{"id":146,"date":"2019-08-25T17:36:53","date_gmt":"2019-08-25T15:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=146"},"modified":"2026-03-23T10:11:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:11:51","slug":"1519-timeline-from-16-august-leaving-veracruz-to-31-october-paso-de-cortes","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/chapter\/1519-timeline-from-16-august-leaving-veracruz-to-31-october-paso-de-cortes\/","title":{"rendered":"1519 Timeline from 16 August (leaving Veracruz) to 31 October (Paso de Cort\u00e9s)"},"content":{"raw":"Approximate route (version 1.0) followed by Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s from Cempoala (16 August 1519) to Tenochtitlan (8 November 1519) #TheMeeting See in Google Maps: <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp<\/a>\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2>16 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nDuring the first day, their road lay through the tierra caliente, the beautiful land where they had been so long lingering; the land of the vanilla, cochineal, and cacao\r\n\r\nThey marched westward, in the direction of Jalapa. Fit and knowledgeable Totonac scouts ran ahead on reconnaissance forays, returning periodically to report to Cort\u00e9s the lay of the land and any hostile movements among the native populations\r\n\r\n(One of the many maps showing an inexact route of Cort\u00e9s to Tenochtitl\u00e1n. This is from the XIX century)\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECE7IXtUYAE3XLx?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<h2>17 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nAfter some leagues of travel over roads made nearly impassable by the summer rains, the troops began the gradual ascent which leads up to the table-land of Mexico. The air thinned and cooled as they rose to 4000 feet\r\n\r\nTo the southwest Cort\u00e9s and his men stared in wonder at the gigantic, snowcapped dome of Orizaba, soaring nearly 9000 feet above sea level, called \u201cStar-Mountain\u201d by the Mexicans (Citlalt\u00e9petl and also Iztact\u00e9petl, white mountain)\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECKkk6fW4AEPNpg?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nAfter two days of forced marching on trails choked with thorny vines and grandillas, or passion flowers, they reached the town of Xalapa, at the far reaches of the Totonac boundaries. There they rested for the night, being well treated, then kept on\r\n<h2>18 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nStill winding their way upward, amidst scenery as different as was the temperature from that of the regions below, Cort\u00e9s's army passed through settlements containing some hundreds of inhabitants each\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECQM9wxXoAAgDv5?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nNuestra Se\u00f1ora de Asunci\u00f3n de Panam\u00e1 (Panama Viejo), was founded by Pedro Arias de \u00c1vila, gobernor of Castilla del Oro, on 15 august, 1519. Panama city was the starting point for expeditions that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru\r\n\r\nIt was a stopover point on one of the most important trade routes in the American continent, leading to the fairs of Nombre de Dios and Portobelo, through which passed most of the gold and silver that Spain took from the Americas\r\n<h2>19 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nOn the fourth day Cort\u00e9s reached a \u201cstrong town\u201d standing on a rocky eminence. Here they were hospitably entertained by the inhabitants, who were friends of the Totonacs\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s endeavored, through father Olmedo, to impart to them some knowledge of Christian truths, which were kindly received, and the Spaniards were allowed to erect a cross in the place, for the future adoration of the natives\r\n\r\nIndeed, Cort\u00e9s's route might be tracked by these crosses, raised wherever a willing population of Indians invited it, suggesting a very different idea from what the same memorials intimate to the traveller in these mountain solitudes these days\r\n<h2>20 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe route climbed again, up and over six thousand feet, passing through Coatepec, then on to Xicochilmaco, a walled fortress village and Aztec settlement\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECZrTVXWsAAuSOw?format=jpg&amp;name=900x900\" \/>\r\n<h2>21 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe Spaniards continued the long, cold slog, day and night, ascending to a steep and mountainous pass that Cort\u00e9s named Puerto del Nombre de Dios (now called Bishop\u2019s Pass). Harsh winds hurtled down the narrow canyon, followed by a severe mountain storm that pounded Cort\u00e9s and his men with rain and sleet and biting pellets of hail, soaking them to the skin. Three of the Cuban porters perished from exposure in the high mountains of the Cofre de Perote.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECf9ALGXkAEIjFh?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nSee this complete article, in Spanish: La graciosa y gratuita disputa sobre la autor\u00eda de la Historia verdadera del inconfundible Bernal D\u00edaz del Castillo.\u00a0Francisco J. Blasco Pascual <a href=\"http:\/\/revistas.rae.es\/brae\/article\/view\/216\">http:\/\/revistas.rae.es\/brae\/article\/view\/216<\/a>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECg8YkFXUAE6HTp?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nJ. Blasco results reproduced from his corpus at <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Qh0BH1kyhu?amp=1\">https:\/\/t.co\/Qh0BH1kyhu?amp=1<\/a>\r\n<h2>22 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe train of conquistadors and bearers pushed on, descending now from the rugged highlands onto a vast and desolate plain, a dry and barren sun-pocked pan\r\n\r\nSee 'Las cinco rutas de Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s', by Juan Miralles, first digital edition 2013\r\n\r\n<img src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECj23zlX4AA7E5H?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<h2>23 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s and his men swung north in the direction of the R\u00edo Apulco, skirting a massive salt lake, and marched for three days across the seemingly interminable plain, depleting all their stores of food and, worse, all their fresh water\r\n<h2>24 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s' men, parched to delirium, knelt and sucked the water from brackish lagoons, but the salinity was so high it only made them thirstier, and some grew sick and vomited as they staggered along\r\n<h2>25 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nConstant march along narrow trails through the austere maguey desert surrounding the extinct volcano Cofre de Perote (also Nauhcampat\u00e9petl) 4,282 metres (14,049 ft) above sea level\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECzU1nZXUAAh4oK?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<h2>26 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nAcross the seemingly interminable plain, around Alchichica lagoon, through Tepeyahualco to reach Santiago Xonacatl\u00e1n. Map: <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp<\/a>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC5DshbWkAIdzj0?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC5DshJWsAAoVwH?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<h2>27 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nFinally, after nearly a week of constant marching, they climbed again, as the austere maguey desert yielded to rough, flinty ridges. The narrow trails led Cort\u00e9s' men to the town of Xocotl\u00e1n (now Zautla). Map: <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp<\/a>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC9NHPXXUAANlTy?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nExhausted, scorched, and ravenous with thirst, the Spaniards were now dangerously vulnerable, but by good fortune Olintetl, the chief of Xocotl\u00e1n, received them kindly, providing shelter, warmth, and food\r\n\r\nOnce rested and fed, Cort\u00e9s made an inspection of the town, which was by far the largest they had passed through since leaving the coast, with a population of several thousands. In the town square Cort\u00e9s discovered a giant skull rack (or tzompantli) displaying human skulls arranged in neat rows, beside which were great piles of thighbones and arm bones bleached white and luminous in the sun. Most shocking and repugnant to Cort\u00e9s were the fifty or so recently sacrificed corpses, disemboweled and bathed in blood, and a large statue of the war god Huitzilopochtli bespattered and still dripping with the lifeblood of these sacrificial offerings.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC_ZPY9XYAEx4SC?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC_ZQFoW4AAv1qI?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC_ZQ-hXkAYusWh?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<h2>28 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nHuman sacrifices, Aztecs believed, ensured the daily rising of the sun. War captives were ceremonially led to high altars and sacrificed by five priests who placed each victim on his back on a special stone that depicted the sun\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDCtPEWWsAE99Uc?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nTwo priests held down the arms, and two more priests splayed and pressed down the legs. A final priest clamped a large collar around the prisoner\u2019s neck while the village chief hoisted an obsidian blade high, then plunged it into the victim\u2019s chest\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDCtPmPXsAEvljs?format=png&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nOpening the cavity, he would then remove the still-beating heart with his hands and lift it in a highly stylized and ceremonial offering. The steam from the heart was believed to carry a special message to the sun\r\n\r\nThe skull racks, made from thousands of sacrifice victims, served as constant reminders of their religion\u2019s immense power\r\n\r\nHuman ritual sacrifice also served to bring rain and ensure harvest, as well as fertility, enacted in the Feasts of the Flaying of Men, the Festival of Toxcatl, and the New Fire Ceremony.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDCtRBNXUAEb62u?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<h2>29 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s could not have understood that these skulls and corpses were the aftermath and remnants of complex and elaborate seasonal religious rituals that the native inhabitants considered essential, even vital for their survival\r\n\r\nSuch sacrifices, they believed, ensured the daily rising of the sun. What Cort\u00e9s, in his idea of universal values, could not assume was to tolerate them. He had to proceed against the barbaric acts viewed from his catholic values\r\n\r\nHe could not look away. His vision was a complex one: a world empire subject to Charles V, who would become 'monarch of the universe' and which Cort\u00e9s would help to found it by pressing on from Mexico, across the Pacific to the East\r\n\r\nThis vision was compounded as it was of Cortes's own dreams of the conquest of Cathay, Erasmian and Imperial dreams of a universal empire, and Franciscan dreams of the conversion of mankind as the essential prelude to the ending of the world\r\n<h2>30 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nOlintetl, the chief of Xocotl\u00e1n\/Zautla, made a detailed description of the capital city Tenochtitl\u00e1n, which he said was an impenetrable fortress on a great lake, accessible only by three major causeways containing removable bridges\r\n\r\nThe city\u2019s beauty was indescribable, Olintetl said, adding that the reach and power of Moctezuma\u2019s empire was so great that he had amassed riches of gold and silver beyond imagining, much of it won in his conquests over neighboring city-states\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s inquired whether Olintetl himself possessed any gold, as he wished to obtain samples to bring back to his emperor in Spain. Olintetl said he had some gold, but was unauthorized to give any to Cort\u00e9s without the direct permission of Moctezuma\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s, miffed by the rebuke, replied that soon enough he would be getting gold directly from Moctezuma, whom he was on his way to visit. Before departing, Cort\u00e9s sent four Cempoalan chiefs ahead toward Tlaxcala\r\n\r\nThey carried a message stating that the Spaniards were coming soon, in peace, hoping to forge an alliance. Cort\u00e9s then asked Olintetl the best route to the Aztec capital. The chief recommended Cholula, a city and shrine sacred to Quetzalcoatl\r\n\r\nSome of the Cempoalans traveling with Cort\u00e9s counseled against this choice, arguing that not only was the route longer, but Cholula was a heavily fortified Aztec outpost, and additionally the Cholulans were not to be trusted\r\n\r\nBy contrast Tlaxcala, on an alternate route, had never been conquered by Moctezuma, and it was the Tlaxcalans\u2019 allegiance that Cort\u00e9s sought. Plus, the route through Tlaxcala was shorter. Cort\u00e9s pondered the advice as he readied to leave.\r\n\r\nThe rested army moved out, snaking through the long valley of the R\u00edo Apulco, through a large town called Ixtacamaxtitlan. There they were also treated with guarded friendliness, apparently at the behest of Moctezuma\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDNBfRPXsAAdIpu?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n\r\nMoctezuma spies and messengers roamed far and wide and reported the Spaniards\u2019 precise movements and locations.\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2>31 August 1519<\/h2>\r\nIn <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2zH5mIA\">Ixtacamaxtitlan<\/a>, Cort\u00e9s waited briefly for any response from his Cempoalan messengers, but there was no sign of them. Unknown to Cort\u00e9s, his native messengers had successfully reached the capital of Tlaxcala and had presented the gifts, letters, and message to the nobles there; but they had been immediately imprisoned, their release pending an inquiry by a high council.\r\n\r\nThey were especially dubious of any claims of peace and friendship, suspecting that the Spaniards might well have formed an allegiance with the Aztecs and were going to attack them. The Tlaxcalan nobles agreed that rather than be passive, they would allow the Spaniards to enter their borders, then ambush them.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDSNSifWkAAkrhx?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n<h2>1 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nLeaving the Zautla Valley, Cort\u00e9s determined to take the shorter route toward Tlaxcala (through what is now Colonia Gustavo D\u00edaz Ordaz, Tlaxcala) After about ten miles they approached a massive stone wall nearly ten by twenty feet\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDXZYn_X4AEj19R?format=png&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nThey had reached the formal border of Tlaxcala, the great battlement constructed to ward off Aztec attacks. Cort\u00e9s\u2019s men debated the virtues of entering the potentially hostile Tlaxcalan land, especially since the messengers had failed to return\r\n\r\nThe fiercely independent Tlaxcalans might view their entrance as aggressive. But the tremendous fortification\u2019s single opening appeared unmanned, and deciding on action over discussion, Cort\u00e9s urged his men through.\r\n<h2>2 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nFirst battle with the Tlaxcala army: Xicotencatl Axayacatl, also known as Xicotencatl the Younger, was his leader. He used an ambush strategy: he first engaged the enemy with a small force of Otom\u00ed allies that feigned a retreat, and then lured the Spaniards back to a better fortified position where the main force waited. Then several thousands of Tlaxcalan warriors attacked but the Spanish drove them off with a concerted cavalry charge\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDcfTDEX4AAgbjO?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n\r\nA powerful kingdom, Tlaxcala was a fierce rival of the Aztecs, never conquered by the Triple Alliance. It was a complex kingdom consisting of four parts (altepetl): Tepeticpac, Ocotelolco, Tizatlan and Quiahuiztlan\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDcfTwoWkAAXzJE?format=png&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n<h2>3 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nLast night, Cort\u00e9s and his men, hungry and exposed to the elements, laid in fear of what today might bring. Cort\u00e9s brought Malinche and Aguilar to interrogate a few prisoners.\r\n\r\nOne of them warned Cort\u00e9s that Xicotenga the Elder and his son, also named Xicotenga, were assembling more than 100,000 troops and that the Spaniards should surrender or else be defeated, captured, and then die at their captors\u2019 hands\r\n\r\nUndaunted, Cort\u00e9s sent him away with a stern message: ''we come in peace and wish only to pass through your lands on our way to see and speak with Moctezuma. We come as your allies and brothers, but if we are further impeded, we will annihilate you\"\r\n\r\nWhen these released prisoners reached Xicotenga the Younger, he replied that \"you could go to the town where my father was, and they would make peace with you by filling themselves with your flesh and honoring their gods with your hearts and blood.\"\r\n\r\nDuring the day, the Spaniards nursed their wounds, which were considerable, and advanced through Texcalac. Cort\u00e9s must have been somewhat encouraged that only one Spaniard had been fatally injured in the battle yesterday in Tecoantzingo gorge\r\n\r\nThe goal of the Tlaxcalans (as later with the Aztecs) and indeed the design of their weapons, was to wound or injure in order to be able to take live prisoners for sacrifice, not necessarily to kill enemies on the battlefield <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp\">Ver mapa<\/a>\r\n<h2>4 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s arrived in Tzompantzingo. The Tlaxcalans did not attack. Instead, they sent a delegation bearing a significant amount of food, including more than three hundred turkeys and hundreds of baskets of fresh maize cakes\r\n\r\nThough Cort\u00e9s and his men needed and relished the food, he quickly surmised that these gifts were merely a ruse to allow spies to assess the condition of his men, animals, and weaponry\r\n\r\nHe immediately had these men arrested and confined, and he decided that next morning, fueled by the fowl and cakes, he would march and meet the Tlaxcalans head-on if they had not by that time agreed to a truce.