WEBVTT 1 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:22.120 Hello, and welcome to Western Sieve Episode two hundred and thirty eight. Who 2 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:32.079 needs Orders Anyway last time we met Hernan Cortez. So far, there really 3 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:40.079 hasn't been much to distinguish Cortes from his predecessors Cordoba or Grivala. So far, 4 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:45.560 he simply sailed along the coast, met many of the same tribes as 5 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:52.439 Grivala, fought a few minor engagements, and discovered nothing of any real consequence. 6 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:58.240 In this episode, however, Cortez is going to begin to become the 7 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:04.799 Cortes will come down through history. This is the moment when history changes, 8 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:11.879 the hinge point, when Cortes goes from being a run of the mill explorer 9 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:18.519 to the conquistador we all know. Really the first thing he needs to do 10 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:23.799 in order to get there is jettison Governor Wilasquez his orders. So long as 11 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:30.359 he remains constrained by those, Cortez can never become Cortes. Today, he 12 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:46.239 takes that momentous step and starts down the road to technosh Declan. Back in 13 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:51.799 the capital of the Mexica Empire, Montezuma, decided to appease these mysterious visitors, 14 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:56.040 whether they were gods, or not, they were to be given everything 15 00:01:56.040 --> 00:02:00.280 they wanted, so long as they went away. He sent down the host 16 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:06.599 more emissaries with more and more elaborate presence. At this point, Montezuma was 17 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:12.000 clearly distressed, supposedly saying, quote, all of us will die at the 18 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:15.599 hands of the new gods, and those who survive will be their slaves and 19 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:19.800 vassals. They are the ones to reign now, and I shall become the 20 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:23.800 last ruler of this land. Even if some of our relations and descendants survive, 21 00:02:24.680 --> 00:02:31.599 they will be subordinates, like tax gatherers and quote. In spite of 22 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:40.680 all this, Montezuma apparently gave a separate order. This one suggests that he 23 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:46.680 didn't know who he was dealing with. He told his agent to quote, 24 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:51.840 discover with absolute certainty, if he's one of our ancestors, a god. 25 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:57.240 If he is, greet him and give him these presents from me. If 26 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:00.759 he eats and drinks which you give him, he is surely one of our 27 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:04.879 gods, as he will be shown to be familiar with our food. Then 28 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.639 tell him to allow me to die. Tell him that after my death he 29 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:14.280 will be welcome to come here and take possession of his kingdom as it is 30 00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:19.240 his. But let him allow me to end my days here. Then he 31 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:23.360 can return to enjoy what is his. If by chance, he does not 32 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:25.840 like the food which you have given him, and if he is desirous of 33 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:30.439 eating human flesh and would like to eat you, allow yourself to be eaten. 34 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:36.599 I assure you I will look after your wife, relations, and children. 35 00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:46.759 And quote not exactly the marching orders you want to get from your boss. 36 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:53.960 So when the Mexica emissaries arrived on the coast, they asked for Cortez, 37 00:03:54.879 --> 00:04:00.719 who was that day on his ship. Cortez gave worth that the emissary 38 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:03.400 should be brought to him. He dressed as much like a king as he 39 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:10.560 could. The Mexicans bowed before him and kissed the deck. They offered to 40 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:15.360 have ten slaves sacrificed for him then and there, an offer he adamantly refused. 41 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:24.199 They then made the speech Montezuma had written for him. Quote, pray 42 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:28.600 that the God will hear us, Your lieutenant, Montezuma comes to give homage 43 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.720 to you. He has the city of Mexico in his charge. End quote. 44 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:39.600 So far this was a pretty normal exchange for the Mexica Cortes thought it 45 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:43.639 was all beyond bizarre. The Mexicans then got to the heart of it. 46 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:50.160 They asked Cortes point blank whether it was his intention to go to technosht Clan 47 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:56.319 on his behalf. Marina, his key translator at this point, said that 48 00:04:56.360 --> 00:05:00.240 it was his intention to go to Technoshticlan to see Montezuma and quote enjoy his 49 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:04.800 presence end quote, But first he had to organize his affairs on the coast. 50 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:09.839 He hoped for guidance as to the best way to get to technosoty Clan. 51 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:14.720 At this point, the Mexicans insisted on bleeding themselves, probably from their 52 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:17.879 ears or wrists. One of them offered Cortes some blood in the shape of 53 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:24.600 an eagle. Cortes got angry and gave some Mexicans some blows with the flat 54 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:28.759 of his sword. The emissaries, who were standing much too close to this 55 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.600 for comfort, then fell to the deck in shock. The crew picked them 56 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:38.879 up, revived them with some food and drink and wine, but Cortes continued 57 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:42.519 to bully them as best he could. This is all through interpreters, of 58 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.120 course, but he said to them, quote, listen, I have known 59 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:50.279 herd that you Mexica are very strong, exceedingly brave, tremendous people. It 60 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:56.759 has been said that one Mexican can pursue drive on overcome turn back even twenty 61 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.560 of his enemies. I wish to test you, to see how strong you 62 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:05.279 are, how powerful. He gave them leathers, shields, and steel swords, 63 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:10.319 and then continued early in the morning, at dawn, we shall fight 64 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:15.800 and try our strengths. We shall joust in pairs and see who falls. 