New Mexico

Hello,

We are going back to Tenochtitlan. This time we have reinforcements from Cuba and this time we won’t fail. We are still aliies all of the native tribes and they want to get rid of the Aztecs’ just as much as we do. We are heading back to Tenochtitlan tomorrow but first my army and I must get a good night sleep. Tomorrow is going to be scary.

Tomorrow came quicker than I thought. But we didn’t deside to attack right now. We stayed with our allies and trained to fight and healed our wounds from the Aztecs. We did this for a while until January 1521. On this date we went back to the vally of Mexico to attack once again. This time we had a new sratatgy we staged a series of raids down the countryside. After that we sent out our newly built fleet of men. It soon became May and I now began my final assault on Tenochtitlán,bearing down from every direction, with separate divisions assigned to each of the city’s three causeways and the flotilla moving in by water.

The Aztecs put up a very good fight. They were under leadership of the last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtemoc. The Aztecs withstood an 80-day siege. They finally surrendering August 13, 1521.

We were fueled by victory, we lay the Aztec empire to waste, erasing the remnants of the culture as best as we could, scorching Tenochtitlán by fire, leveling its majestic temples. The rubble would make up the foundations of a new world, the cradle of a brand new people. Mexico was born, The expedition was complete.

Good Bye my friends,

-Hernán Cortés-

Tenochtitlan

Hello,

As we walked to Tenochtitlan we saw many different things and met many difficult challenges on the way. We ran out of food and water so we had to kill the wild animals for food and drink the river and swamp water for water. It is a lot more difficult then I expected. More of our men were dieing of lack of water and starvation. It is very sad that they won’t be able to see their loved ones ever again. Ay least luckaly no more horses have died.  What I noticed afterwords is that the ship tha sank was one of the four ships that was carring gun powder. It is crucial that we spair as much gun poweder as possible.

As we kept walking we ran into many different native American polities such as the Nahuas of Tlaxcala and the Totonacs of Cempoala. We made alliances with all of them. We were almost at Tenochtitlan, we are so close.

 By the time we arrived in Tenochtitlan we had a large army. At first, the Aztecs received our forces peacefully in Tenochtitlan where we stayed as guests at the palace of Moctezuma II. Moctezuma gave lavish gifts in gold to us which enticed them to plunder vast amounts of gold. The balance turned and Moctezuma became a prisoner in his own house while the we began surveying his empire. When the Aztecs perceived the weakened state of their ruler they staged a rebellion in order to eject us and our native American allies from the city. In the “La Noche Triste” we suffered great losses as they we forced to flee over the causeway to the mainland and back to Tlaxcala. But the we and our allies prevailed.

Hernán Cortés-

The Journey

Hello,

I am on my way to Mexico right now. I am sailing the coast as I write. The weather and the ocean has been great for us since we left, I only wish that it stays like this for us. I am so excited to get there, I can’t wait. There are some sad things about this jorney so far though. 5 of my soldiers have died, 1 sailor, and 1 horse. I hope that the people there will make it easy for us. I wonder what they will be like.

It is two days later and a big storm has came out of no where. the storm is lasting forever, it just won’t quit. All of the sudden I heard a big crack. I looked and what I saw shoked me. It was one of ships cracking in 2. My men were screaming and there was nothing that I can do to help them. I felt hopeless and scared. All I could do was watch, it was horrible, The sreams. The helps. And then… I fainted. It was the next day when I woke up. Even though we lost a lot of men we had to keep going, we coundn’t let this keep us back.

By now we could see land. It took us an hour to get there by the time we saw land. The land was beautiful. There were so many new trees, and plants. Even new animals. The air was nicer too. I wish Spain looked and smelled like this.

We started with just over 600 men and 16 horses with 11 ships. We now have just under 550 men, 13 horses and 11 ships. We must start the expidition. We started walking the coast looking for the Aztecs. Well I must go now.

-Hernán Cortés-

Year: Calli (1521)

Niltze…

This is Namacuix. I’m now 23 years old and this might be the last time you hear from me. The white people came back, and with a vengeance. They’re fighting us. They are attacking us out of nowhere; without warning. We didn’t see this coming. We thought we drove them out forever. We were supposed to be happy. Now we are forced to fight back.

It’s going to be hard for us to fight back. Do you want to know why? Well, the white people are carrying diseases and they are killing our people every day. My wife, Izel, just died two weeks ago because of this disease. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. Now she’s dead, like many others who had the same fate.

Fate. That’s an interesting word. Some people say you control your fate, while other people say that fate just happens. What I’m wondering is if that this was our fate. Was this really supposed to happen? It’s not fair! We were minding our business, and then these strange looking people just come uninvited into OUR territory. They have their own place to live. Why couldn’t they just mind their own business? Well, I know what my fate is. I’m going to fight!

