Golden Gambling Between Montezuma And Cortes

To the delight of Hernan Cortes and his Spanish conquistadors, Montezuma II of the Aztec Empire was an extremely generous gift-giver. He handed over treasures to the Spaniards nearly every time they interacted, be it delivered by messenger or bestowed in person. Whenever Montezuma, himself, hosted a meeting with the Spaniards, multiple golden or gilded objects almost always were handed over to the conquistadors at one point or another. Yet, sometimes Montezuma II made the Spaniards work harder than usual for their gilt gifts.

Hernan Cortes and his conquistadors entered Montezuma’s capital city of Tenochtitlan in late 1519 and stayed there for the opening months of 1520. During their stay in the Aztec capital, the Spaniards came to feel increasingly paranoid that Montezuma’s hospitality would one day cease and that he would have them arrested and executed. In order to save their skins from this potential danger, and to apply more leverage against the Aztec Empire, the Spaniards captured Montezuma and detained him in their Spanish quarters in Tenochtitlan. At first, they held the Aztec emperor on a short leash, but they eventually loosened their grip, letting Montezuma hold court and visit temples—all, however, under Spanish surveillance.

Early on in his captivity, Montezuma and Cortes were forced to live in the same compound together, and Montezuma apparently decided to kill time by playing games with Cortes and the Spaniards. Montezuma’s game of choice was variously called totoloque or totoloc, and in Montezuma’s typical fashion, the Aztec leader’s personal equipment set for this game was golden or gilded. It seemed to have been a gambling game, where the participants made bets and then each player had a certain number of turns to throw a ball or pellet at a designated target. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, one of Hernan Cortes’ conquistadors, described the game: “it is played with small round glossy balls, which here were made of gold, and are pitched at a certain mark, also of the same metal: five throws finished the game, and the stakes were for valuable gold trinkets and jewels” (Conquest of New Spain, chapter 97). Even if the Aztec leader won the game, Montezuma—either because of his generosity (or his being under arrest)—was said to have always given away his gambling winnings to the Spaniards. Despite this, Bernal Díaz claimed that Hernan Cortes’ score-keeper tried to pad Cortes’ stats, and Montezuma eventually called the man out for cheating.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Sketch of Cortes and Montezuma in the Historia de la Conquista de Méjico, c. 1851, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz, translated by J. M. Cohen. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.
• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32474/32474-h/32474-h.htm 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Montezuma-II 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hernan-Cortes  

Hernán Cortés’ Awkward Hug

On November 8, 1519, Hernán Cortés entered the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, a populous and bustling city, dominated by broad causeways and canoe-filled canals. The Aztec ruler, Montezuma II, managed his domain from the city, and various chieftains of the Aztec Empire gravitated there to attend the emperor’s court. As such, Tenochtitlan was a place of fashion, pageantry and courtly etiquette. Observing this political environment, Cortés wrote that the people of Tenochtitlan were “marked by as great an attention to the proprieties of life as in Spain, and good order is equally well observed” (Cortés’ Second Letter to Charles V).

Upon Cortés’ entry into the city, Montezuma II and his large entourage came out to greet the Spaniards. The Aztec emperor was carried to the spot on an ornate litter. When the litter came to a halt, a mobile canopy (decorated with feathers and precious metals) was prepared to shade Montezuma as he trekked on foot.  In addition to the elegant canopy, Montezuma’s every sandaled step was preempted by a cloak being ceremoniously laid before his path, so that the Aztec emperor’s footwear would not be dirtied by the earth.

As Cortés watched this pageantry, he must have known there would be—as with most monarchs—unspoken rules about how to act (or not act) when meeting with Montezuma. Unsurprisingly, these rules were still quite vague to Cortés and his fellow Spaniards when they had their first in-person meeting with Montezuma on November 8, 1519. Consequently, Hernán Cortés had a bit of a bumbling start in his navigation of Aztec pleasantries. Fortunately for him, Montezuma was apparently in a patient and forgiving mood, willing to overlook, or subtly correct, Cortés’ breaches of etiquette.

