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Hernàn Cortés was the conqueror of the Aztec empire and architect of colonial Mexico. Between 1519 and 1526, he wrote detailed accounts of the ongoing conquest and various activities pertaining to the Spanish expedition. His second letter in 1520 to Charles V, was written in the year he fled from Tenochtitlan and almost lost half of his army. Cortés’ account appears to be engineered to allow him to take advantage of the rich and beautiful empire of the Native Americas through conquest. He did this by first to justify his actions and to acquire further support from the Emperor to colonize the Mexicans. A second possible reason could be to explain to Emperor Charles V the importance of this newly discovered land. This portion of the letter reflects his keen observation of the socio-economic and cultural aptitude of the Native Americans (Townsend, 87).
Cortés wanted continued support, both legal and military, from the Spanish Emperor. His original adventure to the Mexico was to explore, trade and to rescue Spanish survivors of previous exploration. But things turned around when Cortés broke away from Diego Velazquez and became an autonomous agent in the exploration, and began reporting directly to Charles V. His flowery description of Mexico was implicitly to prove to the emperor his capacity and skill for navigating the situation of Mexico and how such knowledge could aid him to manoeuvre plans to overtake the Aztec Empire for the Emperor. His agenda behind these descriptions was the great prize that could come to the Emperor should Mexico be taken. The abundance of water, food, architectural monuments, wealthy people and an organized political monarchy were key notes that distinguished the city as an excellent and economically rewarding place to colonize.
Cortés wanted to justify his action and his support by showing the advantages of Spanish conquest. The picture he portrayed to the Emperor about Mexico was an excellent advanced civilization. Whiles staying in Tenochtitlan, Townsend accounts that Cortés explored the region, especially the Coatzacoalcos River basin. Soon after the fall of the city, he sent large groups to colonize the region (Townsend, 150). Tenochtitlan after conquest provided a great fortune to the Spanish. With phrases such as “this noble city”, “excellent water”, “tax is collected” and the description of the indigenes as submissive to authority, Cortés sought to legitimated his stay in Mexico and furthered his agenda and Spanish dominion.
Cortés wanted to justify his destructive actions in Mexico. Having burnt down many cities and great massacre (See Townsend, 59, 61), he now presents a detailed description of why the new lands must be taken by force. Within the larger context, Cortés’ second letter to Emperor Charles attempts to captivate the attention of the royal council by describing what he calls “New Spain”, the extent of their advancement in architecture, technology and fortune in the great city of Tenochtitlan which provided every reason to the Emperor to claim for Spanish dominion. Cortés does well to compare the new lands with some of the cities in Spain and other contemporary great cities to reinforce or make it more appealing to the Emperor. Cortés was a clever conquistador who through his letters campaigned for Spanish conquest and destruction of the Aztec Empire.
REFERENCE
Townsend, Camilla. Malintzin's Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.