Funny, isn’t it? Warfare used to be considered a religious duty. Now we are using it to fight for our lives. To tell you the truth, I don’t think it will help much. Sure, we have spears and bow-and-arrows, but look at their weapons. They have guns. They have swords. Compared to them, all we have is sticks. Although, there is this weapon that might stand a chance. It’s the macuahuitl. It’s a wooden club with sharp pieces of volcanic glass. Like most of our weapons, it is designed for capturing, rather than to kill. You never know, it might stand a chance.

Anyways, here are my final words. This year is the calli, which like I told you before, represents the idea of home. Well now, I have no home. The white people are taking it away from me. Almost everybody I cared about is dead, including Moctezuma Xocoyotzin. He is now replaced by Cuitalahuac. Although you can replace an emperor, you can’t replace the bright blue sky which is now full of smoke and ashes. You can’t replace the plants and the trees which are now burned to a crisp. You can’t replace blood, sweat, and tears that came from hard work. You can’t replace the memories of everything that happened during your lifetime. You can’t replace the love and the hate you once felt. Life is just irreplaceable.  

Well, I guess this is good-bye. It’s time for me to fight. I know I can’t replace life, but I will do my best to help restore it. 

Sincerely, 

Namacuix.

Year: Tecpatl (1520)

Niltze!

This is Namacuix. I’m currently 22 years old. I’m also happy to say that Izel and I are happily married. The day after the strange men arrived I had the courage to ask her to marry me. She quickly said yes and asked me what took so long.

We got married by Lake Texcoco. It was a beautiful ceremony. Instead of the usual loose fitting blouse and wrap around skirt, Izel wore an elegant dress. She looked gorgeous. I decided to wear the usual outfit, a cloth around my hips and a cloak knotted over my shoulder. For food, we ate the tlaxcalli, which is a thin cornmeal pancake. It was delicious. Every member of our family, along with most of our campan was there to enjoy it. The strange white men were there, also. The leader of the group,  Hernán Cortés, wasn’t there. He was too busy inspecting the temple. Everything about it was perfect. It was definitely worth the tough days of getting everything together.

Izel and I got our wedding supplies at Tlatelolco, the largest market in Tenochtitlan. Normally, about 20,000 Mexicas go there to trade. Unexpectedly, our wedding was considered a feast day and about 40,000 people were there. It was very crowded! It was hard to see which was left and right it was so crowded. Not to mention that a lot of the things we wanted to get were gone, so we had to compromise. That part didn’t really matter. All that we cared about was that we got married. Eventually, we got all of our things. It was a long and hard process, but it was worth it.

Just a second, I think I hear something outside my new house.

 ***

I’m back. I just found out that Hernán Cortés held Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, our emperor, a prisoner in his own temple. This is just an outrage! Moctezuma is nothing but nice to him, yet Cortés is nothing but rude. From what I know, Cortés is doing this because he wants to take over our city. I can’t believe we were so gullible. Anyways, we don’t have to worry about him anymore. Most of Tenochtitlan drove him and his henchmen out, which is a huge relief. People were starting to say that they made people sick. I still can’t believe that Hernán Cortés did this.

I guess that’s it for now.

 Sincerely,

Namacuix.

P.S. I almost forgot. This years’ symbol represents a flint knife, which is what I feel like using to stab Cortés right now. I’m that angry at him.

Year: Acatl (1519)

Niltze!

This is Namacuix. I’m now 21 years old. In case you are wondering, I didn’t marry Izel. Well, not yet anyway. Last year I wasn’t ready. But this year I felt ready. I felt I could conquer the world. I decided to ask Izel to marry me. Just everything about her makes me feel good inside. She makes me feel complete inside. I feel I can spend the rest of my life with her. She’s perfect. Not to mention she doesn’t look that bad, either. Since Izel loves nature, I wanted to ask her in a big open place full of reeds, which is what the current year represents; reeds.

Everything was perfect. She looked as beautiful as always with the wind blowing in her hair. When I said something funny, she laughed. When she laughed, I laughed. The nature all around was blooming. It looked ravishing. How the flowers swayed back and forth, the way the birds were chirping their usual tune. Except it wasn’t usual this time. At that exact moment I was going to pop the question. The words were coming out of my mouth.

“Izel.”

“Yes, Namacuix?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, anything.” Izel replied.

“Www..i..Wil…” I stuttered. I couldn’t put my feelings into words. Then the unexpected happened.

“Just a second.” Izel said. “I hear something. Come with me.”

“Fine.” I said. I was so close.

We eventually found out what the commotion was about. There were these white people that came to our city. They had many, many, many horses. Along with these strange white people, there were native people. There was a leader of this enormous group. He called himself Hernán Cortés. From what I saw, he seemed really full of himself. Then out of nowhere, Moctezuma Xocoyotzin came. He had the most joyous look on his face. He thought that Hernán Cortés represented Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was a God that sailed away east, which was where Cortés came from. Our emperor showered him with plenty of gifts, while I was left empty handed.Oh well, I’ll get her soon.

Sincerely,

Namacuix.

Year: Tochtli (1515)

Niltze!

