Cold Open

It’s February 3rd, 1519, in Havana, Cuba.

It’s a chilly morning and Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés is dockside, overseeing preparations for his upcoming expedition.

Fresh horses, water, and boxes of dried meat are loaded on board Cortés’s eleven ships. In a few days’ time, this fleet will depart for the west, in search of gold and treasure in a land yet to be fully explored by Europeans: Mexico.

Cortés’ productive morning is interrupted though when two messengers arrive with an official decree from the Spanish governor of Cuba.

The messengers hand Cortés a letter from the Governor. And it’s not good news. Cortés has not made himself popular with the local aristocracy during his time in Cuba. So, the governor is canceling Cortés’s expedition to Mexico.

Cortés is stunned. Everything he’s worked so hard for is about to slip away. But he refuses to accept defeat. Ignoring the Governor’s orders, Cortés tells his crew to work even harder. Because they’ll be leaving sooner than expected.

Officially, it’s an act of insubordination. But Cortés is confident that no one will stop him. Even the Governor’s messengers see things his way. Swayed by the promise of great riches, they decide not to take Cortés into custody, but to join his expedition instead.

And while it’s true that Cortés’s crew will become very rich on this voyage, none of them yet know that this is a one-way trip. Once they depart, they will never again return to Cuba.

After defying the Governor’s orders, Hernán Cortés will sail his eleven ships and over 600 crew west to explore a vast new continent. Cortés won’t be the first European to set foot in Mexico, but little is known about the land, except that it’s inhabited by people who worship their own gods and are rich with gold. So, Cortés wants to convert the natives to Christianity and take as much gold for himself. But the expedition’s success will do more than enrich Cortés and his men, it will shape the future of an entire country as Mexico will change forever when Hernán Cortés first reaches its shores on March 4th, 1519.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is March 4th, 1519: Conquistador Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico.

Act One

It’s the morning of March 4th, 1519, just off the coast of Mexico, a month after the Spanish ships left Cuba.

There’s a brisk wind and the fleet of Hernán Cortés cuts swiftly through the churning waters. From the flagship, Cortés peers out, beyond the waves and spray, toward the horizon, eager for his first close look at the continent he has come to exploit. 

The land stretching out before him is flat and thickly covered in rainforest. So, Cortés doesn't see that among the dark trees are watching eyes which have spotted his approaching ships. Warnings are already being passed along ancient roads, and armies are being readied because Cortés's reputation precedes him.

About a month prior, Cortés and his men first landed on Cozumel, an island twelve miles off the Mexican mainland.

Cortés and his men were initially impressed by the indigenous Maya society, their well-built houses, and their giant limestone pyramid by the sea. But inside that pyramid, they found something that horrified them: a bloodstained altar chamber littered with human bones. The inhabitants of Cozumel performed human and animal sacrifices here to appease their gods.

As a devout Christian, Cortés believed it was his duty to convert the islanders to Catholicism. So, he ordered the altar chamber be scrubbed of blood and bones, then had his men remove all statues of the local gods, roll them down the pyramid steps, and smash them into pieces. As for the Maya themselves, they were told to disavow their old gods and embrace a new faith. If they refused, they would be killed.

Faced with little choice, the locals converted to Christianity. Cortés took this as a great victory, and his crew of 600 soldiers loitered on Cozumel for a few more weeks. While on the island, they met a Spanish friar named Gerónimo, who was shipwrecked there seven years earlier. In that time, Gerónimo had learned the local language, so Cortés recruited him as the expedition’s translator.

Then finally, after about a month on Cozumel, Cortés sailed west with his fleet once again. Now, they are nearing the Yucatan Peninsula. But word of Cortés's brutality on Cozumel has reached the mainland before him, and indigenous armies are watching for his fleet’s arrival.

After his first sighting of the Mexican coast, Cortés leads his ships around the tip of the Peninsula to the mouth of the Tabasco River. As the Spaniards come ashore, they are met by thousands of Maya warriors.

