Solution Manual for MKTG 8 8th

Edition Lamb Hair

McDaniel 1285432622
9781285432625

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CHAPTER 2 Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

This chapter begins with the learning outcome summaries, followed by a set of lesson plans for you to use to
deliver the content in Chapter 2.
Lecture (for large sections) on page 4
Company Clips (video) on page 6
Group Work (for smaller sections) on page 8
Review and Assignments begin on page 9
Review questions
Application questions
Application exercise
Ethics exercise
Video assignment
Case assignment
Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing from faculty around the country begin on page 20

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

2-1 Understand the importance of strategic planning

Strategic planning is the basis for all marketing strategies and decisions. These decisions affect the allocation of
resources and ultimately the financial success of the company.

2-2 Define strategic business units (SBUs)

Each SBU should have these characteristics: a distinct mission and a specific target market; control over
resources; its own competitors; a single business; plans independent from other SBUs in the organization. Each SBU
has its own rate of return on investment, growth potential, and associated risks, and requires its own strategies and
funding.

2-3 Identify strategic alternatives and know a basic outline for a marketing plan
Ansoff’s opportunity matrix presents four options to help management develop strategic alternatives: market
penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. In selecting a strategic alternative,
managers may use a portfolio matrix, which classifies strategic business units as stars, cash cows, problem children
(or question marks), and dogs, depending on their present or projected growth and market share. Alternatively, the
GE model suggests that companies determine strategic alternatives based on the comparisons between business
position and market attractiveness. A marketing plan should define the business mission, perform a situation
analysis, define objectives, delineate a target market, and establish components of the marketing mix. Other elements
that may be included in a plan are budgets, implementation timetables, required marketing research efforts, or
elements of advanced strategic planning.

2-4 Develop an appropriate business mission statement

The firm’s mission statement establishes boundaries for all subsequent decisions, objectives, and strategies. A
mission statement should focus on the market(s) the organization is attempting to serve rather than on the good or
service offered.

2-5 Describe the components of a situation analysis

In the situation (or SWOT) analysis, the firm should identify its internal strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and also
examine external opportunities (O) and threats (T). When examining external opportunities and threats, marketing
managers must analyze aspects of the marketing environment in a process called environmental scanning. The six
macroenvironmental forces studied most often are social, demographic, economic, technological, political and legal, and
competitive.

2-6 Identify sources of competitive advantage

There are three types of competitive advantage: cost, product/service differentiation, and niche. Sources of cost
competitive advantage include experience curves, efficient labor, no frills goods and services, government subsidies,
product design, reengineering, production innovations, and new methods of service delivery. A product/service
differentiation competitive advantage exists when a firm provides something unique that is valuable to buyers beyond just
low price. Niche competitive advantages come from targeting unique segments with specific needs and wants. The goal
of all these sources of competitive advantage is to be sustainable.

2-7 Explain the criteria for stating good marketing objectives

Objectives should be realistic, measurable, time specific, and compared to a benchmark. They must also be consistent and
indicate the priorities of the organization. Good marketing objectives communicate marketing management philosophies,
provide management direction, motivate employees, force executives to think clearly, and form a basis for control.

2-8 Discuss target market strategies

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Targeting markets begins with a market opportunity analysis, or MOA, which describes and estimates the size and
sales potential of market segments that are of interest to the firm. In addition, an assessment of key competitors in

Chapter 2 ♦ Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

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these market segments is performed. After the market segments are described, one or more may be targeted by the
firm.

2-9 Describe the elements of the marketing mix

The marketing mix is a blend of product, place, promotion, and pricing strategies (the four Ps) designed to produce
mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market. The starting point of the marketing mix is the product offering—
tangible goods, ideas, or services. Place (distribution) strategies are concerned with making products available when
and where customers want them. Promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal
selling. Price is what a buyer must give up in order to obtain a product and is often the most flexible of the four
marketing mix elements.

2-10 Explain why implementation, evaluation, and control of the marketing plan are
necessary
Before a marketing plan can work, it must be implemented—that is, people must perform the actions in the plan. The plan
should also be evaluated to see if it has achieved its objectives. Poor implementation can be a major factor in a plan’s
failure, but working to gain acceptance can be accomplished with task forces. Once implemented, one major aspect of
control is the marketing audit, and ultimately continuing to apply what the audit uncovered through postaudit tasks.

