We kept wondering why the GPS kept trying to take us on a 7 hour trip from southern Spain to Extremadura, via Cordoba, rather than the 5 hour, direct route. Well, Sevilla was never-never land for the GPS. This is not a problem in Spain, as the signage is perfection and I followed our route on a really good Michelin road atlas which we purchased when we arrived. It is a really good idea to supplement a GPS with a good road atlas.
This is the first day that we have not had sunny skies and very warm temperatures, it was cloudy and then poured rain, a perfect day to drive. We stopped for fuel and a café con leche, then, as we got closer to our destination of Trujillo, we stopped in a bigger city to buy a mouse for the laptop as our mouse has packed it in. We shopped in a big grocery chain that is owned by a French company, it was a marvellous grocery store and as is usual, it carries local products from Extremadura, so we loaded up on cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and a few other items.
In Granada, there sits a monument of Queen Isabella of Castile granting Columbus (Cristobal Colon) his commission to sail and find a route to the Indies. Columbus made four voyages, the last of which was in 1504. By that time the Portugese had reached Brazil and opened up a trade route to the Indies. In the early 1500's, it was thought that the Americas were islands or a peninsula off Asia and it would be possible to sail through to China. By about 1525, the Spanish understood that a large landmass existed between Europe and Asia.
The Conquistadores
Many of the conquistadores came from Extremadura. Extremadura was a poor, rural backwater which turned out rough, unsympathetic and hardy men who tended to show little emotion, men fit to endure the rigours of conquering and plundering the Americas.
A difficulty lies in studying history, for me, it was most profound in reading about the conquest of the Aztecs of present day Mexico and of the Incas of present day Peru. In studying history, I generally take a bit of a dispassionate approach, but that proved difficult in studying the cruelty and abject greed of the conquistadores.
Cortes and the Conquest of the Aztecs
Cortes came from Medellin, Extremadura, he was of lesser gentry, his family fought against the Moors and as mercenaries in wars with Italy. He ended up in Spanish controlled Cuba, which was a land of slavery, starvation and forced conversion to Christianity for the indigenous population. Cortes raised cattle in Cuba and began to mine gold, thus making him very wealthy. Cortes sailed with 11 well supplied ships and crossed from Cuba to the Yucatan. The Mayans understood that the Spanish were cruel invaders who came to conquer and steal.
Cortes took a Mayan mistress who also acted as an interpreter. He continued north to the land of the Aztecs. Unfortunately, the Aztecs were not politically cohesive, many tribes resisted Aztec rule; Cortes was able to use this to his advantage by securing an alliance with the Tlaxcalans to fight the Aztecs.
The history of Cortes’ defeat of the Aztecs reads like a legend, against all odds and with blunders and his near demise many times, he comes through. He was an incredibly daring man, an opportunist and a master manipulator, these traits served him well and led to his success.
Cortes entered the great Aztec city of Tenachtitlan (Mexico City) which was built on a lake with causeways and bridges. It was an amazing city of waterways; full of canoes, shrines, palaces, grand houses, great white pyramids, suburbs of adobe homes and a huge market loaded with exotic food. The Spanish thought it magical, as there were fine furnishings, quilts, mattresses and colourful feathers. However, they were daunted by the Aztec ritual of blood sacrifices of humans.
The Aztecs treated the Spanish as guests, but Cortes arrested the Aztec ruler Montezuma, held him prisoner and started to take the Aztec gold. After an attack on the Aztecs during the spring festival, when defenceless dancers and singers were killed, the Aztecs rose up. The Spanish murdered Montezuma along with other nobles and prepared to flee the city. The Aztecs had destroyed the bridges, forcing the Spanish to erect a bridge using timber from one of the palaces. During their flight, only about a quarter of the Spanish escaped, those who did not fall into the canals were sacrificed to the Aztec god of war. We do not know why the Aztecs did not destroy Cortes’ weakened force when they had the opportunity.
A smallpox outbreak, brought by the Spanish, ravished the Aztec community. This also led to starvation, as the people were too weak to tend to the crops. Cortes rebuilt his forces and decided to wage war on the Aztecs. He captured all the towns around the lake and punished those who resisted with extreme cruelty, then he attacked the city.
The Aztecs would not surrender the city; therefore, Cortes laid siege. The behaviour of the Spanish was counter to the Aztec code of conduct; they viewed the Spanish with contempt for fleeing without shame, for hiding behind cannons and guns and for killing Aztec warriors from a safe distance. The Spanish were equally frustrated with the conduct of the Aztecs, as they refused to surrender when all was lost. Cortes cut off the fresh water and food supply.
The siege lasted for 80 days and finally the Aztecs surrendered. The Spanish took the gold and their native allies were given gems, jade and feathers. Cortes received the fame and fortune that he desired, while destroying an ancient civilization. He retired in Sevilla and lived to the age of 68.
Tomorrow we will move on to Francisco Pizarro and his half brothers of Trujillo, and their conquest of the Inca Empire. It will have to be an abridged version of events or I could go on endlessly.
We are in Trujillo tonight in an awesome little apartment that will be our home for the next 9 nights.
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