65 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:20.160 Of course, the emissaries who had gone there to see if they were gods 66 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:26.319 or I guess to be eaten, were terrified, but they responded, quote, 67 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:30.439 this is not what your lieutenant Montezuma commanded us to do. We have 68 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.319 only come to salute our lord. We cannot do what you ask of us. 69 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:36.759 If we were to do such a thing, we would annoy Montezuma and 70 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:43.480 he would punish us. Cortes wasn't willing to be pushed off this point. 71 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:46.839 He wanted his little dog and pony show, so we responded, no, 72 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:50.759 it must be as I say, I wish to marvel at your prowess, 73 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:56.040 for it is known even in cass Steele clearly a lie that you are very 74 00:06:56.079 --> 00:07:00.199 powerful and valiant. Now let us eat and in the morning we shall fight 75 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:05.480 with that. He allowed the Mexicans to go back to their canoes. Now, 76 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:11.480 presumably he had no intention of jousting with them. More than anything else, 77 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:15.759 this was courts testing them. Probably he just wanted to observe how they 78 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:21.759 would react to ruthlessness. But the Mexica instantly set off for shore and rode 79 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:27.639 with energy. When they reached the shore, and the Mexicans did not stop 80 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:32.600 for a moment before starting for a technosoty clan. After arriving in the capitol, 81 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:39.560 the emissaries reported to Montezuma what they had seen. Montezuma quickly called a 82 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:46.120 court council to discuss the situation. After a brief discussion, Montezuma issued his 83 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:50.000 decision. If these men's were gods, then they should be barred from the 84 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:55.720 capitol at all costs. If they were gods, then they were returning to 85 00:07:55.720 --> 00:08:00.879 claim their land and Montezuma would fight them to the death. If the men 86 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:05.040 were well men, on the other hand, and they should be welcomed as 87 00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:09.720 guests. It might sound odd to us, but Montezuma was ready to do 88 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:16.480 battle with gods, not men, But the council was not over. Montezuma 89 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:22.560 allowed his brother to speak. He told the emperor, quote, my advice 90 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.000 is not to allow into your house someone who will put you out of it. 91 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:33.519 He was not the only one to offer advice. The King of Texcoco, 92 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:39.000 who was also a nephew of Montezuma, gave this advice quote, my 93 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:41.639 advice is that if you do not admit the embassy of a great lord, 94 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:46.360 such as the King of Spain appears to be, it is a low thing. 95 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:52.080 Since princes have the duty to hear the ambassadors of others. If they 96 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:56.080 come dishonestly, you have in your court brave captains who can defend us. 97 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:01.399 End quote. Now, the Mexica workspery, instant receiving guests. They often 98 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:09.000 received foreign princes in order to demonstrate their grandeur and on occasion savagery. Vast 99 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:13.440 numbers of people came to their markets, often from remote parts. They had 100 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:20.320 tons of lodgings for visitors. This was a known thing. At the end 101 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:22.960 of the discussion, most of those presents seemed to have taken the view that 102 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:26.960 they should do everything that they can to prevent the arrival of Cortes To technoso 103 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:33.519 decan. They should declare themselves willing to do anything which the visitors wanted, 104 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:41.080 but they should insist that it was impracticable for Montezuma to meet Cortez. The 105 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:46.360 Emperor would under no circumstances go to the coast. You would be told that 106 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:52.559 the road is long and arduous and full of enemies. They also decided it 107 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:56.559 would be well if the magicians of Mexico could be assembled and ordered to be 108 00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:03.200 used, and so Montezuma sent his quote wizard and soothsayers and quote to the 109 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:09.320 coast to see if they could work a spell over the Congista doors. Perhaps 110 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:16.519 there was a way to well make them I don't know. Vanish, the 111 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:22.200 Mexican governor of the province, appeared before Cortez's camp or Undmay the first You 112 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:28.000 again brought presents, cottons, feather work, but above all two large gold 113 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:37.440 and silver covered wooden disks. Though Montezuma gave the Europeans many gifts, these 114 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:43.240 two discs are the ones that stand out in all the Spanish records. If 115 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:50.720 anyone thought it was a mystery what the Europeans were after, they weren't paying 116 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:56.200 attention. The governor told Cortes that they could continue to provide gold so that 117 00:10:56.279 --> 00:11:05.600 Cortes could heal his sickness. A meeting with Montezuma, however, that was 118 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:11.240 out of the question. Cortez gave the governor a set of Spanish clothing as 119 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:16.519 a present. He then pressed him on the issue of a meeting with Montezuma. 120 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:20.919 Cortes dressed it was essential because if he did not meet with Montezuma, 121 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:28.720 then he Cortes would fall into disfavor with his king. Why this was the 122 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:33.320 Mexicans problem, I'm not sure, but Cortes seemed certain it was. The 123 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:37.840 governor said he would pass along Cortes's message, though it was unlikely to make 124 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:43.559 a difference. Before going, he tried to convince the Europeans to move their 125 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:48.919 camp inland. While this would have protected them from the mosquitos on the coast, 126 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:54.799 it also would have made them easier to surround. Cortes declined. As 127 00:11:54.840 --> 00:12:01.600 soon as the official was gone, Cortes was visited by about twenty Teutonic Indians 128 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:09.480 from Kempolan, some twenty miles up the coast. These Totanaks seemed taller than 129 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:13.879 those in the towns that he had previously visited. They had come, they 130 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:20.559 said, on behalf of their lord, who had maintained himself independent of Montezuma. 