2-11 Identify several techniques that help make strategic planning effective
First, management must realize that strategic planning is an ongoing process and not a once-a-year exercise. Second,
good strategic planning involves a high level of creativity. The last requirement is top management’s support and
participation.

TERMS
cash cow market development niche competitive advantage
competitive advantage market opportunity analysis (MOA) planning
control market penetration portfolio matrix
cost competitive advantage marketing audit problem child (question mark)
diversification marketing mix product development
dog marketing myopia product/service differentiation
environmental scanning marketing objective competitive advantage

evaluation marketing plan star

experience curves marketing planning strategic business unit (SBU)
four Ps marketing strategy strategic planning
implementation mission statement sustainable competitive advantage
SWOT analysis

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LESSON PLAN FOR LECTURE
Brief Outline and Suggested PowerPoint Slides:

Learning Outcomes and Topics PowerPoint Slides

LO1 Understand the importance of strategic planning 1: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage
2: Learning Outcomes
2-1 The Nature of Strategic Planning 3: Learning Outcomes
4: Learning Outcomes
5: The Nature of Strategic Planning

6: Strategic Planning is…

LO2 Define strategic business units (SBUs) 7: Strategic Business Units (SBUs)
8: Characteristics of Strategic Business Units
2-2 Strategic Business Units
LO3 Identify strategic alternatives and know a basic outline for 9: Strategic Alternatives
a marketing plan 10: Ansoff’s Opportunity Matrix
11: Exhibit 2.1: Ansoff’s Strategic Opportunity
2-3 Strategic Alternatives Matrix
12: Exhibit 2.2: Innovation Matrix
13: Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Matrix
14: Exhibit 2.3: Portfolio Matrix for Large
Computer Manufacturer
15: Portfolio Matrix Strategies
16: Exhibit 2.4:, General Electric Model
17: What Is a Marketing Plan?
18: Why Write a Marketing Plan?
19: Exhibit 2.5: Elements of a Marketing Plan

LO4 Develop an appropriate business mission statement 20: Defining the Business Mission
21: Defining the Business Mission
2-4 Defining the Business Mission
LO5 Describe the components of a situation analysis 22: Conducting a Situation Analysis
23: SWOT Analysis
2-5 Conducting a Situation Analysis 24: Components of a SWOT Analysis
25: Environmental Scanning
26: Opportunities in Education
LO6 Identify sources of competitive advantage 27: Competitive Advantage
28: Competitive Advantage
2-6 Competitive Advantage 29: Cost Competitive Advantage
30: Sources of Cost Reduction
31: Examples of Product/Service Differentiation
32: Niche Competitive Advantage
33: Building Sustainable Competitive
Advantage
34: Sources of Sustainable Competitive
Advantage

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LO7 Explain the criteria for stating good marketing objectives 35: Setting Marketing Plan Objectives
36: Marketing Objectives
2-7 Setting Marketing Plan Objectives 37: Criteria for Good Marketing Objectives

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LO8 Discuss target market strategies 38: Describing the Target Market
39: Describing the Target Market
2-8 Describing the Target Market 40: Target Market Strategy
41: Target Market Strategy

LO9 Describe the elements of the marketing mix 42: The Marketing Mix
43: The Marketing Mix is…
2-9 The Marketing Mix 44: Marketing Mix: The “Four Ps”
45: Marketing Mix: The “Four Ps”
46: Marketing Mix: The “Four Ps”
47: Marketing Mix: The “Four Ps”
48: Whole Foods Changes Its Pricing Strategy
LO10 Explain why implementation, evaluation, and control of 49: Following Up the Marketing Plan
the marketing plan are necessary 50: Following Up the Marketing Plan
51: Postaudit Tasks
2-10 Following Up on the Marketing Plan

LO11 Identify several techniques that help make strategic 52: Effective Strategic Planning
planning effective 53: Techniques for Effective Strategic Planning
2-11 Effective Strategic Planning 54: Chapter 2 Videos

Suggested Homework:

This instructor manual contains assignments on the Nederlander Organization video and the Disney case.
The chapter prep card for each chapter contains numerous questions that can be assigned or used as the basis for
longer investigations into marketing.

