The full Conquest of Mexico covered a much larger stretch of history than just the march of Hernan Cortes on his way to Tenochtitlan in 1519. That was simply the tip of the spear. Centuries of bloodshed, brutality and eradication were still to follow as waves of Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors, along with their assorted priests, arrived on the beautiful shores of Central and South America.
In this book, I have chosen to focus strictly on that fateful march of a fledgling Captain-General and his 400 anxious followers. Barely the shoreline of the land they found had ever been seen by European eyes before. As they met with locals their imaginations were gorged with stories of gold, magic and powerful cities floating among the purple mountains to the West.
They also discovered that this land was ruled by a single god-like man, Moctezuma, whose vast armies patrolled the far reaches of the empire collecting tribute and keeping order. On the surface, this federation of smaller cities and tribes appeared to support Moctezuma, feeding his desire to build the capital city of Tenochtitlan to even grander and more elaborate heights. But as history has often shown, a lack of resources for some can generate marvelous creativity.
Knowing he didn’t have the manpower to confront Moctezuma head-on, Cortes began to identify those cities that truly supported the Emperor and those that simply placated him. This was done through translators as well as the help of a beautiful native slave girl named Malinalli, a young woman who had her own motives for helping the General.
An alliance was built. A “Coalition of the Willing,” you could say. Small tribes working together, but always at the behest of Cortes. The young General proved his worth in the battle field against those natives who did not treat with him peacefully; unleashing weapons of war the locals had never seen before: cannon, muskets, armor and horses.
Repeatedly, the Emperor sent messengers to Cortes, begging him to turn back. And repeatedly the feisty General ignored the requests, claiming he was on a mission from his King and his God, following the True Cross with the intention of converting the entire nation to Christianity while filling the coffers of the Spanish Crown.
In this book, Part 1 of a 2-part epic, I have dropped two time traveling youngsters from our own time into the midst of this cultural upheaval. They will experience everything that the actual participants would have experienced along the way: harsh climates, alien food, beautiful performances, gruesome battles and horrific human sacrifices. History is not always pretty, so be warned.
Our two protagonists will be confronted with decisions, questions and desires pushing them to grow up fast in this vastly different time and space. They will gain a deeper understanding of the pre-Contact landscape, people and traditions as I hope the reader will as well. The Conquest of Mexico still speaks to us today, offering insight into human behavior and runaway ambition that continues to be relevant even 500 years later.
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