Gangland Read Online Free PDF Page A

a dominant group or capital city.
    Cortés and his men were not the only Spaniards in Mexico when they landed. An earlier expedition had arrived by accident, lost in a storm and shipwrecked on the Yucatán coast. The survivors were quickly captured by the local Mayans, who distributed them among the area's important families as slaves. By the time Cortés arrived, disease and other fates had killed all but two—Gonzalo Guerrero, who won his freedom from the Maya by showing bravery in battle, and Gerónimo de Aguilar, a Franciscan friar who escaped and was accepted as a free man by a neighboring group of Mayans who had a grudge against his captors.
    Cortés and his men lived in relative peace among the Mayans there. Before long, he was told stories of two other white men in the vicinity. He eventually met with both Guerrero and Aguilar and told them of his plan to colonize Mexico for Spain. Aguilar agreed to be his guide and translator, while Guerrero rebuffed him, choosing instead to return to his group of Mayans to fight against the Spanish.
    While exploring the Yucatán, Cortés fell in love with a Mayan slave. He was told she was a captured Aztec princess, but modern historians doubt that. Her exact name is also disputed—she is usually called Malinche, Malintzin or Mallinali—but Cortés named her Doña Marina. She would stay with him in Mexico and later had a son by him.
    Aware that he had to succeed in Mexico or face the governor and potential execution, Cortés asked the Mayans if they knew of any big cities, preferably those with gold. He was told of such a place, farther north, called Cempoala. This was the capital of the Totonac nation and had about 20,000 people in what is now the state of Veracruz. The Cempoala townspeople welcomed the conquistadores and quickly agreed to allow them to build their own settlement nearby. Later, some decided to ally with the Spanish to invade the cities of the Aztecs, where they said the real wealth was. While there, Cortés learned of a conspiracy by some of his men to sail back to Cuba, so he destroyed his entire fleet, forcing his men to stay in Mexico.
    Together, the Spaniards and the Totonacs made the long trip northwest. They first reached the territory of a nation called the Tlaxcala. Over the course of the previous century, the Mexica-led Aztecs had launched a series of conflicts later referred to as the Flower Wars, in which they conquered and absorbed most of their neighboring nations. The one exception was the Tlaxcala.
    The Tlaxcala didn't trust the newcomers and attacked. They were excellent warriors and surprised the Spanish with their fighting ability, eventually surrounding them. This could have been the end of Cortés and his men, but for some tense negotiations which managed to change the minds of the Tlaxcalteca leaders. Tired of constant conflict and fearing they would be the Mexicas' next victims unless they acted, the Tlaxcala allied with the Spanish and Totonacs and agreed to send a thousand Tlaxcalteca soldiers to help invade the Aztec cities. As part of the deal, the Tlaxcalteca leaders would not pay tribute to the Spanish and would be allowed to build a fortress in Tenochtitlan, and rule it militarily. Fearing an alliance between the Mexica and the Tlaxcala, who shared a language and religion, if he did not acquiesce, Cortés agreed.
    By that time, the Aztec leaders in Tenochtitlan had heard of the Spanish advance and sent emissaries with gifts and offers of peace. Cortés accepted and sent two of his own men to speak with the Mexica.
    Against the advice of the Tlaxcalteca, Cortés advanced on the city of Cholula. The second-biggest city in Mexico after Tenochtitlan with about 100,000 residents, Cholula was a multi-ethnic religious center with a pyramid and 365 temples. Although greatly influenced by the Aztecs, Cholula was not aligned with any nation and had almost no military, depending instead on the help of the