\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2>5 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe Spaniards sought a peace treaty with the Tlaxcaltecs. Maxixcatzin, the ruler of Ocotelolco, was in favour of allying with the Spaniards, but Xicotencatl II Axayacatl, ruler of Tizatlan, opposed this idea\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDsB6AaXUAIIA_N?format=png&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, the governing council of the Tlaxcalans discussed whether or not to make an alliance with the Spaniards. They decided to send their army under Xicotencatl II\r\n<h2>6 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nLed by Xicotencatl the Younger, a massive army of around six thousand tlaxcalans swarmed the valley. But Cort\u00e9s and his well-schooled divisions had planned for a mass attack, and his disciplined ranks held tight\r\n\r\nIt was a desperate battle, with terrible losses suffered by the Tlaxcalans, and the Spanish were reeling on the brink of defeat, and took refuge on a round hill named Tzompantepec. However, Spanish losses were again astonishingly minimal\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDy-L4zXoAA3PRB?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nThough fifty or sixty men had been wounded, and now all of the horses were cut and at least slightly injured, only one Spanish soldier is reported to have died that day, and Cort\u00e9s made sure he could not be discovered by the enemy\r\n\r\nBy nightfall, both sides had returned to their own camps. With his men hungry and shivering, Cort\u00e9s dispatched yet another messenger to Tlaxcala, reiterating his desire for peace and brotherhood.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDy-MX-XUAA24JH?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDy-MX0WkAAHjEj?format=jpg&amp;name=360x360\" \/>\r\n<h2>7 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nDuring the battle of Tzompantepec (Tzompantzingo = hill of skulls) Tlaxcalan numbers were so great as to prove a disadvantage. When they charged en masse, tightly bunched, they became easy targets for sustained crossbow volleys; the Spanish arrows mowed down dozens of warriors at a time. Artillerymen fired cannons into the mass\u2014each heavy metal ball dropped many men and caused havoc and confusion among the Tlaxcalan squadrons, some of which dispersed.\r\n\r\nSeeing this disorder, Cort\u00e9s sent cavalry in teams of four, which would gallop out, their riders slung low, slashing the steel swords with devastating impact, cutting down warriors, then wheeling the horses back to their lines to rest and regroup, while another team went out. The Spanish horses and their riders, working in unison, became a killing machine, and the effect was terrifying for Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Younger and his troops, who had never witnessed such efficient and frightening foes\r\n\r\nTo complicate matters, Xicoht\u00e9ncatl and one of his main captains were embroiled in a bitter dispute over tactics, so that even when directly ordered, this captain proved insubordinate, refusing to support his leader or dispatch troops to his aid.\r\n\r\nTry as he might, despite sending wave after wave of his own men to their deaths, Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Younger could not extricate the Spaniards from their position.\r\n\r\nNote: Halfway along the Cort\u00e9s route to Tenochtitlan, three key lessons: 1) this topic has been searched, and analyzed to its smallest details over 500 years, so there are tons of information available to find almost any answer; it is not exhausted though.\r\n\r\n2) those who are content to try to find out who were the good guys and who the bad guys in this story can find multiple examples to choose their favorites, but they probably won't understand this fundamental change for the world, and\r\n\r\n3) Mexico today is the result of a series of amalgamations, accommodations, and recreations of cultures that are still dynamic, still being transformed today.\r\n\r\nNote: Watch online a great documentary from historian Michael Wood Conquistadors (1) The Fall of the Aztecs, with real cover of the actual route of Cort\u00e9s\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe title=\"Hernan Cortes\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SXPFh778tDg?feature=oembed&amp;rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2>8 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nIn Tlaxcala, the high council met, perplexed by their force\u2019s failure in the battlefield and wishing to determine the reason for it. The council gathered their wizards, shamans and soothsayers to look toward the stars for answers.\r\n\r\nThey carefully studied the alignment of the constellations, consulted prophecies, and sacrificed many slaves, and after much contemplation, they returned to the council with the determination that though the Spaniards were not necessarily gods, still they received their power (as their own gods did) from the sun. Therefore they must be attacked at night, when their powers were diminished. The notion was debated vigorously, especially among the chief Tlaxcalan military advisers.\r\n<h2>9 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nAfter much argument, the high council of Tlaxcala agreed upon a night attack. As quietly as they could, some ten thousand Tlaxcalan warriors moved into position on the plain below Cort\u00e9s\u2019s encampment on the hill of Tzompantepec.\r\n<h2>10 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe night was clear, Cort\u00e9s's sentries noted mysterious movements below and reported them immediately to him, who roused his men quietly and whispered commands to his captains\r\n\r\nThey were to descend the hill in small divisions, conceal themselves in ditches and low depressions in the ground and in the maize fields, and when ordered, they were to erupt from the ground in a counterambush\r\n\r\nAs the Tlaxcalans approached, Cort\u00e9s took his cavalry and small, fast regiments of harquebusiers and cannons and caught the Tlaxcalans unprepared on the open ground\r\n\r\nThe vaporous shadows of the horses and their thundering charge, the lightning flashes and deafening explosions of cannon fire, sent Xicoht\u00e9ncatl \u2019s forces fleeing in terror\r\n\r\nThe horses easily overtook many, wounding great numbers and killing more than twenty. The rest fled to report the grim news of the defeat to their leaders and soothsayers. Word of Spanish victory would soon spread across the land, into Tenochtitlan\r\n<h2>11 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s was pleased by his night victory, though the warring was taking a toll on the men, some of whom were now hypothermic, and many, including Cort\u00e9s, were suffering from malarial fever and salt deprivation\r\n\r\nThe mood in the camp was mixed, with some renewed grumblings among the ragged men about going home, and Cort\u00e9s was forced to assuage their morale with promises of wealth, adding that it was better \u201cto die in good cause than to live dishonored.\u201d\r\n<h2>12 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe Tlaxcalan high council met again, now utterly stymied. Many, including the sage Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Elder, concluded that the Spaniards had proved themselves invincible during day and night, and he argued they ought to make peace\r\n\r\nMaxixcatzin, the ruler of Ocotelolco, one of the four independent altepetl that constituted the confederation of Tlaxcala, again showed himself in favor of allying with the Spaniards and fight the Triple Alliance\r\n\r\nBut Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Younger argued that he had seen the slain beasts and numbers of the soldiers wounded. They bled and died as men. Divided, the Tlaxcalans agreed to once more send messengers to the Spanish camp to discover what they might.\r\n<h2>13 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nAbout this time six Aztec nobles entered Cort\u00e9s's camp on the hill, where he had now been for over a week. Aztec runners and spies had kept the emperor apprised daily of the battles and outcomes between Tlaxcalans and Spaniards\r\n\r\nMoctezuma seemed dismayed by the fierce Tlaxcalans\u2019 inability to subdue their foes. Now he sent the Spaniards a small embassy and their servants bearing an array of gifts: cotton garments, some lovely feather pieces, and a good deal of gold\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s thanked the Aztec nobles kindly and willingly took the gifts but declined to return to Spain just yet. He insisted he had specific instructions from his own emperor to personally visit Montezuma, and he did not wish to disappoint his ruler\r\n\r\nThe Aztec nobles expressed Moctezuma\u2019s congratulations on their successful battles and warned Cort\u00e9s not to trust the Tlaxcalans. Then they proposed a deal. Moctezuma offered these gifts to Cort\u00e9s and would submit to becoming a vassal of Spain, paying to the king an agreed-upon annual sum in tribute in the form of gold, slaves, women, and jade, if Cort\u00e9s and his men would agree to return home immediately, forgoing their intended trek to Tenochtitl\u00e1n, which would be too difficult anyway\r\n\r\nHe really had no choice in the matter. He bade them to return to Moctezuma, explain the situation to him, and request once more a formal meeting.\r\n<h2>14 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nA few days after the night raid, an entourage of fifty Tlaxcalans arrived with food, which revived the Spanish troops. The famished men were gorging on roasted fowls, warmed maize cakes, and local figs and cherries, when Malinche informed Cort\u00e9s that a good number of these \u201cmessengers\u201d were actually spies, for she had seen them inspecting the perimeter of the camp and making notes concerning the condition of the men and horses\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s, enraged, had the men arrested, then questioned under physical duress. He was able to induce confessions from most. They were indeed spies sent by Xicoht\u00e9ncatl to assess the camp and troops for signs of weakness\r\n\r\nAs brutal punishment and to send a definitive message, Cort\u00e9s assembled seventeen of the Tlaxcalan spies and had some of their thumbs or hands amputated, then sent them back to Xicoht\u00e9ncatl with a clear warning: 'Submit or we will destroy you'.\r\n<h2>15 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nAt least some of the spies made it back to Tlaxcala to display their maimed hands, because then a delegation returned bearing much food and a message that soon the great warrior Xicohtencatl the Younger would arrive to make peace\r\n<h2>16 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s was still discoursing with the ambassadors of Moctezuma, and about to dismiss them, to retire to rest, for the fit of malarial fever was coming again, when it was announced that Xicohtencatl the Younger was approaching.\r\n<h2>17 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nPeace with Tlaxcala: Xicohtencatl the Younger met with Cort\u00e9s. He arrived surrounded by many other Tlaxcalan noblemen and chiefs from the four main towns\r\n\r\nThey brought some gifts, apologizing for their modest nature but explaining that they were poor and that effective trade for goods had been impeded by their Aztec enemies\r\n\r\nThe warrior told Cort\u00e9s that he was impressed with the captain\u2019s artistry on the battlefield and that the Spanish soldiers had defeated his finest, most skilled warriors. He apologized for the attacks on the Spaniards but explained that he had truly believed them to be allied with Montezuma and the Aztecs, their archenemies. The Tlaxcalans were a proud and defiant people, but now they were impressed and honored the Spaniards\u2019 military superiority\r\n\r\nThey wanted a truce. Xicohtencatl the Elder would be willing to strike a deal\u2014 they would agree to become vassals of Cort\u00e9s and his king, if he would allow them to accompany his army in an attack against Moctezuma\r\n\r\nXicohtencatl the Elder had extended a personal invitation for Cort\u00e9s and his men to come to Tlaxcala to rest from their battles, where they would be hosted like royalty. Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s nodded.\r\n<h2>18 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe peace with Tlaxcala meant Cort\u00e9s now had an army he believed sufficient to confront this man Moctezuma, whoever he was and however powerful he might be.\r\n<h2>19 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe Mexican ambassadors advised Cort\u00e9s against Tlaxcallans words of peace, and begged of him to remain for another six days in his present quarters, that they might first send messengers to Moctezuma, and would return again\r\n\r\nTo this Cort\u00e9s consented, partly on account of his malaria, partly because he thought the warnings might not be altogether so unfounded as he imagined. In that time he could also gain more certain proofs of the real intentions of the Tlaxcallans.\r\n<h2>20 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nAs the whole country from Veracruz up to the present quarters, was inhabited by friendly tribes and allies, Cort\u00e9s ventured to forward a letter to Juan de Escalante, who had remained behind there in garrison\r\n\r\nHe desired him to complete the buildings, and then gave him an account of the great victories gained since arriving in Tlaxcala, and how Cort\u00e9s had compelled the inhabitants to sue for peace\r\n\r\nHe also desired him to make a day of thanksgiving, and in every way to favour the Totonac allies. Lastly, he requested him two bottles of wine which he had buried in a certain corner of his quarters there, and some holy wafers, as they had none left\r\n\r\nEscalante sent a speedy answer with the things Cort\u00e9s required. It may easily be imagined how joyously this news was received at Veracruz.\r\n<h2>21 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nDuring these days Cort\u00e9s erected a majestic cross in the camp, and had one of the temples in the neighbourhood cleansed and freshly plastered by the inhabitants of Tzompantenpec, and some other Indians\r\n\r\nThe postponement of the visit greatly distressed the caziques of Tlaxcala, yet they continued to send Cort\u00e9s fowls and figs, and a daily supply of provisions. This they did with the best of good will, nor would they ever take anything in return\r\n\r\nOn the contrary, they daily more earnestly begged of Cort\u00e9s not to delay his visit any longer, but he was eager to wait for the return of the Mexican ambassadors, and he each time put off the Tlaxcalan with some friendly excuse.\r\n<h2>22 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s was finally prepared to leave the rough and exposed hill of Tzompantepec (Tzompantzingo) behind. His men were elated to enter Tlaxcala\r\n\r\nThe Mexican ambassadors had returned from Mexico with a rich gift from Moctezuma, who was very pleased with the success of the Spaniards against Tlaxcala\r\n\r\nMoctezuma requested Cort\u00e9s most urgently not to bring any Tlaxcalans into his dominions, for whatever purpose it might be, and upon the whole not to trust them\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s accepted these presents with every appearance of delight, and thanked them, with the assurance that he would render Moctezuma good services in return\r\n\r\nIn the midst of this discourse several messengers arrived from Tlaxcala, bringing Cort\u00e9s information that all the old caciques of the country were on their road to conduct Cort\u00e9s's expedition into their city\r\n\r\nOn learning this, Cortes requested the Mexican ambassadors to stay for three days before they departed again to their monarch with his answer; for that, at present, he was about to grant terms of peace to the Tlaxcalan chiefs\r\n\r\nThe caciques of Tlaxcala arrived to the camp. When they were in presence of Cort\u00e9s they paid him the profoundest respect making three deep bows. They likewise perfumed with copal, touched the ground with their hands, and kissed it\r\n\r\nThey asked Cort\u00e9s to accompany them immediately to the city. Then, with additional 500 porters from Tlaxcala, the next morning early Cort\u00e9s men were finally enabled to set out for the metropolis of Tlaxcala.\r\n<h2>23 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nOn this day, three weeks after the first battle with the Tlaxcalans, Cort\u00e9s led his company to Tlaxcala. Here his bedraggled men and horses would rest for three weeks and recover until they were fit enough to continue on to Mexico\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFIzzbZXYAAK5mT?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFIzzbWXYAAMP-z?format=png&amp;\" width=\"450\" \/>\r\n\r\nThousands of curious onlookers lined the streets as the Spanish army approached Tlaxcala. Cort\u00e9s and his men rode in as celebrated victors, the streets lined with flowers, and even inhabitants of outlying villages came to witness these strangers\r\n\r\nRobed priests along the route burned incense, their black hair tangled and matted with dried blood; their ears, recently mutilated in ritual sacrifice, dripped fresh blood. After dismounting and formally meeting the blind Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Elder, Cort\u00e9s followed a procession of hosts to his quarters, where his men were put up in large flat-roofed stone houses and palaces, and all the horses, many lame and limping, were provided with comfortable quarters. The Totonacs were also given food.