131 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:24.960 This was not true exactly, since though autonomous, he did pay tribute 132 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:31.759 to the Mexico. But Cortes was impressed by the Campollion's desire to distance themselves 133 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:39.480 from the paramount power of Technoshti Klan. He was positively delighted by their resertion 134 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:43.720 that many peoples who had accepted subservience to Mexico as a result of military defeat 135 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:48.120 during the last hundred years, regretted it. The vassals of the Emperor of 136 00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:54.399 Mexico seemed to receive little from him, except vague promises of help in the 137 00:12:54.440 --> 00:13:01.559 event of famine, But Cortes remained unsure of his next being. That said, 138 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:05.720 he found the information pleasing. He knew from history that it had been 139 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:11.879 easier for the Spanish to defeat the Moors during the Riconquista when they were divided. 140 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:16.000 Perhaps he could do the same here. But these were not the only 141 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:22.919 divisions going on. Some of Cortes's men had begun to grumble. They wanted 142 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:28.960 to go home. Some felt Cortes had already overstepped his mandate from Velasquez. 143 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:35.879 Discipline was becoming a problem. Some sailors had been seen bartering with locals for 144 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:41.960 gold, but pursue into his orders, Cortes had to be the only one 145 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:46.159 who collected gold so that the king might get his fifth. There was trouble 146 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:50.480 brewing, but before this matter came to a head, Montezuma's wizards got to 147 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:58.360 work. They reached Cortes's camp with no difficulty. Presumably there were many Indian 148 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:05.559 servants running about Mexican at Tutanac, so entry wasn't difficult. The magicians tried 149 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:11.799 all sorts of tricks, but they found that quote if the Spaniards find to 150 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:16.720 flee in their ear, they would kill it end quote. There was another 151 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:20.679 trouble quote the Spanish spent all night talking and at dawn or at their horses 152 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:26.559 again end quote. Their flesh was also just so tough that it was impossible 153 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:33.600 to know where their hearts were. The men of magic ultimately returned to Montezuma 154 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:39.679 with bad news. Quote we are not equal contenders. We are nothing in 155 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:46.360 respect of them. End quote. Soon after this, the Mexican governor appeared 156 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:50.480 once more for a third time. He told Cortez he might as well go 157 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:54.720 home. He could not see Montezuma and there was no point in trying to 158 00:14:54.759 --> 00:15:00.759 do so. Cortez said he absolutely had to see Montezuma and there was no 159 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:07.000 getting around it. Angry, the governor immediately stopped the provisions the Mexica had 160 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:11.120 been making available to the Europeans. Cortes assumed this was a prelude to an 161 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:18.279 attack. He sent one hundred men armed with crossbows and arquebuses into the interior 162 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:22.840 to look for corn. Cortes had long since used up his supply of munitions. 163 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:28.440 If the men did not find a source of food, they would starve. 164 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:33.039 As these men explored, they again came across what they believed to be 165 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:39.080 evidence of human sacrifice. The repeated discovery of evidence of human sacrifice served to 166 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:45.720 permanently sour relations between Europeans and the natives of Mesoamerica. This was something new 167 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:50.240 to Europeans. They had not encountered any human sacrifice amongst the Tyanas of the 168 00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:58.000 Caribbean. The practice of human sacrifice and the need to stop said practice was 169 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:03.600 often a European justification for how they treated these people. Moving forward, and 170 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:10.840 spoiler alert that is not going to be positive. But these discoveries also served 171 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:17.240 to fuel the arguments of those who wanted to return to Cuba immediately. While 172 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:22.480 this group continued to agitate and argue for a return, another group wanted to 173 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:30.360 do just the opposite. Cortes seems to have long considered the possibility of establishing 174 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:36.080 a settlement on the coast. This would have been a direct contravention of the 175 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:41.039 orders Velasquez had given him, but still in Cortes's mind, it was the 176 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:45.200 prudent thing to do, and there were others on the expedition who agreed with 177 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:51.879 him. Cortes wanted to stay, but he didn't want it to look like 178 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:57.679 it was his idea. So what he did next was very clever and likely 179 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:03.839 changed the course of history. Cortez made it known that he had agreed with 180 00:17:03.880 --> 00:17:08.599 those who wanted to leave. They were running out of supplies, so they 181 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:14.519 needed to go home. What this did, though, was give his friends 182 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:21.119 the opportunity to object. Those who wanted to stay now loudly proclaimed their intention 183 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:26.920 to found a settlement, which was what Cortez wanted. They called on him 184 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:33.720 at once quote in the name of God and the King end quote to found 185 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:41.240 a