Cortes Letter To The King

Starting with the Christopher Columbus’ voyages to the Americas in the late 15th century, European powers sought to explore, colonize, and find valuable resources within the New World. This source, a letter, was written in 1519 in the city of Tascalteca by the Conquistador Hernan Cortes to the Spanish King Charles IV. At first it seems unusual that he would be writing to the king as his expedition was called off; Cortes is practically writing to his superiors about how he is defying orders given to him. It is possible, however, that after the overall success of the trip, Charles IV let Cortes’ potential transgressions slide. Usually, the expeditions from the Spanish crown were both ordered and funded by the empire or royalty, but this explorations
The main reason, however, was likely to boast about Cortes’ counter-ambush after the tribe’s plan kill the Spanish became known. In hindsight, this could have been predicted; Cortes does begin his letter with a description of a traditional dance or activity, which involved both religious figures and activities usually performed within a temple. Since human sacrifice is not a part of Catholicism, a ritual like this likely did not alarm the Spanish. However, the Spanish also noticed many concerning signals and signs that allied natives pointed out, such as barricaded roads and piles of stones on the rooftops; both of these suggest that the natives of the city set up traps and barricades as a part of a plan to slaughter or sacrifice the conquistadors before they can reach Tenochtitlan. However, the Spanish were able to act first; they captured the leaders of the city, and started a preemptive assault, killing thousands, razing several buildings, and forcing many Natives to flee. Moctezuma’s messengers within the city likely informed him of the Spanish threat and actions as