The two sides eye each other warily. Each seems so strangely dressed to the eyes of the other. Then Cortés makes an official proclamation on behalf of the Spanish government. Speaking through the translator Gerónimo, the newcomers claim the Maya land as their own. They promise to take only what they need and assure the locals that they will be kind and peaceful new overlords. These haughty announcements do not win over the Maya, who aren’t interested in ceding land to any invaders. So soon, this tense encounter explodes into battle.

Cortés himself has no experience as a military leader, and his men are a ragtag group of treasure seekers and sailors. But the Spaniards have several advantages. The first is superior technology. The Maya can hurl spears and fire arrows but they are no match for the metal armor the Europeans wear, who also have ten brass cannons on their ships which Cortés is quick to deploy.

Although the cannonballs do considerable damage to the Maya ranks, it isn’t this heavy ammunition that wins the battle – instead, it's horses. As tough and well-trained as the Maya warriors are, they have never seen horses before and are terrified of the beasts charging at them with thunderous hooves and bare teeth. Cortés only has 16 cavalrymen, but it’s enough to make the Maya turn and run. When the fighting is over, more than 800 Maya lie dead, while just two Spaniards have been killed.

The local people are left terrified. To placate these dangerous invaders, in the days after the battle, they bring Cortés an assortment of gifts: food, gold, and twenty women to be used as slaves.

Cortés loads his men and his loot onto his ships and prepares to sail further up the coast. He feels vindicated as he departs because such a decisive victory in battle and the subsequent submission of the locals are proof that God must be on his side. And Cortés will have plenty more opportunities to exert his might over the indigenous people of Mexico in the weeks and months to come. Because his exploration and exploitation of this New World has only just begun.

Act Two

It’s April 23rd, 1519, more than seven weeks after Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico.

Cortés and his men have set up a new camp more than two hundred miles up the coast from Tabasco. In his tent, Cortés swats away a persistent fly as he looks over a hastily drawn map of the area. He is deciding where to lead his men next when there’s a sudden commotion in the camp outside. Cortés quickly pulls his metal breastplate over his head and marches out of the tent. A new band of locals has appeared at the tree line and the Spanish sailors have readied their weapons to defend themselves. But Cortés realizes that this group belongs to a different indigenous civilization in the Maya - these warriors are from the great Aztec Empire, which rules this part of Mexico from coast to coast.

The leader of the group is Teuhtile, an emissary from the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma. He’s been sent to make contact with the Europeans and learn why they have come to these lands.

In this first meeting between cultures, violence is avoided this time, but there is still a language barrier between the two peoples. The Spaniards’ translator, Geronimo, only speaks Mayan. Teuhtile speaks a completely different language.

Communication seems almost impossible until one of the twenty young women given to the Spaniards as slaves, reveals she is fluent in both Aztec and Mayan languages. Her name is Malintzin, and Cortés pairs her with Gerónimo to translate Spanish into Mayan and then Mayan into Aztec. This is an important development for Cortés. He’s in Mexico to take gold and spread Christianity, but he knows he doesn’t have the numbers to accomplish either of those goals by force alone. Instead, he plans to use his translators to try a different tactic - diplomacy.

He asks Teuhtile for an audience with his leader, the Aztec Emperor Montezuma. Wanting proof that the Aztecs are as rich as he’s heard, Cortés gives Teuhtile an armored helmet and requests it be sent back to him from Montezuma filled with gold. The Aztecs live amongst plentiful gold and don’t understand the Europeans’ thirst for it. They prize works of craft like jewelry, blankets, and tapestries, more than they value the yellow rocks they find in the ground.

