History of the Conquest of Mexico: With a Preliminary View of the Ancient Mexican Civilization, and the Life of the Conqueror, Hernando Cortés, Volume 2Harper and brothers, 1843 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Alvarado Anahuac ancient arms army assí Axayacatl Aztec Aztec emperor Bernal Diaz bien Cacama cacique capital Carta Casas Castilian causeway cavaliers Chich Cholula Christian chronicler Ciudad Clavigero commander Conquerors Conquest Conquista Cortés Crónica Cruz Cuba dicho emperor enemy envoys eran Españoles estaba esto eyes fué garrison gent gold Gomara governor gran habia Herrera Hist hundred iards Ibid Indian Indios Ixtlilxochitl lake land latter Lorenzana los Indios Martyr ment Mexican Mexico monarch Montezuma Narvaez natives nobles Nueva España officers Orbe Novo Oviedo palace Pedro de Alvarado person present prince pues quarters quista renzana royal Sahagun Sandoval says seemed seen Señor sent showed soldiers soon sovereign Spain Spaniards Spanish spirit stone temple tenian teocalli Tezcucan Tezcuco tierra tion Tlacopan Tlascala Toribio treasure troops ubi supra Velasquez de Leon Vera Cruz Villa Rica warriors
Popular passages
Page 51 - Stretching far away at their feet, were seen noble forests of oak, sycamore, and cedar, and beyond, yellow fields of maize and the towering maguey, intermingled with orchards and blooming gardens ; for flowers, in such demand for their religious festivals, were even more abundant in this populous valley than in other parts of Anahuac.
Page 72 - Amidst a crowd of Indian nobles, preceded by three officers of state, bearing golden wands,9 they saw the royal palanquin blazing with burnished gold, it was borne on the shoulders of nobles, and over it a canopy of gaudy feather-work, powdered with jewels, and fringed with silver, was supported by four attendants of the same rank.
Page 71 - ... flowing gracefully down their shoulders. On their necks and arms they displayed collars and bracelets of turquoise mosaic, with which delicate plumage was curiously mingled, while their ears, underlips, and occasionally their noses, were garnished with pendants formed of precious stones, or crescents of fine gold.
Page 77 - Occasionally a great square or market-place intervened, surrounded by its porticos of stone and stucco ; or a pyramidal temple reared its colossal bulk, crowned with its tapering sanctuaries, and altars blazing with inextinguishable fires. The great street facing the southern causeway, unlike most others in the place, was wide, and extended some miles in nearly a straight line, as before noticed, through the centre of the city.
Page 449 - N., el cual por algunos pocos días tuvo en pie su señorío y reino, y ahora ya se ha ido en pos de ellos al otro mundo, porque vos le mandasteis que fuese y le llamasteis, y por haberle descargado de tan gran carga, y quitado tan gran trabajo, y haberle puesto en paz y en reposo, está muy obligado a daros gracias.
Page 363 - The Spaniards pushed steadily on through this arrowy sleet, though the barbarians, dashing their canoes against the sides of the causeway, clambered up and broke in upon their ranks. But the Christians, anxious only to make their escape, declined all combat except for self-preservation. The cavaliers, spurring forward their steeds, shook off their assailants and rode over their prostrate bodies, while the men on foot with their good •swords or the butts of their pieces drove them headlong again...
Page 368 - He was himself wounded in several places, and was striving in vain to rally his scattered column, which was driven to the verge of the canal by the fury of the enemy, then in possession of the whole rear of the causeway, where they were reinforced every hour by fresh combatants from the city.
Page 331 - on our terraces and streets; see them still thronged with warriors as far as your eyes can reach. Our numbers are scarcely diminished by our losses. Yours, on the contrary, are lessening every hour. You are perishing from hunger and sickness. Your provisions and water are failing. You must soon fall into our hands. The bridges are broken down, and you cannot escape ! There will be too few of you left to glut the vengeance of our gods...
Page 76 - They were built of a red porous stone drawn from quarries in the neighbourhood, and, though they rarely rose to a second story, often covered a large space of ground. The flat roofs, azoteas, were protected by stone parapets, so that every house was a fortress.
Page 123 - It had been usual for plebeians of merit to fill certain offices in the palace. But the haughty Montezuma refused to be waited upon by any but men of noble birth. They were not unfrequently the sons of the great chiefs, and remained as hostages in the absence of their fathers; thus serving the double purpose of security and state.35 His meals the emperor took alone.