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFI01DXXoAANGSk?format=jpg&amp;name=900x900\" \/>\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFI01DNXsAAfd0S?format=jpg&amp;name=900x900\" \/>\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2>24 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s was moved by the organization and layout of the city, remarking in a letter to his king: \u201cIt is so big and so beautiful that all one could say about it would be unbelievable. It is bigger than Granada and better fortified. Its houses, its buildings, and the people that inhabit it are more numerous than at Granada at the time we conquered it, and very much better supplied with the produce of the land, namely bread, fowl, game, and fresh-water fish.\u201d\r\n<h2>25 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nIn Tlaxcala, Cort\u00e9s spent a great deal of time, flanked by Malinche and Aguilar, in conversations with nobles, elders, and members of the high council, who were remarkably forthcoming\r\n\r\nBy day they visited the bustling central market, where thousands of people from the region came to trade. Still, though they were being treated as royalty, Cort\u00e9s positioned sentries and guards and instructed his men to sleep armed and ready.\r\n<h2>26 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe Spanish expeditionary force remained in Tlaxcala gorging on fish and fowl at feasts and enjoying the company of some of the three hundred native women given Cort\u00e9s as a gift in lieu of gold\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s would accept them only if the Tlaxcalans would destroy their own idols and agree to give up human sacrifice; he later agreed to take them only if they were allowed to be baptized. Once they were baptized, Cort\u00e9s distributed them among his men.\r\n\r\n[Note from Pedro Carrasco 'Indian-Spanish marriages': according to Diego Mu\u00f1oz Camargo, the rulers of Tlaxcala first presented Cort\u00e9s with 300 female slaves, but later, 'they gave their own daughters so that, by any chance any should become pregnant, the descendants of such valiant and daring men would remain among them'. Little is known about the individual unions of these Tlaxcalan princesses with Spaniards. Alva Ixtlilxochitl identified five of the princesses.\r\n\r\nWith the exception of do\u00f1a Luisa Xicoht\u00e9ncatl, the daughter of one of the four rulers of Tlaxcala who was given to Pedro de Alvarado, they perished in the disastrous flight from Tenochtitlan in July 1520]\r\n<h2>27 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nOnce their allegiance was formally and ceremonially sealed and Cort\u00e9s had received assurances of significant Tlaxcalan military support, he inquired pointedly about many aspects of the neighboring Aztecs and their ruler Moctezuma\r\n\r\nXicoht\u00e9ncatl the Elder informed Cort\u00e9s that the great city of Tenochtitlan was, and had been for as long as they could remember, highly fortified and impenetrable. The Tlaxcalans had managed to avoid complete conquest but only at very high costs\r\n\r\nMoctezuma maintained strict embargoes and blockades that denied the Tlaxcalan people many important trade items, including cotton goods (needed for armor), coveted gemstones, precious metals like silver and gold, and salt\r\n\r\nThey went on to describe, using hand-drawn illustrations on stretched maguey fiber, the Aztec arts of warfare and weaponry and even crucial details about the city, such as the fact that all its fresh water came from a single aqueduct at Chapultepec.\r\n<h2>28 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s and Xicoht\u00e9ncatl had an interesting discussion of the generations-long Flower Wars. These were mock or staged battles between the finest warriors from each side, as well as young warriors hoping to prove themselves\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFkiiIGXkAIlObx?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nMore like competitions or tournaments than actual battles, these Flower Wars served a number of functions, including keeping the warriors practiced and trained for battle without killing them on such a scale as to deplete their forces\r\n\r\nMost important, the winning side in a particular battle gained prisoners for human sacrifice, which both sides required (especially the Aztecs) in large numbers\r\n\r\nDressed in full regalia and fully armed, enemies confronted each other at predetermined battlefields and engaged violently but took precautions to injure and subdue rather than kill. Tlaxcalans and Aztecs had engaged in such staged wars for decades\r\n\r\nMoctezuma later boasted that his armies could have legitimately conquered the Tlaxcalans with ease anytime he wished, but the protracted Flower War provided convenient training for his men and never-ending sacrificial victims.\r\n<h2>29 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nRoaming the city, some of Cort\u00e9s\u2019s men came upon the disturbing sight of prisoners of the Tlaxcalans bound and pinioned inside wooden latticework cages\r\n\r\nThe prisoners were fed daily rations of a special diet designed to quickly fatten them for sacrifice and consumption\r\n\r\nSeeing these unfortunates and their condition, Cort\u00e9s railed against such practices, hoping to impress upon the Tlaxcalans the teachings and truth of Christianity, about which he lectured long and often through Malinche and Aguilar\r\n\r\nHe even suggested to the elders and nobles the benefits of destroying their own idols and replacing them with his, showing them illustrations and pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus\r\n\r\nThey should convert immediately, submitting to baptism to avoid burning in a fiery hell in the afterlife. The elders, including Xicoht\u00e9ncatl, balked. They had no intention of forsaking their own gods.\r\n<h2>30 September 1519<\/h2>\r\nAs in Cempoala, Cort\u00e9s favored a forced conversion, but once more the judicious Father Olmedo argued for prudence, pointing out that real and lasting conversion took time and religious understanding, and at any rate the Spaniards certainly had no need to create conflict and tensions with their brand-new allies. And once more Cort\u00e9s had the good sense to take the advice of his trusted religious counselor\r\n\r\nFor their part, in a remarkable show of religious concession and tolerance, the Tlaxcalans provided one temple where the Spaniards could erect a cross and worship their idols\r\n\r\nHere Cort\u00e9s had his priests hold daily public mass; the ceremonies were attended not only by his men but by scores of the city\u2019s inhabitants and those of neighboring villages.\r\n<h2>1 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nBuddy Levy in his book Conquistador says: 'Although Cort\u00e9s is sometimes interpreted as feigning devotion and piety as a justification for his actions and behavior, he appears to have been authentically, deeply religious.\r\n\r\nAs a product of his time and place, he could have believed in the rightness of his mission and viewed the conversion of the Mexican population\u2014either forced, as he preferred, or by slower degrees and education\u2014as actually bringing them salvation\r\n\r\nObviously Cort\u00e9s believed that he had much to gain, but his religious zeal as he marched through the country was at all times evident and consistent. He was to that end the first man to sow the seeds of Christianity on the soil of the Americas'\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s would eventually found a college for theology students training for the priesthood, a hospital, and a monastery, as well as provide financial endowments for the building and maintaining of Catholic churches.\r\n\r\nOn this same day, Ferdinand Magellan left the island of Tenerife, resuming the Spanish expedition to the East Indies (1519 - 1522) resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth completed by Juan Sebasti\u00e1n Elcano\r\n<h2>2 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nIn Tlaxcala, the Spanish men and horses and dogs were regaining strength, and Cort\u00e9s discussed with his aides and captains their imminent departure to Tenochtitlan and the best route to take\r\n<h2>3 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe Aztec ambassadors vehemently urged Cort\u00e9s to take the route through Cholula; its leaders, they claimed, were complacent allies of the Aztecs, and there he could await final word on Moctezuma\u2019s decision to meet Cort\u00e9s in person\r\n\r\nThe Tlaxcalans disagreed, countering that the Cholulans could not be trusted\u2014they were wicked and duplicitous people, and it might well be a trap. They argued for a route through the town of Huejotzingo, whose people were confirmed friends.\r\n<h2>4 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nAfter some meetings and contemplation, Cort\u00e9s opted to take the Aztec ambassadors as guides and go through Cholula, a decision that turned out to have both political and tactical reasons\r\n\r\nTo appease the disgruntled Tlaxcalans, who were visibly unhappy about his decision, Cort\u00e9s offered presents of cloth to Xicohtencatl the Elder and said that he would happily now accept his host\u2019s offer of warriors to take along with him on his quest.\r\n<h2>5 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe ship sent to Spain from Cort\u00e9s on July 26th, 1519, Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Concepci\u00f3n, with pilot Alaminos and procurers Francisco de Montejo and Alonso Hern\u00e1ndez Portocarrero arrived to Sanl\u00facar and then Seville\r\n\r\nDiego Vel\u00e1zquez, the governor of Cuba whom Cort\u00e9s had disobeyed, had successfully maneuvered to get the ship captured in Seville by his representative Fray Benito Martin\r\n\r\nFortunately, the intercession of Chancellor Gattinara and the King's secretary, Francisco de los Cobos, prevented them from being judged right there for rebellion\r\n\r\nHowever, Portocarrero died in prison (according to Historia de Yucatan, 1688, by L\u00f3pez de Cogolludo) and Alaminos some time later. Montejo had a continuation of his history as a conqueror of Yucatan, with his son, from 1528-37\r\n\r\nMontejo and Cort\u00e9s' father, Mart\u00edn, were able to meet King Charles at the end of April 1520 in La Coru\u00f1a, where they were able to present their case and Cort\u00e9s' treasure before the Spanish court\r\n\r\nCharles I of #Spain was in a great hurry to embark on Germany to seize the crown of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire as Charles V and, above all, he needed a large sum of money and gold to meet the responsibilities of the position\r\n\r\nThe courts of Castile (a representative assembly, or parliament) had to provide all these resources, which was one of the main causes of the subsequent War of the Communities of Castile, an uprising against the king and its administration (1520-21)\r\n\r\nOn May 20th, 1520, King Charles put to sea to wear the Emperor's crown in Aachen, Flanders. He carried many Aztec jewels, and the gold and silver wheels that made such an impression on Albrecht D\u00fcrer, who could see them in Brussels in 27 August 1520\r\n<h2>6 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s diplomacy worked well, and the Tlaxcalan ruler offered an army of 100,000 men. Cort\u00e9s thanked him for his generous support of his cause, adding that he would require only some six thousand at the moment.\r\n<h2>7 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nBernal Diaz: 'I have still to mention that in Tlaxcala we found houses built of wood, in the shape of cages, in which numbers of Indians, of both sexes, were confined, and fattened for their sacrifices and feasts.\r\n\r\nWe never hesitated a single moment to break them down and liberate the prisoners. These unfortunate beings, however, never dared leave our side, and this was the only means of saving them from being butchered.\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s gave orders to break open these cages wherever we came, for we found them in every township. We all showed our horror of these atrocities, and earnestly reproved the caziques for it, who then promised no longer to kill and devour human beings.\r\n\r\nI say they promised, but that was all, and if we were but an instant out of sight the same barbarities were committed'\r\n<h2>8 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe burning mountain of Popocat\u00e9petl was emitting more flames than usual, and Cort\u00e9s and all Spaniards, to whom a volcano was something new, regarded it in astonishment\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGWdTsZWwAAZ4Hm?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" width=\"450\" \/>\r\n\r\nDiego de Ord\u00e1s, one of the chief officers, entertained the bold idea to inspect this wonder more minutely, and begged leave of Cort\u00e9s to ascend the mountain, who granted this request\r\n\r\nOrd\u00e1s took two men with him, and desired some of the chiefs of Huejotzingo to accompany him. They certainly did not refuse but tried to deter him saying that when he should have ascended the volcano, half way, he would not be able to advance further on account of the trembling of the earth, and the flames, stones and ashes which were emitted from the crater. They themselves never durst venture higher than to where some temples were built to the teules of Popocat\u00e9petl\r\n\r\nAnd indeed they left Ord\u00e1s when he arrived at that spot. The latter, however, boldly continued to ascend with the two soldiers until he had reached the summit.\r\n<h2>9 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nOn preparation to march to Cholula, Cort\u00e9s sent two captains, Alvarado and V\u00e1zquez de Tapia, accompanied by some Aztec messengers, in advance to view the great city of Tenochtitlan and inspect its strong fortifications and defenses\r\n\r\nTlaxcalans warned Cort\u00e9s one more time: \"Then you should be upon your guard with the people of Cholula, and against the power of Mexico in general\". Cholulans had failed to send an embassy to Cort\u00e9s at Tlaxcala, as requested by the Spaniard\r\n\r\nWhen the inhabitants of Cholula sent word that the reason why they could not go to Tlaxcala was because they were at enmity with its inhabitants, Cort\u00e9s considered this excuse perfectly reasonable, and therefore resolved upon marching to Cholula.\r\n<h2>10 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s mustered for departure. With a train of Tlaxcalan and Totonac warriors and bearers that trailed for miles behind, accompanied by Moctezuma\u2019s own ambassadors, Captain-General Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s set out for Cholula\r\n\r\nHe was headed toward the city of Quetzalcoatl, the most important pilgrimage destination in ancient Americas. Legend held that in his journey from ancient Tula (now Mexico City) toward the Gulf Coast, Quetzalcoatl had made his first stop here\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGgEDd2XUAYJOmd?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n\r\nThey marched most of the first day and camped that night on an exposed savanna; Cort\u00e9s and his captains slept in slightly protected and sheltered ditches, with guards at watch.\r\n<h2>11 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nDelegates from Cholula arrived, bringing turkey and maize cakes; the priests waved burning braziers to fumigate Cort\u00e9s and his captains, while the robed dignitaries beat on drums and blew reed flutes and conch shells\r\n\r\nAfter some ceremony they invited Cort\u00e9s and his men to come to Cholula, but they did not want the Tlaxcalans, their enemies, to accompany them. He thought about it, then acquiesced, telling the Tlaxcalans that they would need to wait outside the boundaries of the city proper while he conducted his business there. He appealed to their sense of pride by telling them that they could not enter because the Cholulans feared them.\r\n\r\nLeaving the bulk of the Tlaxcalan force outside the city limits, Cort\u00e9s led his expedition into Cholula. Later, Cort\u00e9s would say that Cholula was \u201cmore beautiful than any city in Spain, for it is very well proportioned and has many towers.\u201d\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGlM3VEXUAA4iFt?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n<h2>12 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nHaving been continuously inhabited for more than one thousand years (first by Olmecs, later by the people of Tula), Cholula was remarkably well kept, and the Spaniards were impressed as they rode in\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGqeTDZX4AEVHXD?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n\r\nThe great pyramid to Quetzalcoatl was a massive temple high on the hill overlooking Cholula. 120 steps led to the top of the structure, the largest free-standing man-made edifice in the world, twice as long as the great Egyptian pyramid of Cheops\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGqeSbFXUAATufN?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n\r\nHighly revered as the former home of the man-god Quetzalcoatl, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims came to this towering holy center annually.\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\">\r\n\r\n<iframe title=\"Cholula virtual \" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fZbEtXuLakc?feature=oembed&amp;rel=0\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span>\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>13 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nOrganized and, to the Spanish mind, civilized (they noted freshwater wells), Cholula was a thriving city of more than 100,000 inhabitants, renowned widely for its fine pottery and craftsmanship in textiles, including jewelry\r\n\r\nThe Spaniards observed that the people here dressed in immaculate robes and took great care in their polished appearance. Cort\u00e9s and his captains were well housed and cared for initially, the food supplies \u2014always of vital concern\u2014 sufficient.\r\n<h2>14 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nAnother group of Aztec ambassadors arrived and asked for a meeting with Cort\u00e9s, during which they said the Cholulans had not the food stores to continue feeding the Spanish army, lest they themselves starve. Cort\u00e9s doubted the claim\r\n\r\nThey also argued that the road to Tenochtitl\u00e1n was dangerous, barely passable, and that in the great city Moctezuma possessed a magnificent zoo where fearsome animals like lions and alligators could be unleashed and set upon unwelcome visitors\r\n\r\nThis last was a thinly veiled attempt to keep the Spaniards from continuing their inexorable march toward the capital of the Aztecs. Cort\u00e9s remained unmoved. He would take his chances with any savage beasts that might be loosed upon him.