So, eight days later, Cortés gets the helmet back from Montezuma, and it is filled with gold. But this isn’t the only gift Montezuma has for the Europeans. He sends back dozens of glittering treasures, including a solid gold disc the size of a wagon wheel, finely home to resemble the Aztec sun god. Cortés and his men are elated to be given such enormous wealth. But despite the Aztecs’ generosity, Cortés doesn’t get everything he wants. Montezuma refuses to meet with him. Instead, he demands that Cortés take the gold and go back to wherever he came from.

This is not the answer Cortés wanted to hear. Montezuma’s golden gifts haven’t satisfied him – they’ve only whetted his appetite. So again, Cortés demands an audience with Montezuma, and again he is given treasure, denied a meeting, and told to leave. Acting as an intermediary, Teuhtile doesn’t understand why Cortés won’t give up – until he learns the man’s dedication to his cause.

Cortés says he won’t stop until every single Aztec – including Montezuma himself – is a devout Christian. Shortly after learning this, Teuhtile and his men leave abruptly. They’ve seen enough of these European invaders and want nothing more to do with them.

Frustrated in his desire to meet the Emperor, Cortés fears that war is inevitable. So, he decides that he must strengthen his position in Mexico. In a temporary camp, even with his advanced technology, Cortés is vulnerable to attack. What he needs is a more permanent and defendable settlement. Somewhere with a harbor. Somewhere with walls. Furthering his exploration, he finds an unhappy local tribe known as the Totonacs. They are heavily taxed by Montezuma, and Cortés uses this grudge to recruit them as allies. Then in May of 1519, the Totonacs help the Spaniards build the first permanent European settlement in Mexico, which Cortés names Veracruz.

None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the translator, Malintzin. By now she’s far more than just an interpreter for Cortés. Malintzin has become the conquistador’s mistress as well, and she will be at Cortés’ side as he embarks on a devastating conquest of the mighty Aztec Empire.

But before he can ever think of claiming the famous gold of the Aztecs, Cortés will first have to face down a rebellion in his own crew - one which will only end with bloodshed and leave Cortés’ fleet lying at the bottom of the ocean.

Act Three

It’s June 1519, in Veracruz, three months after Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico.

During their short time in the country, Cortés and his men have acquired more gold than they could possibly dream of. For Cortés, it’s still not enough. But some of his crew are growing impatient. They have families back in Cuba, and they want to return to the Spanish-ruled Island and spend their new wealth. They’re also tired of taking orders from Cortés and risking their lives in this strange land. So, rumors are growing that Cortés will soon face a mutiny.

Although this voyage began when Cortés himself disobeyed orders, he cannot let his own men defy him. To take down the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma, Cortés will need every bit of strength at his command. He cannot let any of his men go back to Cuba. So he executes the ringleaders of the mutiny, but to prevent any further talk of retreat, Cortés then takes a remarkable step - and orders his fleet to be scuttled. The men still loyal to him start cutting lines, ditching anchors, running ships aground, and sinking others. By removing his only means of retreat, Cortés sends a message to his men and to the Aztecs that the Spaniards are in Mexico for good.

Then over the next two years, Cortés will cut a swath of destruction from east to west that will result in the deaths of tens of thousands of indigenous people, including Emperor Montezuma. The Aztecs don’t only fall in battle, however. The Europeans have brought with them smallpox and other diseases which the Aztecs have no natural defense against. It will be a swift and cruel end to a once powerful civilization.

From Mexico, Cortés will then continue to explore Central America, going as far west as California and as far south as Honduras. But these costly expeditions won’t reward the conquistador with the same riches he found when he first arrived in Mexico. Eventually, Cortés will return to Spain, where he’ll die in poverty in 1547. Today, he is remembered most as a cruel conqueror, motivated by greed and racism, who nevertheless changed the face of an entire continent after he first arrived in Mexico on March 4th, 1519.

Outro

Next on History Daily. March 5th, 1770. A street fight between British soldiers and American colonists turns into a bloodbath, escalating a conflict that will lead to a War of Independence.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Matthew Filler.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Jack O’Brien.

Edited by Joel Callen.

Managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.