colony. After all, they argued, the Mexica would probably never let 186 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:47.720 them land again. This might be their only chance. Furthermore, if some 187 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:52.079 people wanted to go home, then let them. Those who had the adventurous 188 00:17:52.079 --> 00:18:00.920 spirits would remain. Cortez publicly pretended to hesitate. Privately, he was already 189 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:04.319 searching for the best place to found a colony. He very much wanted a 190 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:11.920 place that had a good port. Cortes recognized that Spanish strength lay at sea, 191 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:15.400 and wherever he built a port, it needed to be able to be 192 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:21.319 resupplied by the ocean. Cortes did not want to commit to the idea of 193 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:25.680 a settlement until he had picked out a place and then could argue just how 194 00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:30.680 prosperous the site might be. While certain representatives who were loyal to Velasquez were 195 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:37.960 away, Cortes called together a meeting of the rest of the men. He 196 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:41.599 told them all that he was interested in serving the king, serving the King 197 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:47.119 more than anyone else, and in order to effectuate that, he was going 198 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:51.920 to order that they all ceased trading in gold with the natives, as they 199 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:55.960 had been doing up until then. Then, with a show of reluctance, 200 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:00.599 he agreed to found a city to be called via Rica de la Vera Cruz. 201 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:07.720 The men of the expedition would constitute its population. The name derived from 202 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:14.160 the fact that the land was rich ricca Vera Cruz. The true cross would 203 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:19.960 recall that they had landed there on Good Friday. Cortes continued, addressing as 204 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:25.880 men in sensible terms. It was obvious that the indigenous peoples of Mexico were 205 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:29.880 more civilized, more reasonable, and more intelligent that those of the Caribbean. 206 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:34.160 There was evidently much more territory than what they had seen. They should build 207 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:40.319 walls and fortifications, as the Portuguese had done in Africa. When they had 208 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:44.720 built the place, they could unload everything and send their ships back to Cuba, 209 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:48.559 the betrayed with the people of Kempolana and other places known to be hostile 210 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:55.319 to Mexico. Each member of the expedition would become a citizen the casino of 211 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:59.920 the new municipality, with the right to vote in elections for the municipal counts. 212 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:06.759 Cortes knew exactly what he was doing. He had studied Velasquez, and 213 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:12.400 this is exactly how Velasquez had founded new Cuban towns. In fact, Cortes 214 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:18.839 himself had often been the notary confirming these arrangements, but he did something original. 215 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:25.960 Having studied in Salamanca and having worked as a lawyer, he believed that 216 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.039 a case could be made for thinking that in the absence of a properly constituted 217 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:36.319 authority, authority would revert to the community, which would then be able to 218 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:42.920 elect its own legal representatives. And so a number of people close to Cortes 219 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:51.000 were then to be named the first magistrates and counselors of the town. There 220 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:55.440 seems to have been a vote then and there, probably determined by a show 221 00:20:55.440 --> 00:21:00.599 of hands. Ultimately, all these men had titles that were identical to those 222 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:07.759 which they might have held in far away Castile. Cortes was then called upon 223 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:12.720 by the councilors, these new councilors of Villa Rica de Vila Cruz, to 224 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:18.839 show them the instructions with Velasquez had given him. He produced the paper, 225 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:25.559 and this paper showed that well Cortez had completed his mission, he had no 226 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:30.440 authority to act anymore, and therefore the town councilors, who had been elected 227 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:34.599 ten minutes earlier, declared that his mission was concluded. He therefore resigned his 228 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:42.119 offices. But of course this resignation was a charade, because immediately afterwards, 229 00:21:42.599 --> 00:21:52.000 and most assuredly by prior arrangement, the town council nominated Cortes as chief Justice 230 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:57.519 Sie of Villa Rica, as well as captain of His Majesty's armies until the 231 00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:04.119 king should decide other wise. Now, Cortez in his writings would always refer 232 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:11.119 to these nominations as a quote unquote election, but in reality, the men 233 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:18.559 who had just picked Cortes to lead this new settlement had themselves been hand picked. 234 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:22.200 But then again, as Bo's appearance as matters we went through the motions, 235 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:30.880 the character of the expedition now changed absolutely and decisively. He was not 236 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:37.160 merely an explorer working on behalf of Governor of Alaskaz. Once Cortez established his 237 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:42.160 own settlement and town council, you could effectively argue that there was no need 238 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:48.279 to correspond with the governor at all, because they were now outside his jurisdiction. 