\r\n<h2>15 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe food supplies did indeed dwindle, then stop altogether by the fourth day, when they were offered only water, and some wood, presumably to cook their own provisions\r\n\r\nAnd visits by Cholulan lower representatives (important civic leaders, despite requests by Cort\u00e9s, had yet to make an appearance) diminished as well\r\n\r\nSome of his Totonac bearers reported to Cort\u00e9s that they had seen many people, carrying goods and possessions on their backs, leaving the city, women and children among them.\r\n\r\nMore ominous still, rumors reached Cort\u00e9s that large, covered trap-holes had been discovered in the streets, their bottoms lined with sharp stakes, and that a number of the city\u2019s streets had been cordoned off, with warriors positioned on rooftops, sitting next to huge piles of stones. Cort\u00e9s had to wonder whether the Tlaxcalans had been right to suspect a trap.\r\n<h2>16 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nMoctezuma himself may have played a role in the perceived plot to ambush the Spaniards. After he spent days in intense meditation an oracle came to him with a presage: the Spaniards were destined to die in the sacred city of Cholula\r\n\r\nBelieving this prophecy, Moctezuma immediately sent a division of his handpicked and best-trained warriors to Cholula, along with men carrying long poles to which they would tether the Spanish prisoners and lead them back to Tenochtitl\u00e1n\r\n\r\nAmazingly, a chance encounter by Malinche would propel Cort\u00e9s toward his most uncharacteristic and perplexing act of the entire campaign. She had struck up a friendship with one of the local women, a wife of a Cholulan nobleman\r\n\r\nThe woman entertained Malinche in her home, fed her, and after a time suggested that for her own safety, Malinche should leave the Spaniards and come live with her\u2014she could even provide a suitable husband, her son, for Malinche\r\n\r\nHer husband was a captain in the Cholulan army, she informed Malinche, and the Cholulans, under Moctezuma\u2019s orders, were massing a large force to attack the Spaniards on the road from Cholula to Tenochtitl\u00e1n\r\n\r\nFor their assistance in the ambush, the Cholulans would be given twenty Spaniards to sacrifice themselves. If Malinche wished to escape imprisonment and probable death by sacrifice, she should seek refuge with her\r\n\r\nBut Malinche, now completely loyal to Cort\u00e9s, convinced the noblewoman that she needed to get some things first, and she hurried to report her discovery to him. The mood in the city was tense and ominous, and the exodus of the townspeople continued.\r\n<h2>17 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nActing quickly on Malinche\u2019s intelligence, Cort\u00e9s rounded up a pair of Cholulan priests and bribed them with jadestone gifts; when they remained tight-lipped, he tortured them into submission\r\n\r\nThe priests admitted that as far as they knew, Aztec forces were indeed stationed outside the city, along the route to Tenochtitl\u00e1n. The Cholulans\u2019 role was to help lead the Spaniards into the trap as they left the city\r\n\r\nIn preparation for a successful ambush, a special sacrifice was currently under way that included a handful of small children. Cort\u00e9s quietly fumed at this last, then demanded at swordpoint that they go to the city\u2019s chiefs and tell them that he wished to speak with them\r\n\r\nWhen these nobles did arrive, Cort\u00e9s calmly thanked them for their hospitality and informed them that he and his troops would be leaving in the morning so as to no longer burden the kind people of Cholula. They agreed to provide him with some bearers\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s promptly convened his captains to discuss the situation. They disagreed about the best course of action, some suggesting they return to Tlaxcala or at the very least, should they proceed toward Mexico, take an alternative route\r\n\r\nBut Cort\u00e9s had another idea, a punitive preemptive strike that would send a message reverberating through the badland plains and all across the Valley of Mexico.\r\n<h2>18 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nFeigning preparations for departure, Cort\u00e9s requested that all the lords of Cholula convene at the large central courtyard of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, where he could bid them farewell\r\n\r\nThen he asked to speak with the leaders of the city, the main nobility, in his quarters. Once they were inside, Cort\u00e9s barred the doors, accused them of conspiring with the Aztecs, said he knew of their plans and that for such treason they must die\r\n\r\nThe lords at first denied duplicity, but later blamed Moctezuma, saying that as his subservient tributaries they had had no choice. By now the courtyard of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl had filled with Cholulans including most of the city\u2019s dignitaries\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s waved for a harquebus to be fired, his signal for the massacre to commence. Soldiers rode in and sealed off all the courtyard exits. The infantry\u2014both Spanish and Tlaxcalans\u2014rushed the crowded courtyard, wielding their swords and spears\r\n\r\nThey fell upon the mostly unarmed populace in wholesale slaughter. Arrows whirred in horrific volleys, scything down scores in minutes as musket balls plowed others. Women and children ran screaming, many trampled by horses or by fleeing people\r\n\r\nSome priests managed to escape to the top of the high Temple of Quetzalcoatl, from which spot they feebly hurled stones to defend themselves or, despondent, took their own lives. Witnesses later reported:\r\n\r\n\u201cThey hurled themselves from the pyramid, they also hurled the idol Quetzalcoatl headfirst, for this form of suicide had always been a custom among them, and to die headlong. In the end the greater part of them died in despair by killing themselves\u201d\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s ordered the temple set ablaze, and it burned for two days straight. Within two hours nearly everyone who assembled in the courtyard had been slain. Uncharacteristically, Cort\u00e9s then allowed the rest of his allied Tlaxcalans inside the city\r\n\r\nFor hours the Tlaxcalans pillaged and burned houses, looted and slaughtered people, until Cort\u00e9s determined to put a stop to them. By the time Cort\u00e9s halted the butchery, nearly five thousand people lay dead on the stone streets of Cholula.\r\n\r\nFray Bernardino de Sahag\u00fan in <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2KdZ746\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/2KdZ746<\/a> (C\u00f3dice Florentino) \"The Cholulans did not carry offensive or defensive weapons, but were disarmed thinking that what was done would not be done, in this way they died a bad death\"\r\n<h2>19 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nA great deal of gold and other precious items was looted from the palaces and homes of the nobles, and Cort\u00e9s confiscated everything he could\u2014though he had difficulty getting some back from the Tlaxcalans\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s ordered his men to clean the corpse-strewn city, removing the dead and scrubbing the place. What priests and nobles remained alive were brought forth, blamed for the slaughter, and instructed to send for their escaped friends and relatives\r\n\r\nNo more harm would be done to them. Though this must have been difficult for them to believe, in time people did reluctantly start to return. Prisoners were released, and after a few days a semblance of order was restored.\r\n<h2>20 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nAs he had in Tlaxcala, Cort\u00e9s found caged victims, including children, being held and fed for sacrifice, and he angrily broke the wooden bars and freed them. He instructed the Cholulan priests to cast aside their gods in favor of his\r\n\r\nThey agreed in principle to become allies and vassals, subject themselves to Spanish authority, but as to the question of gods, they hedged, and once more Father Olmedo counseled Cort\u00e9s to give conversion time.\r\n<h2>21 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe Aztec ambassadors had remained safely in hiding during the massacre, and now Cort\u00e9s used their fear to his advantage. He told them that though the Cholulans had blamed Moctezuma for planning an attack, he did not believe them\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s intimated that he still planned to march on Tenochtitl\u00e1n, and he hoped and trusted that Moctezuma would receive him peacefully. The Aztec ambassadors asked to send messengers to the capital to discover Moctezuma\u2019s wishes. Cort\u00e9s allowed it.\r\n<h2>22 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nWith the massacre, Cort\u00e9s had ensured a safe route between Cholula and Veracruz, which he figured would be crucial for resupply of arms, powder, and even men and horses, should any arrive from the islands\r\n\r\nThe smoke from the burning temples died down after a few days, and to alleviate continued Cholulan fears, Cort\u00e9s again stationed most of the Tlaxcalans outside the city, but only after the two sides had agreed, begrudgingly, to a truce\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s and his men remained there, fed and hosted, for nearly two weeks, but the massacre sent shock waves through the land long afterward.\r\n<h2>23 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nWhen the messengers arrived in Tenochtitl\u00e1n with explicit and detailed descriptions of the bloodbath in Cholula, Moctezuma was stricken and perplexed. This style of slaying defied all protocols of traditional Aztec warfare\r\n\r\nEven more confounding, Cholula was the spiritual house of Quetzalcoatl\u2014how could his own shrine have been desecrated? It was inconceivable. The massacre cast doubt that this Spaniard, this Cort\u00e9s, was really Quetzalcoatl. Who, then, was he?\r\n<h2>24 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nMoctezuma gathered a dozen of his highest priests to contemplate the matter. Cort\u00e9s could still be a god, but which one? He might be a god of war, a demon of darkness, a deity of justice or punishment\r\n\r\nMoctezuma wondered what else he could possibly do to prevent these beings from arriving, or perhaps their arrival was preordained and could not be stopped. Maybe it was indeed the will of the gods\r\n<h2>25 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nFor a week Moctezuma remained alone, aloft in the temple sanctuary, fasting and waiting for signs. In the thin air he was visited by Huitzilopochtli\u2014the hummingbird, god of war and sacrifice\u2014who communicated with the emperor\r\n\r\nAfter listening carefully to his gods, Moctezuma at last left his sanctuary and descended the pyramid steps. He had come to a decision: the emperor would be willing now to meet Cort\u00e9s.\r\n<h2>26 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nAztec runners arrived at the Cholula city gates, runners sent from beyond the high mountains. Behind them trailed emissaries who asked for Cort\u00e9s\r\n\r\nBefore him they laid offerings of food, many garments of the finest cloth, and, most impressive, ten plates of solid gold. The gods, and Moctezuma, had spoken. The emperor formally invited Cort\u00e9s to come to Tenochtitl\u00e1n.\r\n<h2>27 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nWhen the caziques of Tlaxcala knew that Cort\u00e9s was determined to march to Tenochtitl\u00e1n, they tried to dissuade him once again from marching to a city of such vast extent and power, and several means to carry out a murderous war\r\n\r\nThe Mexicas certainly, someday, would fall by surprise on the Spaniards and would not escape alive. However, they offered Cort\u00e9s 10,000 of their warriors, under the command of their most capable generals, with a sufficient supply of provisions\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s thanked them for their kind offer and explained that it would not be appropriate to enter Tenochtitl\u00e1n at the head of such a large army, particularly because the hatred between them and the Mexicas was so great\r\n\r\nA thousand men were all he needed to transport the artillery and everything else, and clear the road to Tenochtitl\u00e1n that had been obstructed to prevent its advance\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s also ordered that three of the Aztec ambassadors stay to show him the way, while the others were sent to Tenochtitl\u00e1n, to inform his monarch that the march to the capital of his empire was ready.\r\n<h2>28 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nThe chiefs of Cempoala, who had remained with Cort\u00e9s all this time, hoped he would return with them to Cempoala. They were determined not to march to Tenochtitl\u00e1n, as they were convinced it would be the destruction of the expedition\r\n\r\nAll Cort\u00e9s pleas, added to Marina's friendly advice, were fruitless, and they decided to return. Cort\u00e9s cried out: \"God forbid that we should force these people, who have rendered us such valuable services, to go with us against their inclination!\"\r\n\r\nHe then ordered several packages of the very finest cotton stuffs to be divided among them, and likewise sent Xicomec\u00f3atl, the fat cazique, two packages for himself and his nephew Arexco, who was also a powerful chief\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s wrote to Juan de Escalante in Veracruz, with all the news and mentioning they marched westward. He warned him to watch carefully the inhabitants of the country, and desired him by all means to hasten the completion of the fortress, and to take the inhabitants there under his protection against the Mexicas, and also not to molest them in any way. This letter was given in charge of the Cempoalans, and they then prepared the march forward with every military precaution.\r\n<h2>29 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s spurred his horses and men westward. They rose, the Spaniards and their great train of allied warriors in tow, winding up the scrubby sierra separating the vast plateaus. Looking up they glimpsed the huge volcano Popocat\u00e9petl\r\n\r\nOn the first day they arrived to Calpan, subject to Huejotzingo, where they found all the chiefs assembled, who were friendly with the Tlaxcalans. They presented Cort\u00e9s with provisions and a few trinkets of gold\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EID9HoAWoAIjbYv?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" \/>\r\n\r\nThey instructed Cort\u00e9s about the road he should take, as soon as he had left the mountain pass behind. The expedition should reach two wide roads, one of which led to Tenanco Tepopollan (today Tenango del Aire), the other to Tlalmanalco\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EID9JduX4AETCcW?format=jpg&amp;name=900x900\" \/>\r\n\r\nOne of these roads was in excellent conditions, and the other had become impassable by a large number of big trees that had been felled and thrown across the road. On the first road, a little further up the mountain, there were Aztec troops ambushed\r\n\r\nTherefore, they advised Cort\u00e9s to get out of that road and go by the one that led to Tlalmanalco, which was hampered by trees. They would lend the Spaniards enough hands to clear this road, in which they would be assisted by the Tlaxcalans.\r\n<h2>30 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nCort\u00e9s lurched slowly up through the timbered foothills and then into the higher mountains. Men, sickened by great heights such as they had never before encountered, bent at the waist, coughing and gasping for air\r\n\r\nThe horses stumbled up the rocky trails, heaving and wheezing. They progressed slowly, only a few miles each day, passing through tiny scattered villages where they would rest a day, then press upward as biting winds hurtled down the narrow gorges; the poorly clad lowland and island bearers shivered through the nights. The Spaniards in full armor fared better, but they teetered as they climbed, burdened by the weight.\r\n<h2>31 October 1519<\/h2>\r\nFollowing a track between the two mountains, now called the Pass of Cort\u00e9s, the company arrived to a fork in the main path. One of the roads was open, the other having been blocked with trees and boulders, as it was said in Calpan\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EIM0UQzWkAQLT5a?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n\r\nCort\u00e9s, as advised, determined for the hard road, and they marched through the mountains in the closest possible order. Sending Tlaxcalans forward to clear away the heavy trees, the expedition began to descend\r\n\r\nAn early winter storm fell, fog and mist encircling them and snow coming down. Cort\u00e9s ordered camp made, using some of the downed trees barring their passage as shelter. They struck fires as they could, though the place was wet and windy\r\n\r\n<img class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EIM0U-nWoAA8F-q?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" \/>\r\n\r\nThe night was deathly cold; men convulsed in their armor, and the natives hunkered together to warm each other. Some of the captains found abandoned shacks, perhaps used by merchants, and sought shelter there.\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/div>","rendered":"<p>Approximate route (version 1.0) followed by Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s from Cempoala (16 August 1519) to Tenochtitlan (8 November 1519) #TheMeeting See in Google Maps: <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>16 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>During the first day, their road lay through the tierra caliente, the beautiful land where they had been so long lingering; the land of the vanilla, cochineal, and cacao<\/p>\n<p>They marched westward, in the direction of Jalapa. Fit and knowledgeable Totonac scouts ran ahead on reconnaissance forays, returning periodically to report to Cort\u00e9s the lay of the land and any hostile movements among the native populations<\/p>\n<p>(One of the many maps showing an inexact route of Cort\u00e9s to Tenochtitl\u00e1n. This is from the XIX century)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECE7IXtUYAE3XLx?