Fellow Americans , we are gathered again for the last time.  Thank you all for your patience and understanding.  I want to have it documented that the year is 2100 A.D. The earth has been uninhabitable for several years. This will be our last gathering to decide what items deserve to be preserved and serve as inspiration for our children. My final choice for preservation in the future will be Hernan Cortes’ , Letters From Mexico .

Hernan Cortes’ was an example of a conquistador. A conquistador is an explorer. Many Spaniards in the fifteenth century were at the leading edge of exploration.  Hernan Cortes’ , Letters From Mexico , should be preserved because it represents the change from Old World to New World. 

 Hernan Cortes’ was alive from 1485-1547. Letters from Mexico is a personal account of one man’s journey from Spain to Mexico. “Cortes’ was born in Medellin , Spain , to a family of lesser nobility. He went to Hispaniola and later to Cuba. He became magistrate of the second Spanish town founded on the island of Cuba. In 1519 he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland , which he partly funded. He executed a successful strategy of allying with some indigenous people against others. He used a native woman, Dona Marina, as an interpreter, she would later bear Cortes’ a son. After Cortes’ overthrew the Aztec Empire, he was awarded the title of Marquis del Valle de Oaxaca. Cortes returned to Spain in 1541 where he died six years later. Cortes grew up a pale, sickly child. He studied Law and Latin at Spain ’s great center of learning, the University of Salamanca . Cortes’ went on an expedition to Cuba  to conquer it in 1511 after recovering from syphilis. The Governor of Cuba was so impressed with Cortes’ that he secured a high political position for him in the colony. Cortes’ also became romantically involved with Catalina Xuarez , the sister-in-law of Governor Velazquez. Cortes’ had 11 ships, 500 men, 13 horses and a small number of cannons , he landed in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mayan territory. “ (Fitch)

“Conquistadors sought wealth and fortune in the new world. Cortes was equipped with gunpowder and muskets. 600 soldiers, fewer than 20 horses, a 75 day siege, others factors contributed to Cortes’ victory including religious prophecy ( that Quetzalcoatl would return as a bearded white man).Cortes’ had support from rebellious aztecs , and an outbreak of smallpox among the aztecs helped Cortes win. Mexican gold and Peruvian silver weren’t the only sources of wealth for the conquerors, the Spanish soon turned to the ruthless exploitation of the native populations, enslaving them for use as miners and field laborers. When Cortes arrived , mexicos population was 25 million, by 1600 it had declined to 1 million.” (Fiero)

“Warfare among the Spaniards' opponents was governed by different rules. Aztec and Inca warriors often engaged in preliminary rituals, in which fighting was preceded by confronting the opponent face-to-face unarmed. The Aztec government was an elective monarchy. (Prescott)  The Aztecs recognized the existence of a supreme Creator and Lord of the Universe.  (Prescott)  “Montezuma is reported to have said to his messengers " Our Lord Quetzalcoatl has arrived, go and receive him and listen to what he says with great attention, see to it that you do not forget anything that he may say, you see that these jewels that your are presenting to him  on my behalf, are all the priestly ornaments that belong to him. " ( Castillo )
“When Pizarro captured the Inca emperor and massacred his elite guard, which had served him well enough in battles against other American tribes, they were essentially unarmed, anticipating that the actual battle would take place later in the day.”(Means)

Spanish conquistadors wrote the oldest history we have in America. In 1520 Cortes’ conquered the Aztecs.  The Aztec and Inca civilizations did not submit willingly to Spanish domination, and both cultures fiercely resisted the invaders. (Means) The Mexican temples - teocallis, " houses of God" were very numerous. (Prescott) Human sacrifices were adopted by the Aztecs early in the fourteenth century . (Prescott) The Mexicans mined the minerals of silver, lead, copper, gold, iron, obsidian- they used this for knives swords and razors (Prescott ) 

 One of the most important factors in the triumph of Cortes and Pizarro was probably disease .  By some estimates, 90 percent of the population of the Americas died from diseases that Europeans often experienced as resistant carriers. “The Spaniards also had a tactical advantage. Europeans of the 1500s immediately charged upon enemies with swords drawn once they approached the field of battle. Warfare among the Spaniards' opponents was governed by different rules. Aztec and Inca warriors often engaged in preliminary rituals, in which fighting was preceded by confronting the opponent face-to-face unarmed. When Pizarro captured the Inca emperor and massacred his elite guard, which had served him well enough in battles against other American tribes, they were essentially unarmed, anticipating that the actual battle would take place later in the day. “ (Means)  “The main purpose of the invasion, to acquire American gold and silver, was so successful that Spain became the dominant political and military power in the world for more than a century, seriously affecting the political situation in Europe .” (Means)  The Spaniards believed language and evangelization were the keys to making the natives  “ Spanish “  (Fitch )

“ The resulting booty,  brought him unprecedented renown. For years he was a celebrity in Europe and a major power in the New World. Whereas in the early 1520's Cortes was viewed in Spain as a glorious instrument of imperial expansion, by the late 1530's and early 1540's he and other powerful New World conquistadores seemed instead to be agents of fragmentation of the empire. Their incredible wealth, influence over large and unruly followings, and geographical distance from the empire's seat in Spain threatened to dissolve the hold of the emperor and his government over the far-flung realm.”  ( Flint )