239 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:56.480 Cortes's enemies would later denounce all these actions as a rebellion. Cortes's argument 240 00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:03.200 was different. Traditional Spanish medieval law provided that a populace could form a municipal 241 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:08.079 council, all laws could also be set aside by the demand of the good 242 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:15.440 men in the community. In Mexico, this quote ute community was the expedition 243 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:22.279 itself, in which Cortes's friends were in the majority and Velasquez his friends the 244 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:29.599 minority. Now, none of the conquisadors since the very first journey of Columbus 245 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:33.880 had considered acting as Cortes was doing right now. The only one who had 246 00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:40.240 come close was Balboa, who had allowed himself to think of independence from Castile, 247 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:45.960 but he had not thought of asserting autonomy while bypassing the governors incented Domingo 248 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:52.720 and insisting on direct dependence on the crown. Moreover, he got killed by 249 00:23:52.759 --> 00:24:00.359 Native Americans, rendering the whole question moot. In Cuba, Velasquez had founded 250 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:04.039 towns which developed their own identities, but he had consulted with the authorities in 251 00:24:04.119 --> 00:24:11.559 Hispaniola before making his plans. Perhaps Cortes knew he was breaking the law. 252 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:15.359 Later on he was often heard to say, quote, if laws have to 253 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:19.680 be broken in order to reign, then let them be broken. End quote. 254 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:26.119 Once the council elected Cortes to his position, that did something else unusual. 255 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:30.559 They decided that once the royal fifth had been deducted from any treasure, 256 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:37.839 then Cortes would take a fifth for himself. Cortes was now effectively equivalent to 257 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:45.319 the king. This decision had a tangential impact. It was much easier to 258 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:49.799 divide up gold and silver if it was first melted down. As a result, 259 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:59.839 almost no pre Columbian gold work from Mexico remains today. Again, blame 260 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:06.559 Cortez if you are angry about that. He would later explain his system as 261 00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:10.519 follows quote. So they had set up a settlement, they had no way 262 00:25:10.519 --> 00:25:15.559 of maintaining themselves saved by relying on what they had taken with them. Cortez, 263 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:18.960 like Caesar, he oftentimes refers to himself in the third person. Therefore, 264 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:22.039 would take what he needed for himself and his staff, while the rest 265 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:26.920 would be valued at the right price and then distributed among the men of the 266 00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:33.359 expedition. Quote. Cortes liked to think that all of this was decided by 267 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:38.440 some sort of consensus vote. In reality, the exchanges he had with the 268 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:45.480 quote men of the expedition end quote were of a very limited nature. The 269 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:51.359 rank and file and sailors were likely never consulted at all. Some of the 270 00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:53.920 men would later say that Cortes had quote done what he should not have done, 271 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:57.160 but they did not talk of it for fear of being hanged endquote. 272 00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:03.799 Like any self serving explanation or excuse, it's impossible to know just how true 273 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:11.640 this statement was. Cortes had decided to found Via de Rica de la Vera 274 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:17.920 Cruz, a site that would later become Vera Cruz, Mexico. To effect 275 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:22.759 this, he led himself four hundred men, the horses, and four pieces 276 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:27.240 of artillery to that place of land. In the end, he had done 277 00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:33.759 it. That's the bottom line. Cortes had crossed his rubicon. He had 278 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:40.400 violated velasquez his orders in a way that no one could question. Depending on 279 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:45.119 the outcome of the years ahead, he would either be a hero or a 280 00:26:45.160 --> 00:27:03.200 traitor, the line between the two often being razor. Then, the failure 281 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:08.839 of Montezuma's magicians to make the conquistadors disappear disheartened the emperor. According to one 282 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:15.799 source quote, there was weeping dejection and tearful greetings end quote. Excepting for 283 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:21.400 the moment that the Europeans were going to march on technosht Khan, Montezuma decided 284 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:26.880 he would do everything in his power to slow them down. Maybe he reasoned 285 00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:30.960 if he threw enough discomfort in their path, they would turn back. He 286 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:36.599 does not seem to have considered the idea that he might send a massive military 287 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:41.440 force to just wipe them out again. They might be gods, but they 288 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:47.400 might be emissaries of some distant and powerful king. Was not willing to take 289 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:53.400 that risk yet. Montezuma stationed messengers along the road to technosh declan to bring 290 00:27:53.480 --> 00:27:57.680 news of any developments, and the first news he would have gotten would have 291 00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:03.359 been that Cortes had set out for Verna Cruz. I'm generally going to just 292 00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:07.240 use the modern name for the city, just for simplicity, and they did 293 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:11.839 so honor, about June seventh, fifteen nineteen. The journey was about forty 294 00:28:11.880 --> 00:28:15.279 miles if you could draw a straight line, which you couldn't. Still, 295 00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:19.119 it should have taken Cortez about two days, and it took much much longer. 296 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:26.079 This is because Cortez stopped at the village of Campalan, the seat of 297 00:28:26.119 --> 00:28:32.319 the Totanas, whose chief was an enemy of Montezuma. Cortez was still looking 298 00:28:32.359 --> 00:28:37.920 for allies, and he was not disappointed. The Indians welcomed the Europeans with 299 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:42.559 gifts of turkeys and tortillas. One hundred or so came out to greet Cortes 300 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:48.200 and his men. The people there were utterly fascinated by the horses. At 301 00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:52.720 first, they believed the men were some kind of centaurs, that they and 302 00:28:52.759 --> 00:28:59.440 the horses were won. The mistakes went both ways, however, Cortez's men 303 00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:04.519 reported back that the homes within the town were roofed entirely with silver. They 304 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:10.559 weren't. It was white paint gleaming in the sun. But I can say, 305 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:15.880 man, know, sometimes you see what you want to see. The 306 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:22.440 city of Kemplan was large, about fourteen thousand souls. All told, The 307 00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:26.519 Totnox could count about two hundred thousand people within their realm and dependent kingdoms. 