Hernán Cortés began with a safe bet—a deep and respectful bow. Montezuma approved this opener, and returned the bow in one way or another. Through interpreters, the two then exchanged greetings and wished each other good health. Next, Cortés reportedly made a slight misstep (or a bit of political gamesmanship) by taking the initiative to extend his hand to Montezuma. The Aztec emperor corrected the ceremony by waving off Cortés’ hand and then, more in keeping with propriety, held out his own hand for the Spaniard. Cortés soon presented a gift to Montezuma. It was a necklace of multi-colored elaborate beads, strung on a perfumed gold chain. The Aztec emperor graciously accepted the gift, and even let Cortés do the honor of placing the jewelry around the emperor’s royal neck.

Hernán Cortés succeeded in placing the necklace on Montezuma’s shoulders without causing any offense. Yet, right after bestowing this gift on the emperor, Cortés apparently tried to pull Montezuma into some kind of embrace. This move was too shocking a divergence from protocol for Montezuma’s relatives and guards to let occur, so they immediately sprang into action to save their liege from a perceived disgrace or embarrassment by blocking the Spaniard’s path and grasping hold of Cortés’ arms. With the hug thwarted, the ceremony returned to surer footing. The two leaders exchanged complimentary speeches, and, finally, Montezuma had the Spaniards shown to their lodgings.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Scene of Hernan Cortes and the Emperor of Mexico, painted by Carlos Esquivel y Rivas (1830–1867), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz, translated by J. M. Cohen. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.
• https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1520cortes.asp 
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cortes_hernan.shtml 
• https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/hernan-cortes 
•   https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hernan-Cortes 
• https://www.biography.com/explorer/hernan-cortes

The Lavish Feasts Of Montezuma

Like any other emperor or king, Montezuma II of the Aztec Empire relished any chance to throw a great banquet. When Hernán Cortés and his Spanish explorers arrived in Montezuma’s capital city of Tenochtitlan, they witnessed a few of these feasts and they later described the experience in their letters and memoirs. In particular, Cortés made note of Montezuma’s banquets in a letter to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (r. 1519-1556), and the conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo (c. 1492-1580) also recounted Montezuma’s mealtime festivities in his own memoir-history, The Conquest of New Spain.

According to Hernán Cortés, Montezuma’s feasts could be an all-day affair, lasting from morning until nightfall. Around 600 prominent Aztec nobles could be expected to attend such banquets, and each noble had servants or attendants that also came along. The nobles were admitted into the interior of the palace or villa where the main feast was held, but the servants were restricted to adjacent courtyards. Both master and servant, however, would be fed from the emperor’s larder during the course of the event.

Produce and game from all over the Aztec empire was apparently showcased at the emperor’s banquets. Hernán Cortés did not dare to attempt a list of the great variety of foods he witnessed on Montezuma’s tables, but he did state that anything that was able to be hunted, fished or grown in the Aztec territory was served during the event. Bernal Díaz, for his part, did attempt to list some of the foods served at the feasts, but he restricted himself to only commenting on the variety of meat: “every day they cooked fowls, turkeys, local partridges, quail, tame and wild duck, venison, boar, marsh birds, pigeons, hares and rabbits, also many other kinds of birds and beasts native to their country, so numerous that I cannot quickly name them all” (The Conquest of New Spain, chapter 91).

Before meals were served, servants would reportedly bring out basins of water, so that the emperor and his guests could wash their hands. According to Hernán Cortés there were between 300 and 400 youthful waiters in charge of distributing food and drink. Bernal Díaz, in his own description of the servants, observed that almost all of Montezuma’s personal waiters were beautiful women. After hands had been washed, the food and drink were served—all presented (at least to Montezuma) on red and black pottery from the city of Cholula. At each banquet, Montezuma was reportedly served 30 personal dishes, which were heated to specific temperatures by means of coals. Bernal Díaz further alleged that Montezuma would personally drink from around 50 jugs of frothy hot chocolate brought to him during the course of one of his feasts, and that he would smoke from three tubes filled with a tobacco mixture. As for what was served to the emperor’s guests, the beleaguered kitchen staff was reportedly expected to produce a staggering 1,000 dishes of food and 2,000 jugs of chocolate, or other such drinks.