For those in the audience that are Mexican food lovers, here’s a bit of history , “  Avocados got their name from the Spanish explorers. They couldn't pronounce the Nauhuatl (Aztec) word for the fruit, ahuacatl, (meaning "testicle," because of its shape.)  The Spanish called the fruit aguacate, leading to the guacamole we know today. “  The Spanish conquistadors also discovered a unique use for the avocado seed. The seed yields a milky liquid that becomes red when exposed to air. The Spaniards found they could use this reddish brown or even blackish indelible liquid as ink to be used on documents. Some of these documents are still in existence today. “(http://www.coyotetale.net/cooking/ahuacatl.php)

“Tequila was first produced in the 16th century near the location of the city of Tequila, which was not officially established until 1656. The Aztec people had previously made a fermented beverage from the agave plant, which they called octli (later, and more popularly called pulque), long before the Spanish arrived in 1521. When the Spanish conquistadors ran out of their own brandy, they began to distill agave to produce North America's first indigenous distilled spirit.”      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila  

Cortes’, Letters From Mexico, is typical of this era because there were many conquistadors who were sent to explore all over the globe. It was just ironic that he was sent to Mexico where he became rich and famous by being mistaken for the Mexican God   Quetzalcoatl. He was sickly and weak as a youth as well as being pale. The Mexicans were all heavy and muscular. Cortes’ had to stick out like a sore thumb in that crowd.
Cortes’ , Letters From Mexico,  is unusual in that it is a first person account of an entire take over of a country . There had been letters written by prior explorers. There had been awards, promotions and ceremonies for many before Cortes’. What made this unique was that it was a day to day journal of his and his fellow explorers’ activities.

It was thought to have much embellishment due to the fact that Cortes’ was not very popular upon his departure for Mexico. His going into great detail about how fabulous and grand and wonderful his feats became would shed light onto his need for becoming a celebrity in his time. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. 
Letters from Mexico was adored and translated and reviewed and studied by many generations that followed. It became part of the New World history as we know it today. After several centuries , other conquistadors writings came to be, and his was compared in a different light after that took place. He was not so revered and adored. He was looked at as a self-absorbed braggert. 

“Cortes’ contemporary would have been Bernal Diaz Del Castillo. Bernal Diaz Del Castillo was born in the very noble, famous and celebrated town of Medina del Campo in 1492. Bernal made up his mind to go to New Spain in 1517 when he was twenty-four years old. Bernal's comrades called him ( el galan ) " the elegant"
Velasquez organized a third expedition and appointed Cortes' to command it.
Bernal again enlisted as he was deeply in debt at this time.
Bernal went on expeditions 1517-1519 to Havana, Florida, Gran Cairo Yucatan, Jaruco, Cozumel, Isla Blanca, Isla Verde, Cuba, Trinidad, Tabasco” (Castillo) 

I would say the main difference between Cortes’ and Castillo is that Cortes’ writings were critiqued much more heavily. When Castillo wrote, he was not to have thought to have had any sort of political agenda behind what he wrote.  

Cortes’ story was the classic David and Goliath. Good versus Evil episode all over again.  Cortes’ could be thought of as the small town, noone kid, who made it big, famous and rich. Letters From Mexico should be preserved permanently for our children to see how the transformation took place between two totally different civilizations and how it was documented as the process took place. It’s the Old World becomes New World on paper right in front of us. 


Sources Cited :

Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition. 6thth ed. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 2011. 109-14. Print.. 

Castillo, Bernard Diaz Del. The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico. London, England: Percy, Lund, Humphries &amp; Co. Ltd., 1928. Print. 

Prescott, William H. The History of the Conquest of Mexico. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 1985. Print. 

Flint, Richard, and Shirley C. Flint. Documents of the Coronado Expedition , 1539-1542. Dallas, Texas: Southern Methodist University Press, 2005. Print. 

:Encyclopedia of Invasions and Conquests: From Ancient Times to the Present. Ed. Paul Davis. 2nd ed. Millerton , NY : Grey House Publishing, 2006. p189-191 

Western Hemisphere , Spanish Occupation of." Encyclopedia of Invasions and Conquests: From Ancient Times to the Present. Ed. Paul Davis. 2nd ed. Millerton , NY : Grey House Publishing, 2006. 189-191. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 20 Apr. 2011  

Berler, Beatrice. The Conquest of Mexico. San Antonio, Texas: Corona Publishing Company, 1988. Print.

Levy, Buddy. Conquistador. New York, New York: Bantam Books, 2008. Print.
Diaz del Castillo, Bernal, The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico (London: Routledge, 1928); Liss, Peggy K., Mexico under Spain , 1521–1556 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975); Means, Philip A., Fall of the Inca Empire and the Spanish Rule in Peru , 1530–1780 (New York: Gordian Press, 1971).
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&amp;id=GALE%7CCX3487400125&amp;v=2.1&amp;u=txshracd2487&amp;it=r&amp;p=GVRL&amp;sw=w

 
