[1] According to Clavigero, II. 162, the 30th of May 1521, on which day
Cortes dated the commencement of this memorable siege. - E.
[2] Corpus Christi fell that year, according to Clavigero, on the 30th May,
so that the occupation of Iztapalapa, by which the investment of
Mexico was completed, was on the 3d of June.
[3] The whole of this topographical account of Mexico and its approaches
is added by the editor, and has been placed in the text, distinguished
by inverted commas, as too long for a note. A plan is added,
constructed from a comparison of the maps in Diaz and Clavigero, both
evidently drawn without any actual survey, and corrected by means of
the excellent map of the vale of Mexico given by Humboldt. By means of
a great drain, made considerably posterior to the conquest, the lake
has been greatly diminished in magnitude, insomuch that the city is
now above three miles from the lake; so that the accurate map of
Humboldt does not now serve for the ancient topography of Mexico and
its near environs. - E.
[4] It is hard to guess which way the brigantines could get there, as by
the maps both of Diaz and Clavigero, the great double causeway of
Xoloc or Iztapalapa, ought to have completely prevented his
penetrating to that part of the lake. It was probably Xoloc against
which this attack was made, and Diaz may have mistaken the name after
an interval of fifty-one years; for so long intervened between the
siege of Mexico in 1521, and 1572, when he informs us his history was
concluded. - E.
[5] Perhaps along the mound or causeway of Mexicaltzinco; by which he
approached towards the great causeway of Xoloc, and the position of De
Oli at Cojohuacan. - E.
[6] Though not mentioned by Diaz, this necessarily implies that one of the
bridges of each causeway must have been taken possession of by the
Spaniards, to allow the brigantines to get through into those parts of
the lake which were intersected by the causeways. - E.
[7] Though not especially mentioned by Diaz, it appears that Cortes had
taken the immediate command of the detachment of De Oli, at Cojohuacan,
which formed the southern attack. - E.
[8] On some former occasions the xiquipil has been already explained as
denoting eight thousand men. - E.
[9] Clavigero, II. 180, supplies the brevity used by Diaz on this occasion.
He says that the chiefs of the districts of Matlatzinco, Malinalco,
and Cohuixco came to Cortes and entered into a confederacy with him
against Mexico; by which means, added to his former alliances, he was
now able to have employed "more warriors against Mexico than Xerxes
did against Greece." Clavigero everywhere deals in monstrous
exaggeration, while Diaz is uniformly modest, and within due bounds of
credibility. Even in the few _miracles_ of which Diaz makes mention,
his credulity is modestly guarded by devout fear of the holy
office. - E.
[10] The whole western division of Mexico called Tlaltelolco was now in
possession of the Spaniards, and probably destroyed by them to secure
their communications; and the miserable remnant of the brave Mexicans
had retired into the eastern division, named Tenochtitlan. - E.
[11] According to the genealogy of the Mexican kings in Clavigero, I. 240,
this princess, whose name was Tecuichpotzin, was queen successively to
her uncle Cuitlahuatzin, and her cousin Guatimotzin. After the
conquest, she became a Christian, by the name of Donna Elizabeta
Montezuma, marrying three noble Spaniards in succession; and from her
descended the two noble families of Cano Montezuma, and Andrea
Montezuma. Montezuma left likewise a son, Don Pedro Johualicahuatxin
Montezuma, whose male descendants failed in a great-grandson; but
there are several noble families both in Spain and Mexico descended
from that sovereign of Mexico in the female line. - E.
[12] We have formerly said, on the authority of Clavigero, that the siege
of Mexico commenced on the 30th of May, and as it ended on the 13th of
August, the siege, by this mode of reckoning, could only have lasted
76 days. It is highly probable, therefore, that the commencement of
the siege must have been on the 13th of May, and the 30th of Clavigero
may only be an error of the press. - E.
SECTION XIV.
_Occurrences in New Spain immediately subsequent to the reduction of
Mexico_.
As soon as Cortes had leisure to think of objects of internal regulation,
he gave orders to have the aqueduct restored by which the city of Mexico
was supplied with water, and to have the city cleared of the dead bodies
and repaired, so that it might be again habitable within two months. The
palaces and houses were ordered to be rebuilt, and a certain portion of
the city was allotted for the natives, while another part was reserved for
the residence of the Spaniards. Guatimotzin made application to our
general, in the name of many of his principal nobles, requesting that all
their women of rank who had been taken by our soldiers, might be restored
to their husbands and fathers. This was a matter of considerable
difficulty; yet the general allowed a search to be made, with an assurance
that all should be delivered up who were inclined to return. Every house
was accordingly searched; and though many were found, three only of the
whole number were inclined to return to their families; all the rest
expressed their abhorrence at the idolatry of their countrymen, besides
which, many of them declared that they were pregnant, and refused to quit
the soldiers to whom they were attached.