When it came time to dine, a screen was brought out to give the emperor some privacy. Only the most trusted of the emperor’s kinsmen (and the beautiful servant women) could be with the emperor behind the screen. While the emperor enjoyed his momentary solace, the rest of the guests were left in good hands—Montezuma’s feasts were livened by professional entertainers of all sorts. Singers, dancers, musicians, jesters, comedians, acrobats, stilt-walkers and side-show attractions were actively brought to live in Tenochtitlan, and the emperor had these entertainers perform during the feasts.

When the revelers were finished with their meals, servants once more brought out basins of water so that everyone could wash up. As the guests left, they likely yearned eagerly for their next invitation to one of the emperor’s feasts, which, no doubt to the horror of the kitchen staff, apparently occurred frequently.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Print depicting Montezuma II greeting Hernan Cortes, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz, translated by J. M. Cohen. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.
• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32474/32474-h/32474-h.htm 
• https://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/cortesletter.html  

Montezuma II’s Apartments Of Amusing Persons

In its heyday, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) was a huge and beautiful place, featuring wide causeways, bustling markets and navigable canals. For the Aztec rulers, the city was also a land of many amusements. Montezuma II, the first Aztec emperor who had the misfortune of meeting Europeans, devoted great amounts of resources to collecting and maintaining items, creatures and people that he found entertaining. Several villas and palaces, located both in and outside of Tenochtitlan, were reportedly used to house the Aztec emperor’s collection of oddities. From birds, to snakes, or weapons and armors, the emperor had space set aside for all sorts of animate and inanimate interests—including certain kinds of humans.

Hernán Cortés, in a letter to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1520, mentioned a “palace that contained a number of men and women of monstrous size, and also dwarfs, and crooked and ill-formed persons, each of which had their separate apartments” (Second Letter to Charles V, 1520). Each apartment had its own care team, tasked with seeing to the needs of those who were housed in the building. The residents of the apartments were brought out as entertainers when Hernán Cortés arrived in Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards likened the role these people played in Montezuma’s feasts as something akin to the jesters back in Europe.

In a different palace, where Montezuma kept his huge collection of birds, the Aztec emperor also housed another type of people who caught his interest—albinos. At that bird-adjacent apartment, wrote Cortés, “are men, women and children, whose faces, bodies, hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes are white from their birth” (Second Letter to Charles V, 1520). In his letter, Cortés was not explicit about the care given to these people, but the birds, alone, had a crew of reportedly over 300 Aztec keepers.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Map of Tenochtitlan, printed 1524 in Nuremberg, Germany, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz, translated by J. M. Cohen. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.
• https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1520cortes.asp (Cortes’ Second Letter) 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Montezuma-II 
• https://www.biography.com/political-figure/montezuma-ii  

The “Silver Walls” of Zempoala, Mexico

In 1519, during the early stages of Hernán Cortés’ adventures in Mexico, the expedition fleet anchored at a port called San Juan de Ulua. There, Cortés met with two Aztec leaders that the Spanish thought were governors. For more than a week, they talked and exchanged gifts (including a large treasure of gold from Montezuma II and a fine chair from Cortés), until the Aztec leader, Montezuma, apparently ordered his people to abruptly cut off contact with the conquistadors. Yet, although the Aztec governors and their attendants quickly withdrew without notice, another group of local natives covertly sent ambassadors to speak with the Spaniards. The newly-arrived diplomats represented the Totonac people, a network of communities that had been subjugated by the Aztecs but were eager to rebel.

