Who was the woman given to Cortes as an interpreter, later called 'Malinche' by the Mexicans?

Dona Marina. Dona Marina, fluent in three local languages, played a crucial interpreting role for Cortes during the conquest of Mexico.Read more: WorldHist0060 — The Conquest of Mexico and Peru: Cortes and Pizarro

The Conquest of Mexico and Peru: Cortes and Pizarro

Atahualpa offered a roomful of gold to save his life, the largest ransom ever recorded. Pizarro took the gold and killed him anyway.

This article covers the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires, led by Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro.

Hernan Cortes, who led the conquest of the Aztec empire, in a later portrait held at the Museo del Prado. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

📑 Contents

1Who Financed the Conquistadores
2Cortes Arrives in Mexico
3Dona Marina, the Interpreter
4The Fall of Tenochtitlan
5Pizarro’s Rise from Poverty
6Atahualpa’s Ransom and Execution
7Why Both Empires Fell So Fast
8Bartolome de las Casas’s Criticism
9Exam Wisdom: Cortes vs Pizarro

🏛️ Must Know

Who Financed the Conquistadores

Two LeadersSpanish conquest of Mexico and Peru was largely the work of two men: Hernan Cortes (1488-1547) and Francisco Pizarro (1478-1541).
Private MoneyTheir expeditions were financed by Spanish landed gentry, municipal officials, and noblemen, not the crown alone.
Share of BootyMen who joined an expedition supplied their own equipment, in exchange for a share of any expected booty.

Cortes Arrives in Mexico

1519Cortes set sail from Cuba to Mexico in 1519, and made friends with the Totonacs, who wanted freedom from Aztec rule.
Montezuma’s FearThe Aztec king Montezuma was terrified by Spanish gunpowder and horses, and believed Cortes was a returning exiled god.
Tlaxcalans MassacredThe fierce Tlaxcalans resisted the Spanish stiffly before submitting, and were then cruelly massacred.

The Fall of Tenochtitlan

A Massive CityTenochtitlan was five times larger than Madrid, with 100,000 inhabitants, twice Seville’s population.
House ArrestCortes placed Montezuma under house arrest and tried to rule through him, installing Christian images in the Aztec temple.
Night of TearsAn Aztec uprising killed 600 conquistadores and many allies, in what became known as the Night of Tears.
Smallpox and FallBy the time Cortes returned with just 180 soldiers, smallpox was already killing the Aztecs, and the city soon fell.

Pizarro’s Rise from Poverty

Humble StartUnlike the educated Cortes, Pizarro was uneducated and poor, joining the army before reaching the Caribbean in 1502.
El DoradoPizarro pursued stories of the Inca kingdom as a land of gold and silver, called El Dorado.
Royal BackingHe showed the Spanish king Inca gold jars, and was promised governorship of Inca lands if he conquered them.

Atahualpa’s Ransom and Execution

1532Atahualpa won the Inca throne after a civil war in 1532, just as Pizarro’s expedition arrived.
The TrapPizarro captured Atahualpa by setting a trap for him.
Massive RansomAtahualpa offered a roomful of gold as ransom, the most extravagant ransom recorded in history.
Broken PromisePizarro took the gold but had Atahualpa executed anyway, then let his men loot the country freely.

📘 Good to Know

Dona Marina, the Interpreter

Given to CortesThe people of Tabasco gave Cortes a woman attendant named Dona Marina, fluent in three local languages.
Crucial RoleChronicler Bernal Diaz wrote that without Dona Marina, the Spanish “could not have understood the language of New Spain.”
“Malinche”Mexicans called her “Malinche,” meaning “betrayal.” A “malinchista” today means someone who slavishly copies a foreign people’s ways.

Why Both Empires Fell So Fast

Pyramid StructureThe Inca empire’s pyramid-like organisation meant that capturing the king could make the whole chain of command collapse quickly.
Same LogicThis is exactly what happened when the Spanish invaded: capturing Atahualpa broke Inca resistance fast.
Disease TooWarfare and disease together were primarily responsible for the sudden destruction of both the Aztec and Inca civilizations.

Bartolome de las Casas’s Criticism

The CriticThe Spanish friar Bartolome de las Casas was the sharpest contemporary critic of the Spanish conquerors.
Cruelty RecordedHe observed that Spanish soldiers often tested their swords on the naked flesh of the Arawaks.
Potosi’s SilverBy the 1550s, the Spanish had found vast silver mines at Potosi and enslaved local people to work them.

🌟 Great to Know

Curious Details of the Conquest

Bernal Diaz’s AweChronicler Bernal Diaz wrote that Tenochtitlan looked “like an enchanted vision,” so grand his soldiers wondered if it was a dream.
Charles V’s HonoursCortes became Captain-General of New Spain and was showered with honours by the Spanish king, Charles V.
Fast ConquestCortes completed the conquest of Mexico in just two years, extending Spanish control into Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras.

Exam Point of View

Exam Wisdom: Cortes vs Pizarro

WhyNo previous-year question on Cortes or Pizarro has appeared in the papers indexed on this site yet. This card offers general exam wisdom instead of a specific citation.
Watch ForExams may swap the two conquistadores’ targets: Cortes conquered the Aztecs of Mexico, Pizarro conquered the Incas of Peru, not the reverse.
Key DatesKeep the two conquest years separate: Cortes defeated the Aztecs in 1521, and Pizarro captured the Inca kingdom in 1532.

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