Drawing on rare The third leg of the stool organizing narratives of the conquest of Mexico is the brutality of Aztec rule … Descendants of Aztec emperor Moctezuma II and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés met in Mexico City on Friday to mark the 500th anniversary of their ancestors’ first meeting… It is true I have some things of gold, which my ancestors have left me; all that I have is at your service whenever you wish it. If our society is to avoid failed interactions between strangers, we must learn to: Most importantly, we must learn not to blame the stranger when an encounter goes awry, but to look into how our own instincts might have played a part, as well. This book is about why they often go wrong, and why we are so bad at understanding the strangers we come across. Drawing on rare primary sources and overlooked accounts by conquistadors and Aztecs alike, Restall supplies a … These people [Tlaxcalans], I know, have informed you that I possessed houses with walls of gold, and that my carpets and other things in common use were of the texture of gold and that I was a god, or made myself one, and many other such things. The result? Initially, the Spaniards were welcomed and met with gifts from Montezuma II, but Cortés was intent on taking over Tenochtitlán. Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment: Is It Working? Cortés resembled the god’s description from the legend. In a departure from traditional tellings, When Montezuma Met Cortés uses “the Meeting”—as Restall dubs their first encounter—as the entry point into a comprehensive reevaluation of both Cortés and Montezuma. On November 8, 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés first met Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of Tenochtitlan. But to Cortés, Montezuma’s humble words sounded like surrender. The True Story of the Meeting that Changed History, When Montezuma Met Cortes, Matthew Restall, Ecco. And, you’ll begin to notice the patterns by which those strategies fail. In When Montezuma Met Cortés, Restall succeeds in deconstructing the traditional narrative of European military superiority overwhelming a naive and barbarous indigenous ruler. Connected with the city is a wooden bridge ten paces wide, where the causeway is open to allow the water free ingress and egress, as it rises and falls; and also for the security of the city, as they can remove the long and wide beams of which the bridge is formed, and replace them whenever they wish; and there are many such bridges in different arts of the city, as your Highness will perceive hereafter from the particular account I shall give of it. One answer to this question lies in the difference between the way Cortés and Montezuma communicated, based on their cultural tradition. And you have the power in all this land, I mean wherever my power extends, to command what is your pleasure, and it shall be done in obedience thereto, and all that we have is at your disposal. In today’s world, people often find themselves in encounters like that between Cortés and Montezuma—interactions with complete strangers. The meeting of Cortés and Montezuma shows why they often result in failed interactions with strangers. Barnum Taught Us. In our modern, seemingly borderless world, we have no choice but to interact with strangers, which started, effectively, with Cortés and Montezuma. On any given day … There are three major strategies that people use to make sense of strangers: These three strategies ultimately fail because they operate under the assumption that simple clues are enough evidence of a stranger’s internal thoughts or intentions. La Malinche, language translator for Hernán Cortés. By looking at some stories from world history and recent news, you’ll begin to understand the strategies people use to translate the words and intentions of strangers. Either way, Montezuma always comes across as a diminished ruler, even a puppet. Thereupon, Cortés took Moctezuma by the hand and led him by it. In a departure from traditional tellings, When Montezuma Met Cortés uses “the Meeting”—as Restall dubs their first encounter—as the entry point into a comprehensive reevaluation of both Cortés and Montezuma. I answered him in respect to all that he had said, expressing my acknowledgments, and adding whatever the occasion seemed to demand, especially endeavoring to confirm him in the belief that your Majesty was the sovereign they had looked for; and after this he took his leave, and having gone, we were liberally supplied with fowls, bread, fruits, and other things required for the use of our quarters. This introduction—the prelude to the Spanish seizure of Mexico Yet we, as a society, are incompetent at making sense of the strangers we come across. Cortés said many other things very well expressed, which they would report them to their prince Montezuma. Therefore be assured that we will obey you, and acknowledge you, for our sovereign in place of the great lord whom, you mention, and that there shall be no default or deception on our part. At the time I advanced to speak to Moctezuma, I took off from myself a collar of pearls and glass diamonds, and put it around his neck. The two leaders, Cortés and Montezuma, knew absolutely nothing about each other’s language, civilization, or cultural nuances. After a short space of