The leading city of the Totonac people was Zempoala (or Cempoala), in the vicinity of what would become Vera Cruz, Mexico. The leader of the city sent a delegation of five men to meet with Cortés in San Juan de Ulua. The diplomats, reportedly wearing golden decorations on their ears and lips, made a good first impression on the gold-obsessed Spaniards. Having obtained Cortés’ attention, the messengers expressed their leader’s eagerness to work with the Spaniards against Montezuma, and they invited the Spanish to visit the city of Zempoala. Cortés agreed to visit, but maintained that he was in a hurry to reach a city called Quiahuitzlan, which had piqued the interest of ships Cortés had earlier sent out to scout the coast. The conquistadors were in luck, for Zempoala was on the route to Quiahuitzlan and the leader of Zempoala knew the leader of the other city well.

Bernal Díaz del Castillo was among the conquistadors who saw Zempoala and he wrote this dramatic description of the community:

“as we came among the houses we saw how large a town it was, larger than any we had yet seen, and were full of admiration. It was so green with vegetation that it looked like a garden; and its streets were so full of men and women who had come out to see us that we gave thanks to God for the discovery of such a country” (The Conquest of New Spain, chapter 45).

It was such a thriving settlement that the Spaniards reportedly nicknamed it the City of Abundance. The ambitious leader of Zempoala was a perfect figurehead for the city, as he, like his large and well-fed city, was reported to have been incredibly obese. As the aforementioned Bernal Díaz explained, “He was so fat that I must call him the fat Cacique” (The Conquest of New Spain, chapter 45). True to his word, that was the consistent name given to the leader of Zempoala in the remainder of Bernal Díaz’s account.

The large leader of the city allowed the Spaniards to stay in some well-maintained buildings in the city courtyard. Cortés sent scouts to check out the lodgings. The wealth of the city and the general lust for gold and silver must have affected one of the scouts, for he rushed back to his comrades to tell them of a remarkable sight. According to him, the walls of their quarters, and those of other buildings in the city, were made of gleaming silver. Sadly, Bernal Díaz made no mention of how this news was received among the conquistadors, but, thankfully for Cortés, his culturally and architecturally aware translators were able stop the infectious rumor from spreading. Doña Marina (Cortés’ translator and mistress) and Aguilar (a priest formerly held captive by the Maya) explained that Zempoala was not a city of silver, but instead had walls covered in bright plaster.

This is how Bernal Díaz presented this amusing scene:

“Our mounted scouts had come to a great square with courtyards where they had prepared our lodgings, which appeared to have been lime-coated and burnished during the last few days. The Indians are so skillful at these arts that one of the horsemen took the shining whiteness for silver, and came galloping back to tell Cortés that our quarters had silver walls. Doña Marina and Aguilar said that it must have been plaster, and we laughed at his excitement. Indeed we reminded him ever afterwards that anything white looked to him as silver” (The Conquest of New Spain, chapter 45).

Cortes eventually left Zempoala and traveled to the city of Quiahuitzlan. The so-called fat Cacique followed the conquistadors to Quiahuitzlan, and there the two Totonac leaders continued to pressure Cortés to aid them in rebellion against Montezuma. Hernán Cortés eventually agreed and soon after founded the Spanish Colonial city of Vera Cruz not far from the location of Quiahuitzlan.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (A city scene from the Conquest of Mexico (Virreinato de la Nueva España), by Miguel Gonzales c. 17th century, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz, translated by J. M. Cohen. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.
• https://www.ancient.eu/Montezuma/
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Montezuma-II
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mesoamerican-civilization/images-videos/media/376698/3170
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cortes_hernan.shtml
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hernan-Cortes
• https://www.biography.com/explorer/hernan-cortes
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/05-06/cortes-tenochtitlan/

Montezuma II Had His Agents Literally Paint Him A Picture Of Hernán Cortés And The Spanish Expedition of 1519

After defeating the Mayan-related Tzendals of Tabasco, Mexico, in March 1519, Hernán Cortés and his fleet sailed to a port called San Juan de Ulua, located in a region that would be called Vera Cruz. San Juan de Ulua was controlled by the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, and once Hernán Cortés entered the region, his fleet was closely watched by Aztec agents—it only took a reported half hour after the Spaniards dropped anchor before representatives of Montezuma rowed up to the Spanish fleet in canoes. Although the first Aztec diplomats were apparently of low rank, it was not long before officials of loftier positions began to arrive.