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>17 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>After some leagues of travel over roads made nearly impassable by the summer rains, the troops began the gradual ascent which leads up to the table-land of Mexico. The air thinned and cooled as they rose to 4000 feet<\/p>\n<p>To the southwest Cort\u00e9s and his men stared in wonder at the gigantic, snowcapped dome of Orizaba, soaring nearly 9000 feet above sea level, called \u201cStar-Mountain\u201d by the Mexicans (Citlalt\u00e9petl and also Iztact\u00e9petl, white mountain)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECKkk6fW4AEPNpg?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After two days of forced marching on trails choked with thorny vines and grandillas, or passion flowers, they reached the town of Xalapa, at the far reaches of the Totonac boundaries. There they rested for the night, being well treated, then kept on<\/p>\n<h2>18 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Still winding their way upward, amidst scenery as different as was the temperature from that of the regions below, Cort\u00e9s&#8217;s army passed through settlements containing some hundreds of inhabitants each<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECQM9wxXoAAgDv5?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de Asunci\u00f3n de Panam\u00e1 (Panama Viejo), was founded by Pedro Arias de \u00c1vila, gobernor of Castilla del Oro, on 15 august, 1519. Panama city was the starting point for expeditions that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru<\/p>\n<p>It was a stopover point on one of the most important trade routes in the American continent, leading to the fairs of Nombre de Dios and Portobelo, through which passed most of the gold and silver that Spain took from the Americas<\/p>\n<h2>19 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>On the fourth day Cort\u00e9s reached a \u201cstrong town\u201d standing on a rocky eminence. Here they were hospitably entertained by the inhabitants, who were friends of the Totonacs<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s endeavored, through father Olmedo, to impart to them some knowledge of Christian truths, which were kindly received, and the Spaniards were allowed to erect a cross in the place, for the future adoration of the natives<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Cort\u00e9s&#8217;s route might be tracked by these crosses, raised wherever a willing population of Indians invited it, suggesting a very different idea from what the same memorials intimate to the traveller in these mountain solitudes these days<\/p>\n<h2>20 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The route climbed again, up and over six thousand feet, passing through Coatepec, then on to Xicochilmaco, a walled fortress village and Aztec settlement<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECZrTVXWsAAuSOw?format=jpg&amp;name=900x900\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>21 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The Spaniards continued the long, cold slog, day and night, ascending to a steep and mountainous pass that Cort\u00e9s named Puerto del Nombre de Dios (now called Bishop\u2019s Pass). Harsh winds hurtled down the narrow canyon, followed by a severe mountain storm that pounded Cort\u00e9s and his men with rain and sleet and biting pellets of hail, soaking them to the skin. Three of the Cuban porters perished from exposure in the high mountains of the Cofre de Perote.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECf9ALGXkAEIjFh?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>See this complete article, in Spanish: La graciosa y gratuita disputa sobre la autor\u00eda de la Historia verdadera del inconfundible Bernal D\u00edaz del Castillo.\u00a0Francisco J. Blasco Pascual <a href=\"http:\/\/revistas.rae.es\/brae\/article\/view\/216\">http:\/\/revistas.rae.es\/brae\/article\/view\/216<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECg8YkFXUAE6HTp?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>J. Blasco results reproduced from his corpus at <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Qh0BH1kyhu?amp=1\">https:\/\/t.co\/Qh0BH1kyhu?amp=1<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>22 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The train of conquistadors and bearers pushed on, descending now from the rugged highlands onto a vast and desolate plain, a dry and barren sun-pocked pan<\/p>\n<p>See &#8216;Las cinco rutas de Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s&#8217;, by Juan Miralles, first digital edition 2013<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECj23zlX4AA7E5H?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>23 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s and his men swung north in the direction of the R\u00edo Apulco, skirting a massive salt lake, and marched for three days across the seemingly interminable plain, depleting all their stores of food and, worse, all their fresh water<\/p>\n<h2>24 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s&#8217; men, parched to delirium, knelt and sucked the water from brackish lagoons, but the salinity was so high it only made them thirstier, and some grew sick and vomited as they staggered along<\/p>\n<h2>25 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Constant march along narrow trails through the austere maguey desert surrounding the extinct volcano Cofre de Perote (also Nauhcampat\u00e9petl) 4,282 metres (14,049 ft) above sea level<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/ECzU1nZXUAAh4oK?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>26 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Across the seemingly interminable plain, around Alchichica lagoon, through Tepeyahualco to reach Santiago Xonacatl\u00e1n. Map: <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC5DshbWkAIdzj0?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC5DshJWsAAoVwH?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>27 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Finally, after nearly a week of constant marching, they climbed again, as the austere maguey desert yielded to rough, flinty ridges. The narrow trails led Cort\u00e9s&#8217; men to the town of Xocotl\u00e1n (now Zautla). Map: <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC9NHPXXUAANlTy?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Exhausted, scorched, and ravenous with thirst, the Spaniards were now dangerously vulnerable, but by good fortune Olintetl, the chief of Xocotl\u00e1n, received them kindly, providing shelter, warmth, and food<\/p>\n<p>Once rested and fed, Cort\u00e9s made an inspection of the town, which was by far the largest they had passed through since leaving the coast, with a population of several thousands. In the town square Cort\u00e9s discovered a giant skull rack (or tzompantli) displaying human skulls arranged in neat rows, beside which were great piles of thighbones and arm bones bleached white and luminous in the sun. Most shocking and repugnant to Cort\u00e9s were the fifty or so recently sacrificed corpses, disemboweled and bathed in blood, and a large statue of the war god Huitzilopochtli bespattered and still dripping with the lifeblood of these sacrificial offerings.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC_ZPY9XYAEx4SC?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC_ZQFoW4AAv1qI?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EC_ZQ-hXkAYusWh?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>28 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Human sacrifices, Aztecs believed, ensured the daily rising of the sun. War captives were ceremonially led to high altars and sacrificed by five priests who placed each victim on his back on a special stone that depicted the sun<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDCtPEWWsAE99Uc?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Two priests held down the arms, and two more priests splayed and pressed down the legs. A final priest clamped a large collar around the prisoner\u2019s neck while the village chief hoisted an obsidian blade high, then plunged it into the victim\u2019s chest<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDCtPmPXsAEvljs?format=png&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Opening the cavity, he would then remove the still-beating heart with his hands and lift it in a highly stylized and ceremonial offering. The steam from the heart was believed to carry a special message to the sun<\/p>\n<p>The skull racks, made from thousands of sacrifice victims, served as constant reminders of their religion\u2019s immense power<\/p>\n<p>Human ritual sacrifice also served to bring rain and ensure harvest, as well as fertility, enacted in the Feasts of the Flaying of Men, the Festival of Toxcatl, and the New Fire Ceremony.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDCtRBNXUAEb62u?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>29 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s could not have understood that these skulls and corpses were the aftermath and remnants of complex and elaborate seasonal religious rituals that the native inhabitants considered essential, even vital for their survival<\/p>\n<p>Such sacrifices, they believed, ensured the daily rising of the sun. What Cort\u00e9s, in his idea of universal values, could not assume was to tolerate them. He had to proceed against the barbaric acts viewed from his catholic values<\/p>\n<p>He could not look away. His vision was a complex one: a world empire subject to Charles V, who would become &#8216;monarch of the universe&#8217; and which Cort\u00e9s would help to found it by pressing on from Mexico, across the Pacific to the East<\/p>\n<p>This vision was compounded as it was of Cortes&#8217;s own dreams of the conquest of Cathay, Erasmian and Imperial dreams of a universal empire, and Franciscan dreams of the conversion of mankind as the essential prelude to the ending of the world<\/p>\n<h2>30 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Olintetl, the chief of Xocotl\u00e1n\/Zautla, made a detailed description of the capital city Tenochtitl\u00e1n, which he said was an impenetrable fortress on a great lake, accessible only by three major causeways containing removable bridges<\/p>\n<p>The city\u2019s beauty was indescribable, Olintetl said, adding that the reach and power of Moctezuma\u2019s empire was so great that he had amassed riches of gold and silver beyond imagining, much of it won in his conquests over neighboring city-states<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s inquired whether Olintetl himself possessed any gold, as he wished to obtain samples to bring back to his emperor in Spain. Olintetl said he had some gold, but was unauthorized to give any to Cort\u00e9s without the direct permission of Moctezuma<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s, miffed by the rebuke, replied that soon enough he would be getting gold directly from Moctezuma, whom he was on his way to visit. Before departing, Cort\u00e9s sent four Cempoalan chiefs ahead toward Tlaxcala<\/p>\n<p>They carried a message stating that the Spaniards were coming soon, in peace, hoping to forge an alliance. Cort\u00e9s then asked Olintetl the best route to the Aztec capital. The chief recommended Cholula, a city and shrine sacred to Quetzalcoatl<\/p>\n<p>Some of the Cempoalans traveling with Cort\u00e9s counseled against this choice, arguing that not only was the route longer, but Cholula was a heavily fortified Aztec outpost, and additionally the Cholulans were not to be trusted<\/p>\n<p>By contrast Tlaxcala, on an alternate route, had never been conquered by Moctezuma, and it was the Tlaxcalans\u2019 allegiance that Cort\u00e9s sought. Plus, the route through Tlaxcala was shorter. Cort\u00e9s pondered the advice as he readied to leave.<\/p>\n<p>The rested army moved out, snaking through the long valley of the R\u00edo Apulco, through a large town called Ixtacamaxtitlan. There they were also treated with guarded friendliness, apparently at the behest of Moctezuma<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDNBfRPXsAAdIpu?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Moctezuma spies and messengers roamed far and wide and reported the Spaniards\u2019 precise movements and locations.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>31 August 1519<\/h2>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2zH5mIA\">Ixtacamaxtitlan<\/a>, Cort\u00e9s waited briefly for any response from his Cempoalan messengers, but there was no sign of them. Unknown to Cort\u00e9s, his native messengers had successfully reached the capital of Tlaxcala and had presented the gifts, letters, and message to the nobles there; but they had been immediately imprisoned, their release pending an inquiry by a high council.<\/p>\n<p>They were especially dubious of any claims of peace and friendship, suspecting that the Spaniards might well have formed an allegiance with the Aztecs and were going to attack them. The Tlaxcalan nobles agreed that rather than be passive, they would allow the Spaniards to enter their borders, then ambush them.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDSNSifWkAAkrhx?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>1 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Leaving the Zautla Valley, Cort\u00e9s determined to take the shorter route toward Tlaxcala (through what is now Colonia Gustavo D\u00edaz Ordaz, Tlaxcala) After about ten miles they approached a massive stone wall nearly ten by twenty feet<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDXZYn_X4AEj19R?format=png&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They had reached the formal border of Tlaxcala, the great battlement constructed to ward off Aztec attacks. Cort\u00e9s\u2019s men debated the virtues of entering the potentially hostile Tlaxcalan land, especially since the messengers had failed to return<\/p>\n<p>The fiercely independent Tlaxcalans might view their entrance as aggressive. But the tremendous fortification\u2019s single opening appeared unmanned, and deciding on action over discussion, Cort\u00e9s urged his men through.<\/p>\n<h2>2 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>First battle with the Tlaxcala army: Xicotencatl Axayacatl, also known as Xicotencatl the Younger, was his leader. He used an ambush strategy: he first engaged the enemy with a small force of Otom\u00ed allies that feigned a retreat, and then lured the Spaniards back to a better fortified position where the main force waited. Then several thousands of Tlaxcalan warriors attacked but the Spanish drove them off with a concerted cavalry charge<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDcfTDEX4AAgbjO?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A powerful kingdom, Tlaxcala was a fierce rival of the Aztecs, never conquered by the Triple Alliance. It was a complex kingdom consisting of four parts (altepetl): Tepeticpac, Ocotelolco, Tizatlan and Quiahuiztlan<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDcfTwoWkAAXzJE?format=png&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>3 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Last night, Cort\u00e9s and his men, hungry and exposed to the elements, laid in fear of what today might bring. Cort\u00e9s brought Malinche and Aguilar to interrogate a few prisoners.<\/p>\n<p>One of them warned Cort\u00e9s that Xicotenga the Elder and his son, also named Xicotenga, were assembling more than 100,000 troops and that the Spaniards should surrender or else be defeated, captured, and then die at their captors\u2019 hands<\/p>\n<p>Undaunted, Cort\u00e9s sent him away with a stern message: &#8221;we come in peace and wish only to pass through your lands on our way to see and speak with Moctezuma. We come as your allies and brothers, but if we are further impeded, we will annihilate you&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When these released prisoners reached Xicotenga the Younger, he replied that &#8220;you could go to the town where my father was, and they would make peace with you by filling themselves with your flesh and honoring their gods with your hearts and blood.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>During the day, the Spaniards nursed their wounds, which were considerable, and advanced through Texcalac. Cort\u00e9s must have been somewhat encouraged that only one Spaniard had been fatally injured in the battle yesterday in Tecoantzingo gorge<\/p>\n<p>The goal of the Tlaxcalans (as later with the Aztecs) and indeed the design of their weapons, was to wound or injure in order to be able to take live prisoners for sacrifice, not necessarily to kill enemies on the battlefield <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/33WV7hp\">Ver mapa<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>4 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s arrived in Tzompantzingo. The Tlaxcalans did not attack. Instead, they sent a delegation bearing a significant amount of food, including more than three hundred turkeys and hundreds of baskets of fresh maize cakes<\/p>\n<p>Though Cort\u00e9s and his men needed and relished the food, he quickly surmised that these gifts were merely a ruse to allow spies to assess the condition of his men, animals, and weaponry<\/p>\n<p>He immediately had these men arrested and confined, and he decided that next morning, fueled by the fowl and cakes, he would march and meet the Tlaxcalans head-on if they had not by that time agreed to a truce.