time, when my people were all bestowed in their quarters, he returned with many and various jewels of gold and silver, feather work, and five or six thousand pieces of cotton cloth, very rich and of varied texture and finish. Drawing on rare The problem at the heart of the two puzzles is that people assume that they can make sense of others based on relatively simple strategies. Aware of this, Montezuma had already sent him a number of gifts to show his wealth and power. "On November 8, 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés first met Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of Tenochtitlan. This is an example of one of the first times in human history that two people with entirely different assumptions, histories, and cultural backgrounds were thrown into contact. In this way l was for six days amply provided with all that was necessary, and visited by many of the nobility. But why? The city is connected to the rest of the land by several causeways.]. Conquest: Cortes, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico - Ebook written by Hugh Thomas. There came to meet me at this place [on a causeway] nearly a thousand of the principal inhabitants of the great city, all uniformly dressed according to their custom in very rich costumes; and as soon as they had come within speaking distance, each one, as he approached me, performed a salutation in much use among them, by placing his hand upon the ground and kissing it; and thus I was kept waiting about an hour, until all had performed the ceremony. On November 8, 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés first met Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of Tenochtitlan. 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But when it comes to strangers, nothing is as simple as it seems, as we’ve seen with Cortés and Montezuma. “Our Lord, you are weary. He afterwards came again to this country, after the lapse of much time, and found that his people had intermarried with the native inhabitants, by whom they had many children, and had built towns in which they resided; and when he desired them to return with him, they were unwilling to go, nor were they disposed to acknowledge him as their sovereign; so he departed from the country, and we have always heard that his descendants would come to conquer this land, and reduce us to subjection as his vassals; and according to the direction from which you say you have come, namely, the quarter where the sun rises, and from what you say of the great lord or king, who sent you hither, we believe and are assured that he is our natural sovereign, especially as you say that it is a long time since you first had knowledge of us. The Spaniards arrive at Tenochtitlan, the great city constructed on an island in Lake Texcoco. Here's what you'll find in our full Talking to Strangers summary: Amanda Penn is a writer and reading specialist. They had to go through a long and complicated chain of translation to communicate with each other. Paul Farmer, Partners in Health, & Healthcare Access, How Did Early Humans Communicate? Why we're all terrible at understanding the intentions of other people, How these misunderstandings can lead to tragic, fatal consequences, The 2 things you can do to better understand complete strangers. His aim is to reassess the process of simplification by which Cortés, in his letters to King Carlos I (also Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire), justified the permanent occupation of Mexico and gave it … Montezuma was dead, Cortés had lost two-thirds of his men fleeing Tenochtitlán, and the Spanish had taken refuge with the Tlaxcaltecs, the Aztecs' traditional enemy. Montezuma was in the courtyard of the palace of Axayacatl waiting to receive Cortes and his train. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Why can’t we identify when a stranger is lying to our face? Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read Conquest: Cortes, Montezuma… The houses you see are of stone and lime and earth. But when Hernán Cortés sailed from Spain to Mexico in 1519, he began an entirely new kind of encounter in human history. Cortés also told them that one of the objects for which our great Emperor had sent us to their country was to abolish human sacrifices and the other evil rites which they practiced." Montezuma later died in captivity. Three decades after Columbus, the Spaniards finally reached the long-imagined realms of gold. Thinking that the god had returned, … When Cortés Met Malinche, and Montezuma Met Cortés: Alternative Facts and Disturbing Truths from Dumbarton Oaks Videos on Vimeo. Throughout human history, the vast majority of human interactions occurred between neighbors, relatives, or people that had at least some things in common, such as worshipping the same God. She’s published dozens of articles and book reviews spanning a wide range of topics, including health, relationships, psychology, science, and much more. Montezuma’s native language, Nahuatl, was a reverential mode of speech. You’ll begin to see where those strategies came from. Shortform has the world's best summaries of books you should be reading. By 1520, the Spanish were at an absolute low point in their bloody war with the Aztecs. Sign up for a free trial here. 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