Hernán Cortés, according to his comrade Bernal Díaz del Castillo, was said to have anchored in San Juan de Ulua on a Thursday, and then he cautiously disembarked on Friday. The very next day, an Aztec leader named Cuitlalpitoc sent a large delegation to meet with Cortés. Cuitlalpitoc, said by the Spanish to have been the equivalent of a governor, did not personally visit, but the delegation he sent arrived with pageantry and gifts. They gave the Spaniards presents of food and gold, as well as some building supplies, such as lumber, axes and cloth. On Sunday, the day after the delegation’s arrival, an even greater Aztec procession marched up to San Juan de Ulua to meet with Hernán Cortés. The party was led by two men. One was the aforementioned Cuitlalpitoc and the other was Tendile (also called Teuthlille), who was of equal or greater rank than his companion. They brought more gifts for the Spaniards, including another round of food and a reported ten bales of marvelous white cloth.

Yet, besides handing out gifts, the Aztec officials were also doing a bit of intelligence gathering on behalf of Montezuma. As it was centuries before the days of spy planes and cameras, the Aztecs did the next best thing—they painted portraits. Tendile reportedly had in his party numerous painters who diligently put on canvas every aspect of the Spanish expedition. About these artists, Bernal Díaz del Castillo wrote:

“It appears Tendile brought with him some of those skilled painters they have in Mexico, and that he gave them instructions to make realistic full-length portraits of Cortés and all his captains and soldiers, also to draw the ships, sails, horses, Doña Marina and Aguilar [Cortés’ translators], and even the two greyhounds. The cannon and cannon-balls, and indeed the whole of our army, were faithfully portrayed, and the drawings were taken to Montezuma.” (The Conquest of New Spain, chapter 38)

After taking the detailed portraits of the Spaniards, and receiving several gifts from Cortés to be handed over to Montezuma, Tendile left San Juan de Ulua to report what he had seen to the Aztec emperor. The portrait of Hernán Cortés must have been quite accurate, for Montezuma curiously sent a Cortés look-alike to accompany Tendile on his return trip to San Juan de Ulua. Bernal Díaz made mention of this look-alike, whom the Spaniards named Quintalbor, and admitted that the man was, indeed, an impeccable impersonator of the conquistador: “On account of this resemblance we in the camp called them ‘our Cortés’ and ‘the other Cortés’ (The Conquest of New Spain, chapter 39). Yet, it was not the look-alike that caused the most excitement. Tendile also brought with him a large treasure of gold, both in unworked ore and grains, as well as exquisitely crafted golden disks and figures. Unfortunately, this made the Spaniards exponentially more curious and envious of Aztec wealth, and despite Montezuma ordering his people to cut off contact with the Spaniards, Hernán Cortés would soon show up at Montezuma’s capital city of Tenochtitlán.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Banquet scene of the Conquest of Mexico, by Miguel Gonzales (Virreinato de la Nueva España, XVII - XVIII century - Virreinato de la Nueva España), c. 17th century, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz, translated by J. M. Cohen. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.
• https://www.ancient.eu/Montezuma/ 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Montezuma-II 
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mesoamerican-civilization/images-videos/media/376698/3170 
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cortes_hernan.shtml 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hernan-Cortes 
• https://www.biography.com/explorer/hernan-cortes 
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/05-06/cortes-tenochtitlan/  

Canoes Vs. Conquistadors—Spanish Explorers Almost Lost Their Ship To A Fleet Of Stealthy Canoes

On April 8, 1518, Juan de Grijalva sailed from Cuba with four ships on an expedition to the Aztec shores of the Gulf of Mexico. His goals were exploration, gold, and, if possible, colonial settlement. The conquistadors fought one sizable battle at the native town of Champoton, a feisty settlement that had given Spanish adventurers trouble in the past. Yet, after that battle, the conquistadors faced virtually no violent resistance until the end of their expedition. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a Spaniard who was in the Grijalva expedition and later served with Hernán Cortés, wrote that the peaceful reception they received from the other local towns was due to the influence of the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II. The Aztec ruler allegedly encouraged his people to cooperate and trade with the Spaniards. The native population obeyed the emperor and the Spaniards successfully bartered for gold in several locations on their journey, usually exchanging worthless beads and cut glass for the native jewelry. Most impressively, the Spaniards spent six whole days near the Rio Jampa exchanging their baubles for gold.