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>5 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The Spaniards sought a peace treaty with the Tlaxcaltecs. Maxixcatzin, the ruler of Ocotelolco, was in favour of allying with the Spaniards, but Xicotencatl II Axayacatl, ruler of Tizatlan, opposed this idea<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDsB6AaXUAIIA_N?format=png&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the governing council of the Tlaxcalans discussed whether or not to make an alliance with the Spaniards. They decided to send their army under Xicotencatl II<\/p>\n<h2>6 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Led by Xicotencatl the Younger, a massive army of around six thousand tlaxcalans swarmed the valley. But Cort\u00e9s and his well-schooled divisions had planned for a mass attack, and his disciplined ranks held tight<\/p>\n<p>It was a desperate battle, with terrible losses suffered by the Tlaxcalans, and the Spanish were reeling on the brink of defeat, and took refuge on a round hill named Tzompantepec. However, Spanish losses were again astonishingly minimal<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDy-L4zXoAA3PRB?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Though fifty or sixty men had been wounded, and now all of the horses were cut and at least slightly injured, only one Spanish soldier is reported to have died that day, and Cort\u00e9s made sure he could not be discovered by the enemy<\/p>\n<p>By nightfall, both sides had returned to their own camps. With his men hungry and shivering, Cort\u00e9s dispatched yet another messenger to Tlaxcala, reiterating his desire for peace and brotherhood.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDy-MX-XUAA24JH?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EDy-MX0WkAAHjEj?format=jpg&amp;name=360x360\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>7 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>During the battle of Tzompantepec (Tzompantzingo = hill of skulls) Tlaxcalan numbers were so great as to prove a disadvantage. When they charged en masse, tightly bunched, they became easy targets for sustained crossbow volleys; the Spanish arrows mowed down dozens of warriors at a time. Artillerymen fired cannons into the mass\u2014each heavy metal ball dropped many men and caused havoc and confusion among the Tlaxcalan squadrons, some of which dispersed.<\/p>\n<p>Seeing this disorder, Cort\u00e9s sent cavalry in teams of four, which would gallop out, their riders slung low, slashing the steel swords with devastating impact, cutting down warriors, then wheeling the horses back to their lines to rest and regroup, while another team went out. The Spanish horses and their riders, working in unison, became a killing machine, and the effect was terrifying for Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Younger and his troops, who had never witnessed such efficient and frightening foes<\/p>\n<p>To complicate matters, Xicoht\u00e9ncatl and one of his main captains were embroiled in a bitter dispute over tactics, so that even when directly ordered, this captain proved insubordinate, refusing to support his leader or dispatch troops to his aid.<\/p>\n<p>Try as he might, despite sending wave after wave of his own men to their deaths, Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Younger could not extricate the Spaniards from their position.<\/p>\n<p>Note: Halfway along the Cort\u00e9s route to Tenochtitlan, three key lessons: 1) this topic has been searched, and analyzed to its smallest details over 500 years, so there are tons of information available to find almost any answer; it is not exhausted though.<\/p>\n<p>2) those who are content to try to find out who were the good guys and who the bad guys in this story can find multiple examples to choose their favorites, but they probably won&#8217;t understand this fundamental change for the world, and<\/p>\n<p>3) Mexico today is the result of a series of amalgamations, accommodations, and recreations of cultures that are still dynamic, still being transformed today.<\/p>\n<p>Note: Watch online a great documentary from historian Michael Wood Conquistadors (1) The Fall of the Aztecs, with real cover of the actual route of Cort\u00e9s<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hernan Cortes\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SXPFh778tDg?feature=oembed&amp;rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>8 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>In Tlaxcala, the high council met, perplexed by their force\u2019s failure in the battlefield and wishing to determine the reason for it. The council gathered their wizards, shamans and soothsayers to look toward the stars for answers.<\/p>\n<p>They carefully studied the alignment of the constellations, consulted prophecies, and sacrificed many slaves, and after much contemplation, they returned to the council with the determination that though the Spaniards were not necessarily gods, still they received their power (as their own gods did) from the sun. Therefore they must be attacked at night, when their powers were diminished. The notion was debated vigorously, especially among the chief Tlaxcalan military advisers.<\/p>\n<h2>9 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>After much argument, the high council of Tlaxcala agreed upon a night attack. As quietly as they could, some ten thousand Tlaxcalan warriors moved into position on the plain below Cort\u00e9s\u2019s encampment on the hill of Tzompantepec.<\/p>\n<h2>10 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The night was clear, Cort\u00e9s&#8217;s sentries noted mysterious movements below and reported them immediately to him, who roused his men quietly and whispered commands to his captains<\/p>\n<p>They were to descend the hill in small divisions, conceal themselves in ditches and low depressions in the ground and in the maize fields, and when ordered, they were to erupt from the ground in a counterambush<\/p>\n<p>As the Tlaxcalans approached, Cort\u00e9s took his cavalry and small, fast regiments of harquebusiers and cannons and caught the Tlaxcalans unprepared on the open ground<\/p>\n<p>The vaporous shadows of the horses and their thundering charge, the lightning flashes and deafening explosions of cannon fire, sent Xicoht\u00e9ncatl \u2019s forces fleeing in terror<\/p>\n<p>The horses easily overtook many, wounding great numbers and killing more than twenty. The rest fled to report the grim news of the defeat to their leaders and soothsayers. Word of Spanish victory would soon spread across the land, into Tenochtitlan<\/p>\n<h2>11 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s was pleased by his night victory, though the warring was taking a toll on the men, some of whom were now hypothermic, and many, including Cort\u00e9s, were suffering from malarial fever and salt deprivation<\/p>\n<p>The mood in the camp was mixed, with some renewed grumblings among the ragged men about going home, and Cort\u00e9s was forced to assuage their morale with promises of wealth, adding that it was better \u201cto die in good cause than to live dishonored.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>12 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The Tlaxcalan high council met again, now utterly stymied. Many, including the sage Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Elder, concluded that the Spaniards had proved themselves invincible during day and night, and he argued they ought to make peace<\/p>\n<p>Maxixcatzin, the ruler of Ocotelolco, one of the four independent altepetl that constituted the confederation of Tlaxcala, again showed himself in favor of allying with the Spaniards and fight the Triple Alliance<\/p>\n<p>But Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Younger argued that he had seen the slain beasts and numbers of the soldiers wounded. They bled and died as men. Divided, the Tlaxcalans agreed to once more send messengers to the Spanish camp to discover what they might.<\/p>\n<h2>13 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>About this time six Aztec nobles entered Cort\u00e9s&#8217;s camp on the hill, where he had now been for over a week. Aztec runners and spies had kept the emperor apprised daily of the battles and outcomes between Tlaxcalans and Spaniards<\/p>\n<p>Moctezuma seemed dismayed by the fierce Tlaxcalans\u2019 inability to subdue their foes. Now he sent the Spaniards a small embassy and their servants bearing an array of gifts: cotton garments, some lovely feather pieces, and a good deal of gold<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s thanked the Aztec nobles kindly and willingly took the gifts but declined to return to Spain just yet. He insisted he had specific instructions from his own emperor to personally visit Montezuma, and he did not wish to disappoint his ruler<\/p>\n<p>The Aztec nobles expressed Moctezuma\u2019s congratulations on their successful battles and warned Cort\u00e9s not to trust the Tlaxcalans. Then they proposed a deal. Moctezuma offered these gifts to Cort\u00e9s and would submit to becoming a vassal of Spain, paying to the king an agreed-upon annual sum in tribute in the form of gold, slaves, women, and jade, if Cort\u00e9s and his men would agree to return home immediately, forgoing their intended trek to Tenochtitl\u00e1n, which would be too difficult anyway<\/p>\n<p>He really had no choice in the matter. He bade them to return to Moctezuma, explain the situation to him, and request once more a formal meeting.<\/p>\n<h2>14 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>A few days after the night raid, an entourage of fifty Tlaxcalans arrived with food, which revived the Spanish troops. The famished men were gorging on roasted fowls, warmed maize cakes, and local figs and cherries, when Malinche informed Cort\u00e9s that a good number of these \u201cmessengers\u201d were actually spies, for she had seen them inspecting the perimeter of the camp and making notes concerning the condition of the men and horses<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s, enraged, had the men arrested, then questioned under physical duress. He was able to induce confessions from most. They were indeed spies sent by Xicoht\u00e9ncatl to assess the camp and troops for signs of weakness<\/p>\n<p>As brutal punishment and to send a definitive message, Cort\u00e9s assembled seventeen of the Tlaxcalan spies and had some of their thumbs or hands amputated, then sent them back to Xicoht\u00e9ncatl with a clear warning: &#8216;Submit or we will destroy you&#8217;.<\/p>\n<h2>15 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>At least some of the spies made it back to Tlaxcala to display their maimed hands, because then a delegation returned bearing much food and a message that soon the great warrior Xicohtencatl the Younger would arrive to make peace<\/p>\n<h2>16 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s was still discoursing with the ambassadors of Moctezuma, and about to dismiss them, to retire to rest, for the fit of malarial fever was coming again, when it was announced that Xicohtencatl the Younger was approaching.<\/p>\n<h2>17 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Peace with Tlaxcala: Xicohtencatl the Younger met with Cort\u00e9s. He arrived surrounded by many other Tlaxcalan noblemen and chiefs from the four main towns<\/p>\n<p>They brought some gifts, apologizing for their modest nature but explaining that they were poor and that effective trade for goods had been impeded by their Aztec enemies<\/p>\n<p>The warrior told Cort\u00e9s that he was impressed with the captain\u2019s artistry on the battlefield and that the Spanish soldiers had defeated his finest, most skilled warriors. He apologized for the attacks on the Spaniards but explained that he had truly believed them to be allied with Montezuma and the Aztecs, their archenemies. The Tlaxcalans were a proud and defiant people, but now they were impressed and honored the Spaniards\u2019 military superiority<\/p>\n<p>They wanted a truce. Xicohtencatl the Elder would be willing to strike a deal\u2014 they would agree to become vassals of Cort\u00e9s and his king, if he would allow them to accompany his army in an attack against Moctezuma<\/p>\n<p>Xicohtencatl the Elder had extended a personal invitation for Cort\u00e9s and his men to come to Tlaxcala to rest from their battles, where they would be hosted like royalty. Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s nodded.<\/p>\n<h2>18 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The peace with Tlaxcala meant Cort\u00e9s now had an army he believed sufficient to confront this man Moctezuma, whoever he was and however powerful he might be.<\/p>\n<h2>19 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The Mexican ambassadors advised Cort\u00e9s against Tlaxcallans words of peace, and begged of him to remain for another six days in his present quarters, that they might first send messengers to Moctezuma, and would return again<\/p>\n<p>To this Cort\u00e9s consented, partly on account of his malaria, partly because he thought the warnings might not be altogether so unfounded as he imagined. In that time he could also gain more certain proofs of the real intentions of the Tlaxcallans.<\/p>\n<h2>20 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>As the whole country from Veracruz up to the present quarters, was inhabited by friendly tribes and allies, Cort\u00e9s ventured to forward a letter to Juan de Escalante, who had remained behind there in garrison<\/p>\n<p>He desired him to complete the buildings, and then gave him an account of the great victories gained since arriving in Tlaxcala, and how Cort\u00e9s had compelled the inhabitants to sue for peace<\/p>\n<p>He also desired him to make a day of thanksgiving, and in every way to favour the Totonac allies. Lastly, he requested him two bottles of wine which he had buried in a certain corner of his quarters there, and some holy wafers, as they had none left<\/p>\n<p>Escalante sent a speedy answer with the things Cort\u00e9s required. It may easily be imagined how joyously this news was received at Veracruz.<\/p>\n<h2>21 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>During these days Cort\u00e9s erected a majestic cross in the camp, and had one of the temples in the neighbourhood cleansed and freshly plastered by the inhabitants of Tzompantenpec, and some other Indians<\/p>\n<p>The postponement of the visit greatly distressed the caziques of Tlaxcala, yet they continued to send Cort\u00e9s fowls and figs, and a daily supply of provisions. This they did with the best of good will, nor would they ever take anything in return<\/p>\n<p>On the contrary, they daily more earnestly begged of Cort\u00e9s not to delay his visit any longer, but he was eager to wait for the return of the Mexican ambassadors, and he each time put off the Tlaxcalan with some friendly excuse.<\/p>\n<h2>22 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s was finally prepared to leave the rough and exposed hill of Tzompantepec (Tzompantzingo) behind. His men were elated to enter Tlaxcala<\/p>\n<p>The Mexican ambassadors had returned from Mexico with a rich gift from Moctezuma, who was very pleased with the success of the Spaniards against Tlaxcala<\/p>\n<p>Moctezuma requested Cort\u00e9s most urgently not to bring any Tlaxcalans into his dominions, for whatever purpose it might be, and upon the whole not to trust them<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s accepted these presents with every appearance of delight, and thanked them, with the assurance that he would render Moctezuma good services in return<\/p>\n<p>In the midst of this discourse several messengers arrived from Tlaxcala, bringing Cort\u00e9s information that all the old caciques of the country were on their road to conduct Cort\u00e9s&#8217;s expedition into their city<\/p>\n<p>On learning this, Cortes requested the Mexican ambassadors to stay for three days before they departed again to their monarch with his answer; for that, at present, he was about to grant terms of peace to the Tlaxcalan chiefs<\/p>\n<p>The caciques of Tlaxcala arrived to the camp. When they were in presence of Cort\u00e9s they paid him the profoundest respect making three deep bows. They likewise perfumed with copal, touched the ground with their hands, and kissed it<\/p>\n<p>They asked Cort\u00e9s to accompany them immediately to the city. Then, with additional 500 porters from Tlaxcala, the next morning early Cort\u00e9s men were finally enabled to set out for the metropolis of Tlaxcala.<\/p>\n<h2>23 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>On this day, three weeks after the first battle with the Tlaxcalans, Cort\u00e9s led his company to Tlaxcala. Here his bedraggled men and horses would rest for three weeks and recover until they were fit enough to continue on to Mexico<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFIzzbZXYAAK5mT?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFIzzbWXYAAMP-z?format=png&amp;\" width=\"450\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Thousands of curious onlookers lined the streets as the Spanish army approached Tlaxcala. Cort\u00e9s and his men rode in as celebrated victors, the streets lined with flowers, and even inhabitants of outlying villages came to witness these strangers<\/p>\n<p>Robed priests along the route burned incense, their black hair tangled and matted with dried blood; their ears, recently mutilated in ritual sacrifice, dripped fresh blood. After dismounting and formally meeting the blind Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Elder, Cort\u00e9s followed a procession of hosts to his quarters, where his men were put up in large flat-roofed stone houses and palaces, and all the horses, many lame and limping, were provided with comfortable quarters. The Totonacs were also given food.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFI01DXXoAANGSk?format=jpg&amp;name=900x900\" alt=\"image\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFI01DNXsAAfd0S?format=jpg&amp;name=900x900\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>24 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s was moved by the organization and layout of the city, remarking in a letter to his king: \u201cIt is so big and so beautiful that all one could say about it would be unbelievable. It is bigger than Granada and better fortified. Its houses, its buildings, and the people that inhabit it are more numerous than at Granada at the time we conquered it, and very much better supplied with the produce of the land, namely bread, fowl, game, and fresh-water fish.