308 00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:34.039 Cortez very much wanted to have these people on his side. The chief asked 309 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:40.359 Cortez to stay and be gladly accepted. In fact, the reception was so 310 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:45.359 warm that Cortez assumed it must be a trick and stationed men at exits as 311 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:51.400 though garrisoning a fortress. Several days passed and nothing happened. False alarm. 312 00:29:51.960 --> 00:29:56.880 I guess they're just nice After several days, Cortez decided to make a formal 313 00:29:56.920 --> 00:30:00.519 call on the chief to see what information he could find. The chief told 314 00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:07.119 him that, disappointingly, technosoty Clan was all but impregnable. It was surrounded 315 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:11.960 by water and the bridges could be pulled up at any moment. But the 316 00:30:12.039 --> 00:30:21.839 chief added two other peoples, the Tlascala and the Husuinto, hated the Mexica. 317 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:26.880 If Cortes needed allies, they were there for the taking. This seems 318 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:30.759 to have changed things within Cortes and his plans. For the first time, 319 00:30:32.599 --> 00:30:38.400 he seems to have thought that perhaps conquest was a viable option. Ultimately, 320 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:45.759 Cortes and his crew spent comfortable two weeks in Keppelan. Then he moved up 321 00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:51.039 the coast to what would be one day Vera Cruz and a change that would 322 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:56.000 impact the rest of the Spanish conquest. The chief at Kempalan gave the Europeans 323 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:03.119 four hundred indigenous porters. From this point on, the Spanish would always have 324 00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:07.279 the benefit of such forced muscle to move their guns, ammunition, and supplies. 325 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:15.400 The benefit to speed and combat effectiveness was immense. There was already a 326 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:22.119 small town where Vera Cruz would once be. Cortez was surprised at discover his 327 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:26.799 supply ships had not yet reached the town. All the same, the expedition 328 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:33.000 was well received. Then, by honestly sheer coincidence, at almost the same 329 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:41.079 time, a Mexica delegation arrived to collect tribute. Cortes and his men were 330 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:45.759 fascinated by the appearance of these Grand Mexica bureaucrats. To the lord of the 331 00:31:45.839 --> 00:31:51.519 village, though this was just business as usual. The lord went on to 332 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:56.759 arrange for the tribute collector's reception in the usual fashion, but Cortes detained him. 333 00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:00.000 He suggested that he should seize the wards, tied them to polls, 334 00:32:00.039 --> 00:32:04.480 and imprisoned them in a room next to his own. The lord of the 335 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:09.279 village was aghast, but facing Cortez's overwhelming military might, he did as he 336 00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:15.480 was asked. Then, during the night, Cortes executed part two of his 337 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:21.559 plan. He ordered his guards to secretly release two of the stewards and bring 338 00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:25.680 them to him. He then required his two translators to figure out who they 339 00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:30.599 were. The stewards declared themselves shock to be treated as they had been. 340 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:37.359 Cortes told the officials that it was he who had freed them, because he 341 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:40.559 did not like to think of Montezuma's agents being mistreated. It was the people 342 00:32:40.559 --> 00:32:45.799 of the village who were barbarous. He personally liked what he had heard of 343 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:51.160 Montezuma. He would be grateful if they, the two stewards, could go 344 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:57.920 and tell the Emperor that he Cortes considered Montezuma his friend. He hoped that 345 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:02.359 Montezuma would not spurn his friendship. He believed that Montezuma would be happy to 346 00:33:02.400 --> 00:33:07.480 see him and become a brother of the King of Castile. Finally, he 347 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:10.440 added, he would do all he could to prevent the other collectors of tribute 348 00:33:10.440 --> 00:33:14.519 from being killed. But then again, I mean, the people of the 349 00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:19.759 village were just devious and barbarous. What could he what could he possibly do? 350 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:24.000 Whereupon he released the two men. He had them carried in the darkness 351 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:30.039 by sailors to a small boat up the coast just outside Tatsanach territory. From 352 00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:35.799 there they returned to technosh Declan as fast as they could. When the lord 353 00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:38.559 of the village awoke the next morning, he was angry, obviously, to 354 00:33:38.680 --> 00:33:43.799 discover that several of his prisoners were gone. He probably would have put the 355 00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:49.079 rest of them to death had Cortez not intervened. Cortez offered to imprison them 356 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:53.119 on his ships, which had now just arrived offshore. That solution was acceptable. 357 00:33:54.480 --> 00:33:59.200 After some hemming and hawing, the ruler of the town agreed that he 358 00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:04.640 would go into bold against Montezuma if and only if Cortes was willing to lead 359 00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:12.280 their army. Cortez was only too happy to agree. Cortes was now feeling 360 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:16.599 a lot more confident. His plan was now to turn as many dependent tribes 361 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:22.880 against Montezuma as possible. As he marched to Technostclan. He reasoned that by 362 00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:28.960 the time they reached the capital he would have a sizeable force. But of 363 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:34.079 course, first he needed to finish founding his new town. Bierca de la 364 00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:40.599 Vercruz was formerly founded on July the twenty eighth, fifteen nineteen. Cortez is 365 00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:47.800 said to have helped to dig the foundations himself. More ambassadors from Montezuma arrived 366 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:53.760 in the interim. They told Cortes that Montezuma was both ill and busy and 367 00:34:53.800 --> 00:34:59.320 could not see him now. They could not say when he might be able 368 00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:04.760 to see courte. They added that if Cortez still determined to make the track 369 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:10.000 to Technosodyclon, then he should travel slowly. Montezuma would send guides to help 370 00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:15.360 him, but traveling too quickly, they added, would be bad for his 371 00:35:15.440 --> 00:35:21.599 health. I don't think they said that with like a gangster style ominousness or 372 00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:23.079 anything like, oh, don't do that, it'll be bad for your health. 