begins his history in 1519, with the meeting of the aztec leader and spanish conquistador in tenochtitlan, the sophisticated island capital of the aztec empire, now the sprawling metropolis of mexico city. Nov 10, 2019 500 years later, the spanish conquest of mexico is still being debated the meeting of aztec emperor montezuma ii and hernan cortes and the events that followed weigh heavily in mexico half a. Aug 03, 2019 in the early sixteenth century a force of hundreds overcame an empire of millions. The book introduces the reader to a vast array of mexica and spanish characters. Now that was a monster, rather difficult to read, but very good history written to the very high academic and intellectual standards of britain just like this book on cortes. Buy a cheap copy of cortes and montezuma book by maurice collis. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Drawing on rare primary sources and overlooked accounts by conquistadors and aztecs alike. Landing on the mexican coast on good friday, 1519, hernan cort. Hugh thomas doesnt take sides in the conflict and neither portrays the mexica nor the spanish as saints or sinners.
In a departure from traditional tellings, when montezuma met cortes uses the meetingas restall dubs their first encounteras the entry point into a comprehensive reevaluation of both cortes and montezuma. The two great men looked at each other with a keen interest. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Cortes, for example, dug a onemile canal to launch battle ships in the lake surrounding tenochtitlan. The convergence of cortes and montezuma is the most emblematic event in the birth of what would come to be called america.
Cortes and montezumathe meeting that killed 20 million. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. After reading this book, i looked for other works by hugh thomas, and found his book on cuba. Montezuma had followed an uncle, ahuitzotl, who had died in 1502. Maurice collis 18891975 was born in dublin, graduated from oxford, and joined the indian civil service in burma in 1912. Sep 09, 2019 hernan cortes was a spanish conquistador who explored central america, overthrew montezuma and his vast aztec empire and won mexico for the crown of spain.
A dramatic rethinking of the encounter between montezuma and hernando cortes that. When montezuma met cortes matthew restall hardcover. List of books and articles about hernan cortes online. Cortes was a diplomat as well as a warrior, and, though the thrust of his negotiations with montezuma was outrageous, marks argues that the intention was never to obliterate the city or the empire but rather to bring it under vassalage to spainwhich, after all, would be, in spanish minds, a favor to the people they had conquered. Montezuma ii and the relationship between him and cortes. His ambition and skill matched by his greed and cruelty. Cortes and montezuma chronicles the lives and legacies of the conquistador and the emperor whose empire he conquered. On november 8, 1519, the spanish conquistador hernando cortes first met montezuma, the aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of. Cortes could not restore order, and the spanish were starving, as the market had closed.
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