Cortés and Montezuma

by Collis, Maurice

• ISBN13: 9780811214230
• ISBN10: 0811214230
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-15
• Publisher: New Directions

Summary

Landing on the Mexican coast on Good Friday, 1519, Hernaacute;n Corteacute;s felthimself the bearer of a divine burden to conquer and convert the firstadvanced civilization Europeans had yet encountered in the West. ForMontezuma, leader of the Mexicans, April 21, 1519 (known in theirsophisticated astronomical system as 9 Wind Day) was the precise date ofa dire prophesy: the return of Quetzalcoatl, a fearsome god predictedto arrive by ship, from the East, with light skin, a black beard, robedin black-exactly as Corteacute;s would. The ensuing drama is described byeminent historian Maurice Collis in a style that is equal parts storyand scholarship. Though its consequences have been treated by writers asdiverse as D.H. Lawrence and Charles Olson, never before have the factsof this event been rendered with such extraordinary clarity andelegance.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 11
Cortes in the West Indies	p. 21
The Discovery of Mexico	p. 25
Cortes Sets Out	p. 33
Cortes Arrives in Mexico	p. 40
Montezuma	p. 48
The Landing of Cortes-Quetzalcoatl	p. 61
Cortes Tricks Velazquez	p. 69
Cortes Prepares	p. 79
Cortes Marches on Mexico	p. 86
Cortes at Tlaxcala	p. 102
Cortes at Cholula	p. 107
Montezuma and Cortes Meet	p. 113
Montezuma Converses with Cortes	p. 126
Cortes Confines Montezuma	p. 136
Montezuma Bows to His Fate	p. 144
Montezuma's Treasure	p. 149
The Installation of the Virgin	p. 158
The Smoking Mirror Demands Cortes' Death	p. 162
Velazquez's Counterstroke is Defeated	p. 166
The Mexicans Rise Against Cortes	p. 178
The Death of Montezuma	p. 182
Cortes Flees from Mexico City	p. 193
The Magical Battle of Otumba	p. 198
Cortes Recuperates at Tlaxcala	p. 205
Cortes Beleaguers Mexico City	p. 210
Cortes Storms Mexico City	p. 223
Postscript	p. 230
Table of Dates	p. 243
Index	p. 246
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.