373 00:35:24.159 --> 00:35:30.239 The ambassadors seemed to have meant it literally. Still, the Mexica ambassadors 374 00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:35.400 would have been amazed at the site before the mat Vera Cruz. This was 375 00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:45.159 definitive evidence that the Europeans were determined to stay. The Mexican ambassadors quickly departed. 376 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:51.000 However, shortly thereafter, Cortez was for the first time called upon to 377 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:57.480 prove his support for the Tussanac people. A tributary town not far away declared 378 00:35:57.599 --> 00:36:01.599 independence, and now it seemed likely that the Mexica were planning a punitive counterstrike. 379 00:36:04.519 --> 00:36:08.079 Cortes's reaction was instant. He set off immediately for the designated town, 380 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:14.199 accompanied by most of the conquistadors and his sixteen horses. Together with a force 381 00:36:14.239 --> 00:36:21.360 of Toutsanacs, the Mexica came out to meet Cortes in full battle array, 382 00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:25.400 feathers, paint shields, but they appeared to have panicked at the mere sights 383 00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:30.840 of the Spaniards and their horses. Interestingly, according to the sources, at 384 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:36.440 least the beards of the conquistadors seemed to have caused as much fear as the 385 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:42.760 horses. Cortes's cavalry followed the retreating Mexica and cut the bof the horses. 386 00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:45.559 However, were unable to climb the rock on which the town was sent, 387 00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:50.360 and so Cortes and some others dismounted. They forced open the gates of the 388 00:36:50.400 --> 00:36:54.800 town with their swords, and Quartz entered, disarming the few remaining Mexicans who 389 00:36:54.800 --> 00:37:00.840 remained, and handed them over to the town chief of Kempala. He stipulated 390 00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:06.920 that no one should be killed, and then he withdrew Tabaca de Valla Cruz. 391 00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:14.679 The speed of this victory greatly impressed the Totanax and naturally had the effect 392 00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:22.039 of extending the rebellion against Mexico. It also made Cortes even more self confident, 393 00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:25.960 for it suggested to him and his captains at the Mexico, despite their 394 00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:31.719 fame in arms, had no special military qualities, no secret weapons, and 395 00:37:31.840 --> 00:37:37.880 it seemed to them very little discipline. Cortes returned to the coast on July 396 00:37:37.960 --> 00:37:42.360 the first. He was delighted to find that there was a relief force from 397 00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:47.719 Cuba, a caravel bearing sixty men and several horses. Though the reinforcement was 398 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:52.800 welcome, the news which came with it was less. So this was that 399 00:37:53.400 --> 00:37:57.719 in the spring a letter had reached Cuba to say that the Council of cast 400 00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:00.840 Deal, meeting on the eighteenth of November, ironically, the very day that 401 00:38:00.920 --> 00:38:07.320 Cortez had left, Santiago, had agreed to give the Governor, Diego Velasquez 402 00:38:07.400 --> 00:38:13.760 quote, a license to seek at his own cost islands and mainland territory which 403 00:38:13.760 --> 00:38:16.760 had up till now not been discovered, provided of course, that these were 404 00:38:16.760 --> 00:38:22.840 outside the limits of the King of Portugal. The license spoke of land neighborhood 405 00:38:22.880 --> 00:38:30.559 of Cosmomel and Yucatan. The nomination was ascouraging for Velasquez, as it was 406 00:38:30.199 --> 00:38:37.480 discouraging for Cortez. Yet it gave Velasquez less than he hoped for. He 407 00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:42.400 would still be hoping to be formed with the what's called Arilanto, but he 408 00:38:42.519 --> 00:38:46.480 wasn't because he was not made Arilanto, he was still subject to the Supreme 409 00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:52.480 Court in Santo Domingo. As a result, he couldn't go as far as 410 00:38:52.519 --> 00:38:58.199 maybe he wanted. Still, Velasquez was to have numerous rights in the Yucatan. 411 00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:01.519 The profits of the edition were to go to him and his heirs. 412 00:39:04.079 --> 00:39:08.440 Cortes had no choice but to try to counteract these measures back in Spain. 413 00:39:09.559 --> 00:39:14.559 As a result, he hand picked several men with the goal of sending them 414 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:21.159 back to cass Stile and arguing for his expedition to see if he could get 415 00:39:21.159 --> 00:39:27.119 the same legitimacy that Velasquez had just achieved. Cortes would send these men home 416 00:39:27.159 --> 00:39:31.320 on his flagship, and their goal was ultimately just to convince King Ferdinand. 417 00:39:31.320 --> 00:39:37.920 To prove their mission, Cortes sent papers and three letters with his men. 418 00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:43.199 The first letter was from the Council of Viarica describing what had been done so 419 00:39:43.199 --> 00:39:47.920 far. The second was a letter from the army at Viarica. The third 420 00:39:49.320 --> 00:39:53.199 was a private letter from Cortes to the King. Of the three, only 421 00:39:53.239 --> 00:39:59.280 the first survives today. We know of the other two only by reference. 422 00:40:00.920 --> 00:40:07.760 The surviving letter summarizes the journeys of Cordoba and Grivada in dismissive terms. The 423 00:40:07.880 --> 00:40:13.079 letter also demanded at the royal court make an inquiry into the affairs of Governor 424 00:40:13.159 --> 00:40:20.800 Velasquez on the grounds he had mismanaged his resources. The strategy here is obvious. 