This is Namacuix again. I’m now 17 years old. Every day I’m being told that I’m getting older. Soon I’ll have to move out. You usually have to leave the house when you are married, which is sooner than later in my case. My parents are saying that I’ll probably get married by the age of 20, which is just a few years away. It’s kind of scary. I’m not sure if I’m ready for the responsibility. Although, I have been keeping an eye on this one girl. Her name is Izel. Remember her? She is Tenoch’s little sister. Even though she is 13 years old, women here usually get married by the age of 16. So in three years, we might be married. Tenoch keeps on saying she has a crush on me, but I just ignore him.

Anyways, the year Tochtil means rabbit. It was also a name of a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, he went to jail for murdering a 10-year-old boy. I’m not sure what happened that night. He would never do something like that. I think he just lost it. For years now he spent his nights all alone, regretting what he has done.

I came back from a religious ceremony called the human sacrifice not that long ago. It is very important to our religion. Most of the Mexica people believe that our Gods need human hearts and blood to survive. When I arrived at the teolcallis, where most religious ceremonies are held, I found out something very terrible. Tenoch told me that Tochtli was the person being sacrificed. I don’t know why I never saw this coming. It’s very common that prisoners or slaves were sacrificed. Then I heard the drums playing. I raced towards the front of the crowd. I saw him. He was dirty. He was scratched. His clothes were torn. He looked horrible. Then the priest said a few words. I don’t remember what he said. All I could see was the sad expression on my friends’ face. He wasn’t ready to go. He had a lot to live for. I know somebody had to be sacrificed, but why him? He was a really good friend. Why? All of a sudden, I heard screams coming from the victims’ mouth. His chest was being torn. Then all was silent. Tochtil was dead. I couldn’t bear to see the priest ripping out his heart. Tears came from my eyes. When I walked out, I heard the people cheering and shouting. It was a successful sacrifice…For them anyway.

Awe. Now I’m crying. That’s all for now.

Sincerely,

Namacuix.

The Expedition

Hello,

In, 1517 I was ordered to go on an expedition but it was soon cancelled because of a long string of thunderstorms. Our ships would not handle the winds that we would have been taking on.

Now it is 1519, and I am just about to head out to Mexico from Cuba. I am going to bring lots of men and horses for this conquest to Mexico. I am sending a fleet of 11 Spanish galleons, we are bringing 600 sailors and soldiers, as well as 16 horses the first of the species to walk the New World. We will be sailing along the eastern gulf coast of Mexico and dropping anchor at Yucatán.

I am only now waiting for the permission to leave. I sent out a messanger to get the note that says I can leave. All the men are ready to leave the horses are on deck. I can’t wait to see what happens in this new place… … … The permission has just been granted!! Well I’ll be off then.

-Hernán Cortés-

Year: Calli (1513)

 

Niltze!

My name is Namacuix. I’m 15  years old. I am part of the Mexica society. In my culture, we have many symbols for the days, years, and the months. It is currently the year Calli. The year calli shows the idea of house. So, I guess I’ll talk about my home.

I live in the city of Tenochtitlan, which is a really big place. It has 4 campans (sections), which has many calpullis (districts) and many tlaxicallis (streets). It’s one of the largest cities in our world. I overheard priests saying that it covers 8-13.4 square km. With a city this big, it’s easy to get lost. I know I got lost a few times when I was younger!

In the center of this wonderful city, there are many public places. This includes the main temple, the temple of Quetzalcoatl, the ball game, the rack of skulls, the platforms of the gladitorial sacrifices, the temple of the sun, and other minor temples. My favourite one is the emperors’ temple, which is currently home to Moctezuma Xocoyotzin. It has a lot of bedrooms and in each bedroom; there is a bathroom to go with it. I heard it was really nice, but I never got the chance to go there. I spend a lot of my time at my house.

Since I live in the highlands area, my house is made of mud. A lot of mud. From what I see, it’s not that nice to look at. My parents tell me that houses are built for usefulness, rather than beauty. I can understand this. You can make the most beautiful house in all of the Aztec empire, but a slight wind could tear it all down. My friend, Tenoch, and his little sister, Izel, live in the lowlands area. I went over there once and Tenoch said that their house is made of branches and plastered clay. Again. It’s not that nice to look at. 

I guess that’s all about my home!

Sincerely,

Namacuix.

P.S. In case you are wondering, niltze means hello in Nahuatl, the main language of our people.

In Cuba

Hello, 

In 1510, I accompanied Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, an aide of the governor of Hispaniola, in his expedition to conquer Cuba. When I was 26, I was made clerk to the treasurer with the responsibility of insuring that the Crown received the quinto(one-fifth of the profits from the expedition).

The governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez, was so impressed with me that he secured a high political position for me in the colony. I continued to make a reputation for my self as a brave, dareing bold leader. I became secretary for Governor Velázquez. I was appointed mayor of Santiago. In Cuba, I became a man of substance with a repartimiento of Indians, mines and cattle. In 1514, I led a group that wanted more natives for the settlers.

As time went on, relations between  governor Velázquez and I became strained. The governor twice jailed me although each time I managed to escape with my clever mind.

-Hernán Cortés-