“It was an established tradition, he told him, among the Mexicans, that their ancestors came originally from a remote region, and conquered the provinces now subject to his dominion: that after they were settled there, the great captain who conducted this colony returned to his own country, promising that at some future period his descendants should visit them, assume the government, and reform their constitution and laws; that from what he had heard and seen of Cortes and his followers he was convinced they were the very persons whose appearance the Mexican traditions and prophecies taught them to expect; that accordingly he had received them, not as strangers, but as relations of the same blood and parentage, and desired that they might consider themselves as masters in his dominions, for both himself and his subjects should be ready to comply with their will, and even to prevent their wishes.
“Cortes made a reply in his usual style, with respect to the dignity and power of his sovereign, and his intention in sending him into that country; artfully endeavouring so to frame his discourse that it might coincide as much as possible with the idea which Montezuma had formed concerning the origin of the Spaniards.
“Mexico, or Tenuchtitlan, as it was anciently called by the natives, is situated in a large plain, environed by mountains of such height, that, though within the torrid zone, the temperature of its climate is mild and healthful. All the moisture which descends from the high grounds is collected in several lakes, the two largest of which, of about ninety miles in circuit, communicate with each other. The waters of the one are fresh, those of the others brackish. On the banks of the latter, and on some small islands adjoining to them, the capital of Montezuma’s empire was built.
“The access to the city was by artificial causeways or streets formed of stones and earth, about thirty feet in breadth. As the waters of the lake during the rainy season overflowed the flat country, these causeways were of considerable length. That of Tacuba, on the west, extended a mile and a half; that of Tepeaca, on the north-west, three miles; that of Cuoyacan, towards the south, six miles.
“On the east there was no causeway, and they could be approached only by canoes. In each of these causeways were openings at proper intervals, through which the waters flowed, and over these beams of timber were laid, which, being covered with earth, the causeway or street had everywhere an uniform appearance.
“As the approaches to the city were singular, its construction was remarkable. Not only the temples of their gods, but the houses belonging to the monarch, and to persons of distinction, were of such dimensions, that, in comparison with any other buildings which had been hitherto discovered in America, they might be termed magnificent. The habitations of the common people were mean, resembling the huts of other Indians. But they were all placed in a regular manner, on the banks of the canals which passed through the city in some of its districts, or in the sides of the streets which intersected it in other quarters.
“In several places were large openings or squares, one of which, allotted for the great market, is said to have been so spacious that forty or fifty thousand persons carried on traffic there. In this city, the pride of the New World, and the noblest monument of the industry and art of man, the Spaniards reckon that there were at least sixty thousand inhabitants.”
The explanation given to the Spaniards by the King of Mexico of his conduct in receiving them in the manner he did—humbling himself in the presence of his European visitors—proves that the founders of the Mexican Empire were white men, similar to the Spaniards; and, in firm belief in the promise of the great chief—that at some future time his descendants would visit the Mexicans—the king made up his mind to deliver the empire into the hands of Cortes, as the representative of that chief.
So that, even when Montezuma was kept a prisoner, and ill-treated by these Spaniards, he submitted with the utmost humility to every indignity without offering the slightest opposition. He only discovered his mistake regarding the identity of these men when Cortes tried to impose the forms of the Roman Catholic religion, and placed the image of the Virgin Mary in their great temple in Mexico. Then, and only then, did he resent, and allow the Mexican nobles to assert their liberty, and to take up arms against their cruel invaders, who had broken every international law, and usurped the power of their kingdom.
The cruelty and the superstition of the Spaniards in New Spain are well known throughout the civilized world, so that it is needless to recount them here. These usurpers did all in their power to destroy every monument of the ancient Mexicans, under the ignorant impression that every building was a heathen temple, and every statue the image of a pagan god, to whom prayers and sacrifices were offered. They even built churches on the tops of some of the large Pyramids, thinking that these were temples, erected for the performance of idolatrous worship!