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>25 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>In Tlaxcala, Cort\u00e9s spent a great deal of time, flanked by Malinche and Aguilar, in conversations with nobles, elders, and members of the high council, who were remarkably forthcoming<\/p>\n<p>By day they visited the bustling central market, where thousands of people from the region came to trade. Still, though they were being treated as royalty, Cort\u00e9s positioned sentries and guards and instructed his men to sleep armed and ready.<\/p>\n<h2>26 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The Spanish expeditionary force remained in Tlaxcala gorging on fish and fowl at feasts and enjoying the company of some of the three hundred native women given Cort\u00e9s as a gift in lieu of gold<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s would accept them only if the Tlaxcalans would destroy their own idols and agree to give up human sacrifice; he later agreed to take them only if they were allowed to be baptized. Once they were baptized, Cort\u00e9s distributed them among his men.<\/p>\n<p>[Note from Pedro Carrasco &#8216;Indian-Spanish marriages&#8217;: according to Diego Mu\u00f1oz Camargo, the rulers of Tlaxcala first presented Cort\u00e9s with 300 female slaves, but later, &#8216;they gave their own daughters so that, by any chance any should become pregnant, the descendants of such valiant and daring men would remain among them&#8217;. Little is known about the individual unions of these Tlaxcalan princesses with Spaniards. Alva Ixtlilxochitl identified five of the princesses.<\/p>\n<p>With the exception of do\u00f1a Luisa Xicoht\u00e9ncatl, the daughter of one of the four rulers of Tlaxcala who was given to Pedro de Alvarado, they perished in the disastrous flight from Tenochtitlan in July 1520]<\/p>\n<h2>27 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Once their allegiance was formally and ceremonially sealed and Cort\u00e9s had received assurances of significant Tlaxcalan military support, he inquired pointedly about many aspects of the neighboring Aztecs and their ruler Moctezuma<\/p>\n<p>Xicoht\u00e9ncatl the Elder informed Cort\u00e9s that the great city of Tenochtitlan was, and had been for as long as they could remember, highly fortified and impenetrable. The Tlaxcalans had managed to avoid complete conquest but only at very high costs<\/p>\n<p>Moctezuma maintained strict embargoes and blockades that denied the Tlaxcalan people many important trade items, including cotton goods (needed for armor), coveted gemstones, precious metals like silver and gold, and salt<\/p>\n<p>They went on to describe, using hand-drawn illustrations on stretched maguey fiber, the Aztec arts of warfare and weaponry and even crucial details about the city, such as the fact that all its fresh water came from a single aqueduct at Chapultepec.<\/p>\n<h2>28 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s and Xicoht\u00e9ncatl had an interesting discussion of the generations-long Flower Wars. These were mock or staged battles between the finest warriors from each side, as well as young warriors hoping to prove themselves<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EFkiiIGXkAIlObx?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More like competitions or tournaments than actual battles, these Flower Wars served a number of functions, including keeping the warriors practiced and trained for battle without killing them on such a scale as to deplete their forces<\/p>\n<p>Most important, the winning side in a particular battle gained prisoners for human sacrifice, which both sides required (especially the Aztecs) in large numbers<\/p>\n<p>Dressed in full regalia and fully armed, enemies confronted each other at predetermined battlefields and engaged violently but took precautions to injure and subdue rather than kill. Tlaxcalans and Aztecs had engaged in such staged wars for decades<\/p>\n<p>Moctezuma later boasted that his armies could have legitimately conquered the Tlaxcalans with ease anytime he wished, but the protracted Flower War provided convenient training for his men and never-ending sacrificial victims.<\/p>\n<h2>29 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Roaming the city, some of Cort\u00e9s\u2019s men came upon the disturbing sight of prisoners of the Tlaxcalans bound and pinioned inside wooden latticework cages<\/p>\n<p>The prisoners were fed daily rations of a special diet designed to quickly fatten them for sacrifice and consumption<\/p>\n<p>Seeing these unfortunates and their condition, Cort\u00e9s railed against such practices, hoping to impress upon the Tlaxcalans the teachings and truth of Christianity, about which he lectured long and often through Malinche and Aguilar<\/p>\n<p>He even suggested to the elders and nobles the benefits of destroying their own idols and replacing them with his, showing them illustrations and pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus<\/p>\n<p>They should convert immediately, submitting to baptism to avoid burning in a fiery hell in the afterlife. The elders, including Xicoht\u00e9ncatl, balked. They had no intention of forsaking their own gods.<\/p>\n<h2>30 September 1519<\/h2>\n<p>As in Cempoala, Cort\u00e9s favored a forced conversion, but once more the judicious Father Olmedo argued for prudence, pointing out that real and lasting conversion took time and religious understanding, and at any rate the Spaniards certainly had no need to create conflict and tensions with their brand-new allies. And once more Cort\u00e9s had the good sense to take the advice of his trusted religious counselor<\/p>\n<p>For their part, in a remarkable show of religious concession and tolerance, the Tlaxcalans provided one temple where the Spaniards could erect a cross and worship their idols<\/p>\n<p>Here Cort\u00e9s had his priests hold daily public mass; the ceremonies were attended not only by his men but by scores of the city\u2019s inhabitants and those of neighboring villages.<\/p>\n<h2>1 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Buddy Levy in his book Conquistador says: &#8216;Although Cort\u00e9s is sometimes interpreted as feigning devotion and piety as a justification for his actions and behavior, he appears to have been authentically, deeply religious.<\/p>\n<p>As a product of his time and place, he could have believed in the rightness of his mission and viewed the conversion of the Mexican population\u2014either forced, as he preferred, or by slower degrees and education\u2014as actually bringing them salvation<\/p>\n<p>Obviously Cort\u00e9s believed that he had much to gain, but his religious zeal as he marched through the country was at all times evident and consistent. He was to that end the first man to sow the seeds of Christianity on the soil of the Americas&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s would eventually found a college for theology students training for the priesthood, a hospital, and a monastery, as well as provide financial endowments for the building and maintaining of Catholic churches.<\/p>\n<p>On this same day, Ferdinand Magellan left the island of Tenerife, resuming the Spanish expedition to the East Indies (1519 &#8211; 1522) resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth completed by Juan Sebasti\u00e1n Elcano<\/p>\n<h2>2 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>In Tlaxcala, the Spanish men and horses and dogs were regaining strength, and Cort\u00e9s discussed with his aides and captains their imminent departure to Tenochtitlan and the best route to take<\/p>\n<h2>3 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The Aztec ambassadors vehemently urged Cort\u00e9s to take the route through Cholula; its leaders, they claimed, were complacent allies of the Aztecs, and there he could await final word on Moctezuma\u2019s decision to meet Cort\u00e9s in person<\/p>\n<p>The Tlaxcalans disagreed, countering that the Cholulans could not be trusted\u2014they were wicked and duplicitous people, and it might well be a trap. They argued for a route through the town of Huejotzingo, whose people were confirmed friends.<\/p>\n<h2>4 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>After some meetings and contemplation, Cort\u00e9s opted to take the Aztec ambassadors as guides and go through Cholula, a decision that turned out to have both political and tactical reasons<\/p>\n<p>To appease the disgruntled Tlaxcalans, who were visibly unhappy about his decision, Cort\u00e9s offered presents of cloth to Xicohtencatl the Elder and said that he would happily now accept his host\u2019s offer of warriors to take along with him on his quest.<\/p>\n<h2>5 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The ship sent to Spain from Cort\u00e9s on July 26th, 1519, Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Concepci\u00f3n, with pilot Alaminos and procurers Francisco de Montejo and Alonso Hern\u00e1ndez Portocarrero arrived to Sanl\u00facar and then Seville<\/p>\n<p>Diego Vel\u00e1zquez, the governor of Cuba whom Cort\u00e9s had disobeyed, had successfully maneuvered to get the ship captured in Seville by his representative Fray Benito Martin<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, the intercession of Chancellor Gattinara and the King&#8217;s secretary, Francisco de los Cobos, prevented them from being judged right there for rebellion<\/p>\n<p>However, Portocarrero died in prison (according to Historia de Yucatan, 1688, by L\u00f3pez de Cogolludo) and Alaminos some time later. Montejo had a continuation of his history as a conqueror of Yucatan, with his son, from 1528-37<\/p>\n<p>Montejo and Cort\u00e9s&#8217; father, Mart\u00edn, were able to meet King Charles at the end of April 1520 in La Coru\u00f1a, where they were able to present their case and Cort\u00e9s&#8217; treasure before the Spanish court<\/p>\n<p>Charles I of #Spain was in a great hurry to embark on Germany to seize the crown of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire as Charles V and, above all, he needed a large sum of money and gold to meet the responsibilities of the position<\/p>\n<p>The courts of Castile (a representative assembly, or parliament) had to provide all these resources, which was one of the main causes of the subsequent War of the Communities of Castile, an uprising against the king and its administration (1520-21)<\/p>\n<p>On May 20th, 1520, King Charles put to sea to wear the Emperor&#8217;s crown in Aachen, Flanders. He carried many Aztec jewels, and the gold and silver wheels that made such an impression on Albrecht D\u00fcrer, who could see them in Brussels in 27 August 1520<\/p>\n<h2>6 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s diplomacy worked well, and the Tlaxcalan ruler offered an army of 100,000 men. Cort\u00e9s thanked him for his generous support of his cause, adding that he would require only some six thousand at the moment.<\/p>\n<h2>7 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Bernal Diaz: &#8216;I have still to mention that in Tlaxcala we found houses built of wood, in the shape of cages, in which numbers of Indians, of both sexes, were confined, and fattened for their sacrifices and feasts.<\/p>\n<p>We never hesitated a single moment to break them down and liberate the prisoners. These unfortunate beings, however, never dared leave our side, and this was the only means of saving them from being butchered.<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s gave orders to break open these cages wherever we came, for we found them in every township. We all showed our horror of these atrocities, and earnestly reproved the caziques for it, who then promised no longer to kill and devour human beings.<\/p>\n<p>I say they promised, but that was all, and if we were but an instant out of sight the same barbarities were committed&#8217;<\/p>\n<h2>8 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The burning mountain of Popocat\u00e9petl was emitting more flames than usual, and Cort\u00e9s and all Spaniards, to whom a volcano was something new, regarded it in astonishment<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGWdTsZWwAAZ4Hm?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" width=\"450\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Diego de Ord\u00e1s, one of the chief officers, entertained the bold idea to inspect this wonder more minutely, and begged leave of Cort\u00e9s to ascend the mountain, who granted this request<\/p>\n<p>Ord\u00e1s took two men with him, and desired some of the chiefs of Huejotzingo to accompany him. They certainly did not refuse but tried to deter him saying that when he should have ascended the volcano, half way, he would not be able to advance further on account of the trembling of the earth, and the flames, stones and ashes which were emitted from the crater. They themselves never durst venture higher than to where some temples were built to the teules of Popocat\u00e9petl<\/p>\n<p>And indeed they left Ord\u00e1s when he arrived at that spot. The latter, however, boldly continued to ascend with the two soldiers until he had reached the summit.<\/p>\n<h2>9 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>On preparation to march to Cholula, Cort\u00e9s sent two captains, Alvarado and V\u00e1zquez de Tapia, accompanied by some Aztec messengers, in advance to view the great city of Tenochtitlan and inspect its strong fortifications and defenses<\/p>\n<p>Tlaxcalans warned Cort\u00e9s one more time: &#8220;Then you should be upon your guard with the people of Cholula, and against the power of Mexico in general&#8221;. Cholulans had failed to send an embassy to Cort\u00e9s at Tlaxcala, as requested by the Spaniard<\/p>\n<p>When the inhabitants of Cholula sent word that the reason why they could not go to Tlaxcala was because they were at enmity with its inhabitants, Cort\u00e9s considered this excuse perfectly reasonable, and therefore resolved upon marching to Cholula.<\/p>\n<h2>10 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s mustered for departure. With a train of Tlaxcalan and Totonac warriors and bearers that trailed for miles behind, accompanied by Moctezuma\u2019s own ambassadors, Captain-General Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s set out for Cholula<\/p>\n<p>He was headed toward the city of Quetzalcoatl, the most important pilgrimage destination in ancient Americas. Legend held that in his journey from ancient Tula (now Mexico City) toward the Gulf Coast, Quetzalcoatl had made his first stop here<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGgEDd2XUAYJOmd?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They marched most of the first day and camped that night on an exposed savanna; Cort\u00e9s and his captains slept in slightly protected and sheltered ditches, with guards at watch.<\/p>\n<h2>11 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Delegates from Cholula arrived, bringing turkey and maize cakes; the priests waved burning braziers to fumigate Cort\u00e9s and his captains, while the robed dignitaries beat on drums and blew reed flutes and conch shells<\/p>\n<p>After some ceremony they invited Cort\u00e9s and his men to come to Cholula, but they did not want the Tlaxcalans, their enemies, to accompany them. He thought about it, then acquiesced, telling the Tlaxcalans that they would need to wait outside the boundaries of the city proper while he conducted his business there. He appealed to their sense of pride by telling them that they could not enter because the Cholulans feared them.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving the bulk of the Tlaxcalan force outside the city limits, Cort\u00e9s led his expedition into Cholula. Later, Cort\u00e9s would say that Cholula was \u201cmore beautiful than any city in Spain, for it is very well proportioned and has many towers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGlM3VEXUAA4iFt?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>12 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Having been continuously inhabited for more than one thousand years (first by Olmecs, later by the people of Tula), Cholula was remarkably well kept, and the Spaniards were impressed as they rode in<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGqeTDZX4AEVHXD?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The great pyramid to Quetzalcoatl was a massive temple high on the hill overlooking Cholula. 120 steps led to the top of the structure, the largest free-standing man-made edifice in the world, twice as long as the great Egyptian pyramid of Cheops<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EGqeSbFXUAATufN?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Highly revered as the former home of the man-god Quetzalcoatl, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims came to this towering holy center annually.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cholula virtual\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fZbEtXuLakc?feature=oembed&amp;rel=0\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span>\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>13 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Organized and, to the Spanish mind, civilized (they noted freshwater wells), Cholula was a thriving city of more than 100,000 inhabitants, renowned widely for its fine pottery and craftsmanship in textiles, including jewelry<\/p>\n<p>The Spaniards observed that the people here dressed in immaculate robes and took great care in their polished appearance. Cort\u00e9s and his captains were well housed and cared for initially, the food supplies \u2014always of vital concern\u2014 sufficient.<\/p>\n<h2>14 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Another group of Aztec ambassadors arrived and asked for a meeting with Cort\u00e9s, during which they said the Cholulans had not the food stores to continue feeding the Spanish army, lest they themselves starve. Cort\u00e9s doubted the claim<\/p>\n<p>They also argued that the road to Tenochtitl\u00e1n was dangerous, barely passable, and that in the great city Moctezuma possessed a magnificent zoo where fearsome animals like lions and alligators could be unleashed and set upon unwelcome visitors<\/p>\n<p>This last was a thinly veiled attempt to keep the Spaniards from continuing their inexorable march toward the capital of the Aztecs. Cort\u00e9s remained unmoved. He would take his chances with any savage beasts that might be loosed upon him.