The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of MexicoMiguel León Portilla In this updated edition of the classic THE BROKEN SPEARS, Leon-Portilla has included accounts from native Aztec descendants across the centuries. Those texts bear witness to the extraordinary vitality of an oral tradition that preserves the viewpoints of the vanquished instead of the victors. |
Contents
Omens Foretelling the Arrival of the Spaniards | 3 |
First Reports of the Spaniards Arrival | 13 |
The Messengers Journeys | 21 |
Motecuhzomas Terror and Apathy | 32 |
The Spaniards March on Tlaxcala and Cholula | 37 |
The Gifts of Gold The God Tezcatlipoca Appears | 50 |
The Spaniards Are Welcomed in Tezcoco | 56 |
The Spaniards Arrive in Tenochtitlan | 62 |
The Siege of Tenochtitlan | 91 |
Spanish Raids into the Besieged City | 3 |
The Surrender of Tenochtitlan | 15 |
The Story of the Conquest as Told by the Anonymous Authors of Tlatelolco | 27 |
Elegies on the Fall of the City | 45 |
Aftermath | 50 |
Appendix | 75 |
Selected Bibliography | 83 |
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Common terms and phrases
allies Alvarado ancient arrived arrows attacked Azcapotzalco Aztec capital Aztecs bad omen battle began Bernardino de Sahagún Broken Spears brought burned called canal cannons canoes Cantares Mexicanos Captain causeway Cempoala Chalco Chapter chiefs Cholula Cholultecas chronicles Codex Florentino codices conquered Conquest conquistadors Cortes Coyoacan Cuauhtemoc culture defeat documents Eagle enemy entered envoys fiesta fighting finery fire Garibay gods gold guards heads heart houses Huitzilopochtli Indians indigenous accounts Itzcoatl Ixtlilxochitl killed king La Malinche lake land Leon-Portilla lord magicians main temple Malinche marched market place massacre messengers Mexicanos Miguel Leon-Portilla Motecuh Motecuhzoma Nahuas Nahuatl National native Nezahualpilli night Nonohualco palace patio Pedro de Alvarado petlacalcatl priests prince prisoners quetzal feathers Quetzalcoatl relacion Sahagun's informants sent shields shouted songs Spaniards Spanish stones strangers surrender Tacuba tell Tenochtitlan texts Tezcatlipoca Tezcoco Tlacaelel Tlacopan Tlacotzin Tlatelolco Tlaxcala Tlaxcaltecas Toltecs took University of Mexico warriors Xochitl Xoloco Zapata zoma
Popular passages
Page xxxv - So we stood looking about us, for that huge and cursed temple stood so high that from it one could see over everything very well...
Page xxvi - They ran in among the dancers, forcing their way to the place where the drums were played. They attacked the man who was drumming and cut off his arms. Then they cut off his head, and it rolled across the floor.