As months passed by, the expedition began to run out of supplies. They sent one of the three ships, commanded by Pedro de Alvarado, back to Cuba in order to ask for supplies and reinforcements. With him also went any wounded Spaniards, as well as all the gold that had so far been accumulated. While the lone ship returned to Cuba, the remaining three vessels continued exploring the Mexican coast.

The peace and gold made the explorers complacent. Even though the sailors often anchored their ships near foreign cities, the lack of aggression made them comfortable enough to eventually begin neglecting lookout duty and inter-ship communication. While the expedition was still in regions firmly under Montezuma’s control, the Spaniards could get away with such behavior. Nevertheless, the explorers would soon be shocked out of their stupor.

Juan de Grijalva and his three remaining ships eventually reached the Pánuco River and anchored their ships where it met the gulf. As had become a regrettable habit, the sailors did not set up any effective lookouts and were generally inattentive in their security procedures. With these protective measures missing, the Spaniards were woefully unprepared for a threat that was silently rowing closer.

Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, they had entered hostile waters. The land around the mouth of the Pánuco River was on the periphery, or completely outside, of Montezuma’s sphere of influence. Consequently, the locals of the region had not received, or did not care to obey, the Aztec policy of appeasing the Spaniards. Instead, the locals living near the mouth of the Rio Pánuco gathered their canoes into a fleet and cast off to challenge the explorers.

Unbelievably, the stealthy fleet of natives successfully paddled to the smallest Spanish ship and began attaching ropes to the vessel. The absence of lookouts and a general lack of awareness among the Spaniards allowed the warriors in their canoes to work without any harassment from the oblivious sailors. Finally, one of the canoes paddled over to the ship’s anchor and chopped the line with an axe.

By now, the chop of the axe and the sounds of numerous oars slapping water had finally alerted the Spaniards. According to Bernal Díaz del Castillo, an eyewitness of the event, it was an incredibly odd sight—he estimated that he saw twenty large canoes, packed full of warriors. This imaginative native fleet was apparently trying to use their ropes and canoes to haul away the ship. While some of the warriors paddled the canoes, the remainder of the force used their bows to rain arrows down on the crew of the roped ship. Yet, unfortunately for the fleet of canoes, the sailors in the ship had by now grabbed their crossbows and muskets to return fire.

The commotion caught the attention of the other expedition ships. Eager to help their comrades, the crews from the unmolested vessels grabbed their crossbows and muskets before hopping into rowboats and set off paddling toward the fleet of canoes. With crossbow bolts and musket balls flying at the local force from both the roped ship and the oncoming rowboats, the warriors in the canoes began to take heavy losses. Now that the prospect of stealing the ship was impossible, the natives dropped their ropes and frantically paddled for safety. Unfortunately, Bernal Díaz claimed that he and his comrades were able to injure more than a third of the warriors before the canoes fell out of range. After the odd incident, the expedition gave the Rio Pánuco a nickname—the Rio de Canoas, or the River of Canoes.

The fight against the canoe fleet prompted Juan de Grijalva to began retracing his path back toward Cuba. On the return trip, the explorers faced no more attacks from the towns they encountered. Instead, the journey home was filled with trading and at least one case of theft. By the time Juan de Grijalva returned home, his expedition had obtained a treasure of gold worth an estimated 20,000 16th-century silver pesos.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Indian Canoe, painted by Albert Bierstadt  (1830–1902), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz, translated by J. M. Cohen. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.