<\/p>\n<h2>15 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The food supplies did indeed dwindle, then stop altogether by the fourth day, when they were offered only water, and some wood, presumably to cook their own provisions<\/p>\n<p>And visits by Cholulan lower representatives (important civic leaders, despite requests by Cort\u00e9s, had yet to make an appearance) diminished as well<\/p>\n<p>Some of his Totonac bearers reported to Cort\u00e9s that they had seen many people, carrying goods and possessions on their backs, leaving the city, women and children among them.<\/p>\n<p>More ominous still, rumors reached Cort\u00e9s that large, covered trap-holes had been discovered in the streets, their bottoms lined with sharp stakes, and that a number of the city\u2019s streets had been cordoned off, with warriors positioned on rooftops, sitting next to huge piles of stones. Cort\u00e9s had to wonder whether the Tlaxcalans had been right to suspect a trap.<\/p>\n<h2>16 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Moctezuma himself may have played a role in the perceived plot to ambush the Spaniards. After he spent days in intense meditation an oracle came to him with a presage: the Spaniards were destined to die in the sacred city of Cholula<\/p>\n<p>Believing this prophecy, Moctezuma immediately sent a division of his handpicked and best-trained warriors to Cholula, along with men carrying long poles to which they would tether the Spanish prisoners and lead them back to Tenochtitl\u00e1n<\/p>\n<p>Amazingly, a chance encounter by Malinche would propel Cort\u00e9s toward his most uncharacteristic and perplexing act of the entire campaign. She had struck up a friendship with one of the local women, a wife of a Cholulan nobleman<\/p>\n<p>The woman entertained Malinche in her home, fed her, and after a time suggested that for her own safety, Malinche should leave the Spaniards and come live with her\u2014she could even provide a suitable husband, her son, for Malinche<\/p>\n<p>Her husband was a captain in the Cholulan army, she informed Malinche, and the Cholulans, under Moctezuma\u2019s orders, were massing a large force to attack the Spaniards on the road from Cholula to Tenochtitl\u00e1n<\/p>\n<p>For their assistance in the ambush, the Cholulans would be given twenty Spaniards to sacrifice themselves. If Malinche wished to escape imprisonment and probable death by sacrifice, she should seek refuge with her<\/p>\n<p>But Malinche, now completely loyal to Cort\u00e9s, convinced the noblewoman that she needed to get some things first, and she hurried to report her discovery to him. The mood in the city was tense and ominous, and the exodus of the townspeople continued.<\/p>\n<h2>17 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Acting quickly on Malinche\u2019s intelligence, Cort\u00e9s rounded up a pair of Cholulan priests and bribed them with jadestone gifts; when they remained tight-lipped, he tortured them into submission<\/p>\n<p>The priests admitted that as far as they knew, Aztec forces were indeed stationed outside the city, along the route to Tenochtitl\u00e1n. The Cholulans\u2019 role was to help lead the Spaniards into the trap as they left the city<\/p>\n<p>In preparation for a successful ambush, a special sacrifice was currently under way that included a handful of small children. Cort\u00e9s quietly fumed at this last, then demanded at swordpoint that they go to the city\u2019s chiefs and tell them that he wished to speak with them<\/p>\n<p>When these nobles did arrive, Cort\u00e9s calmly thanked them for their hospitality and informed them that he and his troops would be leaving in the morning so as to no longer burden the kind people of Cholula. They agreed to provide him with some bearers<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s promptly convened his captains to discuss the situation. They disagreed about the best course of action, some suggesting they return to Tlaxcala or at the very least, should they proceed toward Mexico, take an alternative route<\/p>\n<p>But Cort\u00e9s had another idea, a punitive preemptive strike that would send a message reverberating through the badland plains and all across the Valley of Mexico.<\/p>\n<h2>18 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Feigning preparations for departure, Cort\u00e9s requested that all the lords of Cholula convene at the large central courtyard of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, where he could bid them farewell<\/p>\n<p>Then he asked to speak with the leaders of the city, the main nobility, in his quarters. Once they were inside, Cort\u00e9s barred the doors, accused them of conspiring with the Aztecs, said he knew of their plans and that for such treason they must die<\/p>\n<p>The lords at first denied duplicity, but later blamed Moctezuma, saying that as his subservient tributaries they had had no choice. By now the courtyard of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl had filled with Cholulans including most of the city\u2019s dignitaries<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s waved for a harquebus to be fired, his signal for the massacre to commence. Soldiers rode in and sealed off all the courtyard exits. The infantry\u2014both Spanish and Tlaxcalans\u2014rushed the crowded courtyard, wielding their swords and spears<\/p>\n<p>They fell upon the mostly unarmed populace in wholesale slaughter. Arrows whirred in horrific volleys, scything down scores in minutes as musket balls plowed others. Women and children ran screaming, many trampled by horses or by fleeing people<\/p>\n<p>Some priests managed to escape to the top of the high Temple of Quetzalcoatl, from which spot they feebly hurled stones to defend themselves or, despondent, took their own lives. Witnesses later reported:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey hurled themselves from the pyramid, they also hurled the idol Quetzalcoatl headfirst, for this form of suicide had always been a custom among them, and to die headlong. In the end the greater part of them died in despair by killing themselves\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s ordered the temple set ablaze, and it burned for two days straight. Within two hours nearly everyone who assembled in the courtyard had been slain. Uncharacteristically, Cort\u00e9s then allowed the rest of his allied Tlaxcalans inside the city<\/p>\n<p>For hours the Tlaxcalans pillaged and burned houses, looted and slaughtered people, until Cort\u00e9s determined to put a stop to them. By the time Cort\u00e9s halted the butchery, nearly five thousand people lay dead on the stone streets of Cholula.<\/p>\n<p>Fray Bernardino de Sahag\u00fan in <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2KdZ746\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/2KdZ746<\/a> (C\u00f3dice Florentino) &#8220;The Cholulans did not carry offensive or defensive weapons, but were disarmed thinking that what was done would not be done, in this way they died a bad death&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>19 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>A great deal of gold and other precious items was looted from the palaces and homes of the nobles, and Cort\u00e9s confiscated everything he could\u2014though he had difficulty getting some back from the Tlaxcalans<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s ordered his men to clean the corpse-strewn city, removing the dead and scrubbing the place. What priests and nobles remained alive were brought forth, blamed for the slaughter, and instructed to send for their escaped friends and relatives<\/p>\n<p>No more harm would be done to them. Though this must have been difficult for them to believe, in time people did reluctantly start to return. Prisoners were released, and after a few days a semblance of order was restored.<\/p>\n<h2>20 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>As he had in Tlaxcala, Cort\u00e9s found caged victims, including children, being held and fed for sacrifice, and he angrily broke the wooden bars and freed them. He instructed the Cholulan priests to cast aside their gods in favor of his<\/p>\n<p>They agreed in principle to become allies and vassals, subject themselves to Spanish authority, but as to the question of gods, they hedged, and once more Father Olmedo counseled Cort\u00e9s to give conversion time.<\/p>\n<h2>21 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The Aztec ambassadors had remained safely in hiding during the massacre, and now Cort\u00e9s used their fear to his advantage. He told them that though the Cholulans had blamed Moctezuma for planning an attack, he did not believe them<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s intimated that he still planned to march on Tenochtitl\u00e1n, and he hoped and trusted that Moctezuma would receive him peacefully. The Aztec ambassadors asked to send messengers to the capital to discover Moctezuma\u2019s wishes. Cort\u00e9s allowed it.<\/p>\n<h2>22 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>With the massacre, Cort\u00e9s had ensured a safe route between Cholula and Veracruz, which he figured would be crucial for resupply of arms, powder, and even men and horses, should any arrive from the islands<\/p>\n<p>The smoke from the burning temples died down after a few days, and to alleviate continued Cholulan fears, Cort\u00e9s again stationed most of the Tlaxcalans outside the city, but only after the two sides had agreed, begrudgingly, to a truce<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s and his men remained there, fed and hosted, for nearly two weeks, but the massacre sent shock waves through the land long afterward.<\/p>\n<h2>23 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>When the messengers arrived in Tenochtitl\u00e1n with explicit and detailed descriptions of the bloodbath in Cholula, Moctezuma was stricken and perplexed. This style of slaying defied all protocols of traditional Aztec warfare<\/p>\n<p>Even more confounding, Cholula was the spiritual house of Quetzalcoatl\u2014how could his own shrine have been desecrated? It was inconceivable. The massacre cast doubt that this Spaniard, this Cort\u00e9s, was really Quetzalcoatl. Who, then, was he?<\/p>\n<h2>24 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Moctezuma gathered a dozen of his highest priests to contemplate the matter. Cort\u00e9s could still be a god, but which one? He might be a god of war, a demon of darkness, a deity of justice or punishment<\/p>\n<p>Moctezuma wondered what else he could possibly do to prevent these beings from arriving, or perhaps their arrival was preordained and could not be stopped. Maybe it was indeed the will of the gods<\/p>\n<h2>25 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>For a week Moctezuma remained alone, aloft in the temple sanctuary, fasting and waiting for signs. In the thin air he was visited by Huitzilopochtli\u2014the hummingbird, god of war and sacrifice\u2014who communicated with the emperor<\/p>\n<p>After listening carefully to his gods, Moctezuma at last left his sanctuary and descended the pyramid steps. He had come to a decision: the emperor would be willing now to meet Cort\u00e9s.<\/p>\n<h2>26 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Aztec runners arrived at the Cholula city gates, runners sent from beyond the high mountains. Behind them trailed emissaries who asked for Cort\u00e9s<\/p>\n<p>Before him they laid offerings of food, many garments of the finest cloth, and, most impressive, ten plates of solid gold. The gods, and Moctezuma, had spoken. The emperor formally invited Cort\u00e9s to come to Tenochtitl\u00e1n.<\/p>\n<h2>27 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>When the caziques of Tlaxcala knew that Cort\u00e9s was determined to march to Tenochtitl\u00e1n, they tried to dissuade him once again from marching to a city of such vast extent and power, and several means to carry out a murderous war<\/p>\n<p>The Mexicas certainly, someday, would fall by surprise on the Spaniards and would not escape alive. However, they offered Cort\u00e9s 10,000 of their warriors, under the command of their most capable generals, with a sufficient supply of provisions<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s thanked them for their kind offer and explained that it would not be appropriate to enter Tenochtitl\u00e1n at the head of such a large army, particularly because the hatred between them and the Mexicas was so great<\/p>\n<p>A thousand men were all he needed to transport the artillery and everything else, and clear the road to Tenochtitl\u00e1n that had been obstructed to prevent its advance<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s also ordered that three of the Aztec ambassadors stay to show him the way, while the others were sent to Tenochtitl\u00e1n, to inform his monarch that the march to the capital of his empire was ready.<\/p>\n<h2>28 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>The chiefs of Cempoala, who had remained with Cort\u00e9s all this time, hoped he would return with them to Cempoala. They were determined not to march to Tenochtitl\u00e1n, as they were convinced it would be the destruction of the expedition<\/p>\n<p>All Cort\u00e9s pleas, added to Marina&#8217;s friendly advice, were fruitless, and they decided to return. Cort\u00e9s cried out: &#8220;God forbid that we should force these people, who have rendered us such valuable services, to go with us against their inclination!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He then ordered several packages of the very finest cotton stuffs to be divided among them, and likewise sent Xicomec\u00f3atl, the fat cazique, two packages for himself and his nephew Arexco, who was also a powerful chief<\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s wrote to Juan de Escalante in Veracruz, with all the news and mentioning they marched westward. He warned him to watch carefully the inhabitants of the country, and desired him by all means to hasten the completion of the fortress, and to take the inhabitants there under his protection against the Mexicas, and also not to molest them in any way. This letter was given in charge of the Cempoalans, and they then prepared the march forward with every military precaution.<\/p>\n<h2>29 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s spurred his horses and men westward. They rose, the Spaniards and their great train of allied warriors in tow, winding up the scrubby sierra separating the vast plateaus. Looking up they glimpsed the huge volcano Popocat\u00e9petl<\/p>\n<p>On the first day they arrived to Calpan, subject to Huejotzingo, where they found all the chiefs assembled, who were friendly with the Tlaxcalans. They presented Cort\u00e9s with provisions and a few trinkets of gold<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EID9HoAWoAIjbYv?format=jpg&amp;name=medium\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They instructed Cort\u00e9s about the road he should take, as soon as he had left the mountain pass behind. The expedition should reach two wide roads, one of which led to Tenanco Tepopollan (today Tenango del Aire), the other to Tlalmanalco<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EID9JduX4AETCcW?format=jpg&amp;name=900x900\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One of these roads was in excellent conditions, and the other had become impassable by a large number of big trees that had been felled and thrown across the road. On the first road, a little further up the mountain, there were Aztec troops ambushed<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, they advised Cort\u00e9s to get out of that road and go by the one that led to Tlalmanalco, which was hampered by trees. They would lend the Spaniards enough hands to clear this road, in which they would be assisted by the Tlaxcalans.<\/p>\n<h2>30 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s lurched slowly up through the timbered foothills and then into the higher mountains. Men, sickened by great heights such as they had never before encountered, bent at the waist, coughing and gasping for air<\/p>\n<p>The horses stumbled up the rocky trails, heaving and wheezing. They progressed slowly, only a few miles each day, passing through tiny scattered villages where they would rest a day, then press upward as biting winds hurtled down the narrow gorges; the poorly clad lowland and island bearers shivered through the nights. The Spaniards in full armor fared better, but they teetered as they climbed, burdened by the weight.<\/p>\n<h2>31 October 1519<\/h2>\n<p>Following a track between the two mountains, now called the Pass of Cort\u00e9s, the company arrived to a fork in the main path. One of the roads was open, the other having been blocked with trees and boulders, as it was said in Calpan<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EIM0UQzWkAQLT5a?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Cort\u00e9s, as advised, determined for the hard road, and they marched through the mountains in the closest possible order. Sending Tlaxcalans forward to clear away the heavy trees, the expedition began to descend<\/p>\n<p>An early winter storm fell, fog and mist encircling them and snow coming down. Cort\u00e9s ordered camp made, using some of the downed trees barring their passage as shelter. They struck fires as they could, though the place was wet and windy<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/EIM0U-nWoAA8F-q?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The night was deathly cold; men convulsed in their armor, and the natives hunkered together to warm each other. Some of the captains found abandoned shacks, perhaps used by merchants, and sought shelter there.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-5\" style=\"display: table; margin: 0 auto;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ruta Cort\u00e9s\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1MOt3uBksSY27UjjbDgIYaD-oqCYBxAlW\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-146","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":296,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/146\/revisions\/296"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/146\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/hernancortes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}