425 00:40:21.639 --> 00:40:27.440 Cortes needed the king to believe him and not Velasquez. None of his 426 00:40:27.480 --> 00:40:31.679 actions were going to be any good if Ferdinand did not ultimately approve them. 427 00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:39.920 The letter also added human sacrifice. Aside that the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica were 428 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:46.199 much more advanced and much more sophisticated than those of the Caribbean, there were 429 00:40:46.519 --> 00:40:53.440 references to human sacrifice, and these references were deliberate. Cortes and the Spanish 430 00:40:53.440 --> 00:41:01.000 in general still needed to justify their conquest. Describing the horrors of the Mexican 431 00:41:01.039 --> 00:41:07.239 religion was how Cortes planned to do this. I probably don't need to tell 432 00:41:07.239 --> 00:41:12.039 you this, but it's going to work. The instructions Cortes gave to his 433 00:41:12.119 --> 00:41:17.400 men making the return voyage were similar. He told them to stress how badly 434 00:41:17.519 --> 00:41:24.199 Velasquez had mismanaged things, how he would do better, and specifically, how 435 00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:30.800 he would treat the Indians better. This is, of course ironic, given 436 00:41:30.840 --> 00:41:37.400 how Cortes had once rebelled against Velasquez because he Cortes wanted to expand the quasi 437 00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:44.519 slavery and commienda system. The instructions also made it clear that Cortes did not 438 00:41:44.639 --> 00:41:50.599 anticipate returning to Cuba. Oh and for good measure, Cortez sent the king 439 00:41:50.639 --> 00:41:54.639 a good deal of treasure, worth about twenty three thousand paces at the time. 440 00:41:57.039 --> 00:42:00.440 If you're saying you're going to do a better job than the person who 441 00:42:00.440 --> 00:42:05.280 currently does it, I suppose it certainly doesn't hurt to send along a little 442 00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:12.960 proof. Still, there are almost no historians who today believe Cortez actually handed 443 00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:17.559 over to the king one hundred percent of his fifth The list of what was 444 00:42:17.559 --> 00:42:23.400 sent back is pretty extensive, though, Quote item two colors of gold and 445 00:42:23.480 --> 00:42:27.639 stones, one of which with the figure of a monster in the center, 446 00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:31.320 has eight strings, and in them two hundred and thirty two red stones and 447 00:42:31.440 --> 00:42:37.159 one hundred and sixty three green stones, And hanging from the said collar and 448 00:42:37.280 --> 00:42:40.679 from the said border twenty seven golden bells, in the center of which are 449 00:42:40.679 --> 00:42:45.400 four figures made of large stones set in gold, And from each of the 450 00:42:45.440 --> 00:42:51.519 two in the center hang simple pendants and those at the ends have four pendants 451 00:42:51.559 --> 00:42:55.280 each, and the other collar has four strings with one hundred and two red 452 00:42:55.280 --> 00:43:01.360 stones and one hundred and seventy two apparently green and around two greenstones are twenty 453 00:43:01.400 --> 00:43:07.280 six gold bells, and in the said collar ten large stones set in gold. 454 00:43:07.159 --> 00:43:13.159 Also two other pieces of colored featherwork which were for two pieces of gold, 455 00:43:13.519 --> 00:43:17.199 and which they wear on their heads as if they were shells end quote. 456 00:43:20.599 --> 00:43:24.559 While all this was going on, Cortez faced his first internal plot. 457 00:43:25.880 --> 00:43:31.880 Velasquez still had a lot of friends on the expedition, friends who knew exactly 458 00:43:32.159 --> 00:43:37.519 what Cortez was up to. Now, they decided they were going to try 459 00:43:37.639 --> 00:43:40.840 to stop him. Their plan was to try to take over one of the 460 00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:46.760 ships and sail back to Cuba. From there, they would tell Velasquez what 461 00:43:46.920 --> 00:43:52.239 was going on so he could intercept Cortez's messengers before they got to Spain. 462 00:43:53.719 --> 00:44:00.639 Had they succeeded, history might have turned out very differently. They didn't. 463 00:44:00.599 --> 00:44:06.360 Cortes found out and arrested the men. He pardoned most he needed the manpower, 464 00:44:07.280 --> 00:44:12.119 but he had the two ring leaders hanged as an example. Cortez left 465 00:44:12.159 --> 00:44:16.840 the gallows standing for over a year. A garish reminder of what might happen 466 00:44:16.880 --> 00:44:24.159 to those who challenge him. Cortes's next action was more audacious. He ordered 467 00:44:24.440 --> 00:44:30.159 the masters of nine of the twelve ships anchored off via Rica to sail them 468 00:44:30.159 --> 00:44:35.320 on to the shore and break them down for their component parts. He planned 469 00:44:35.320 --> 00:44:40.639 to use the lumber to build houses. Cortes's real goal here was to add 470 00:44:40.639 --> 00:44:45.400 the defeatist talk of going back to Cuba. I mean, no point in 471 00:44:45.440 --> 00:44:51.880 talking about it, guys, there aren't any boats. Had Cortes not done 472 00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:54.679 this, it would have been much harder for him to take such a higher 473 00:44:54.719 --> 00:45:01.280 percentage of the men inland, which is precisely what he planned do. Of 474 00:45:01.320 --> 00:45:07.679 course, this was a huge risk for Cortez and the expedition. There was 475 00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:15.079 no going back now, There was no safety net. It was conquer or 476 00:45:15.159 --> 00:45:21.039 die. We know that Cortez made a speech about the same time about the 477 00:45:21.079 --> 00:45:25.719 importance of the expedition. He struggled, however, to explain to his men 478 00:45:25.920 --> 00:45:32.239 exactly what the expedition was going to do when it reached Technosh Declan. He 479 00:45:32.360 --> 00:45:38.679 made a few vague references to taking Montezuma quote unquote dead or alive, but 480 00:45:38.800 --> 00:45:45.119 that was about it. In reality, he seems to have hoped to win 481 00:45:45.239 --> 00:45:52.000 Montezuma over so that he Cortez could act as the emperor's prime minister going forward. 482 00:45:52.639 --> 00:45:59.840 Plan B was capturing Montezuma and just forcing him to act in Spanish interests. 483 00:46:00.400 --> 00:46:07.559 Cortes realized that conquering a major empire was different from taking control of a 484 00:46:07.679 --> 00:46:14.559 largely uninhabited island in the Caribbean. He needed a plan. He couldn't just 485 00:46:14.679 --> 00:46:20.679 improvise his way through this, like Columbus had largely done. All of this 486 00:46:20.880 --> 00:46:28.519 explains why Cortez acted so decisively when he finally did reach Technostyclan. As we're 487 00:46:28.559 --> 00:46:34.519 going to see, Cortes also wanted to make sure that his flank was guarded. 488 00:46:35.480 --> 00:46:42.519 He left behind his reliable friend Juan de Escalante at Vera Cruz. He 489 00:46:42.679 --> 00:46:47.920 told Escalante to defend the town at all costs, but interestingly, his fear 490 00:46:49.760 --> 00:46:55.280 was not the Mexica. Rather, he told Escalante to defend the town from 491 00:46:55.360 --> 00:47:02.960 Velasquez. What he was worried about was a rival expedition. Primarily, this 492 00:47:04.079 --> 00:47:07.559 was a race against time. Cortez had to prove that he could do the 493 00:47:07.679 --> 00:47:17.440 job or, just like Cordoba and grivala you would find himself replaced next time 494 00:47:19.440 --> 00:47:29.039 Cortez sets out for history and technoshity Colon. If you've enjoyed the episode, 495 00:47:29.519 --> 00:47:35.000 you can check out the website Western Civ podcast dot com. There's tons of 496 00:47:35.039 --> 00:47:39.559 additional content available there. If you'd like add free versions of the show, 497 00:47:40.119 --> 00:47:45.440 or would just like to support what we're doing, check out the Patreon feed 498 00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:52.960 Patreon dot com, forward slash Western ci Podcast. For just one dollar per 499 00:47:52.000 --> 00:47:58.679 month, you get all the shows with no ads. You can also check 500 00:47:58.679 --> 00:48:00.960 out Western Civ two point oh. There's a link in the show notes to 501 00:48:01.079 --> 00:48:07.719 a free seven day trial. This is a rehashing of a lot of the 502 00:48:07.719 --> 00:48:13.400 original episodes back from the Ancient world and the classical world. We're in the 503 00:48:13.440 --> 00:48:19.119 midst at this point of the Peloponnesian Wars and beyond. All of them are 504 00:48:19.400 --> 00:48:23.000 much more detailed with much better audio quality because some of the early shows in 505 00:48:23.079 --> 00:48:28.800 the feed, let's just say, we were still figuring it out. Check 506 00:48:28.840 --> 00:48:32.239 it out. It's a free seven day trial if you'd like it. Finally, 507 00:48:32.400 --> 00:48:35.320 for those of viewer are teachers, I have a link to all my 508 00:48:35.400 --> 00:48:38.800 teaching resources in these show notes as well. If that's something that you're so 509 00:48:38.920 --> 00:48:59.280 inclined and interested in until next week