LESSON PLANS FOR VIDEO

Company Clips
Segment Summary: The Nederlander Organization

The Nederlander Organization is a global theatre management company that backs productions, rents, and manages
Broadway style theatres. In this video, major managers discuss the strategic decisions behind the development of a
separate company to manage a loyalty program for theatre-goers. This company, Audience Rewards, allows a number of
theatre management companies to pursue strategic growth and other market opportunities.

These teaching notes combine activities that you can assign students to prepare before class, that you can do in class
before watching the video, that you can do in class while watching the video, and that you can assign students to complete
as assignments after watching the video.

During the viewing portion of the teaching notes, stop the video periodically where appropriate to ask students the
questions or perform the activities listed on the grid. You may even want to give the students the questions before starting
the video and have them think about the answer while viewing the segment. That way, students will be engaged in active
rather than passive viewing.

PRE-CLASS PREP FOR YOU: PRE-CLASS PREP FOR YOUR STUDENTS:

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 Preview the Company Clips video segment for Have students familiarize themselves with the
Chapter 2. This exercise reviews concepts for LO1, following terms and concepts: competitive advantage,
LO6, LO9, and LO10. marketing mix, target market strategy, mission
Review your lesson plan. statement, product/service differentiation, strategic
Make sure you have all of the equipment needed to planning, and sustainable competitive advantage.
show the video to the class, including the DVD and a Review both the Audience Rewards Web site
way to project the video. (www.audiencerewards.com) and Nederlander.com
You can also stream the video HERE with those concepts in mind.
VIDEO REVIEW EXERCISE
ACTIVITY
Begin by asking students “What is the goal of strategic planning?” [on the board, write
Warm Up “long-term profitability and growth”]
Segue into a discussion o
2.5 onto the board. Briefly explain each of the elements as you write them if students
have not become familiar with them from previous reading.
Remind students to keep the marketing plan elements in mind as they review the
In-class Preview
video.
Compare the concepts of market strategy and market mix. Ask students to predict the
Nederlander Organization’s target market strategy from what they learned in the first
video.
1. Based on what you heard in the video, what was the Nederlander Organization’s
marketing objective in creating Audience Rewards?
Viewing 2. Describe an element that makes up a competitive advantage for Audience Rewards.
Is it sustainable?
(solutions below) 3. What drives the Nederlander’s market strategy and which element(s) of the marketing
mix does it rely upon?

Send students back to

paragraph about how the
Have students break into
mission statement for the Nederlander Organization. When students finish, discuss
Follow-up how the mission statement supports what you saw in the video.
Ask “How can Audience Rewards sustain its competitive advantage?” The question
can be discussed by the class as a whole, within the small groups with professor
supervision, or assigned as an out-of-class exercise.

Solutions for Viewing Activities:

1. Based on what you heard in the video, what was the Nederlander Organization’s marketing objective in
creating Audience Rewards?

To offer a more complete Broadway experience by incentivizing customers to go to theatre more, spend more
money, and try out more art by recognizing and rewarding them across various markets and theatres.

2. Describe an element that makes up a competitive advantage for Audience Rewards. Is it sustainable?

The element that contributes to Audience Reward’s competitive advantage is the partnership with several major
theatre houses, production companies, and other arts venues. By being able to have the backing of more than just one
set of theatres, more points can be earned and more tickets redeemed. This also applies to the major partners such as
Delta Airlines, which extends the Audience Rewards market. It is likely that this is a sustainable competitive
advantage, because it would be challenging to find the same number of major theatre management houses to join
together in support of a rewards program.

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3. What drives the Nederlander’s market strategy and which element(s) of the marketing mix does it rely upon?

The Nederlander Organization’s market strategy is driven by the fact that they have a very high income demographic
that interests large companies (such as Delta Airlines) to determine ways they can partner with Nederlander to reach
that demographic. Nederlander Organization relies on providing its productions companies that rent the theatres
great promotion technology through Audience rewards.

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LESSON PLAN FOR GROUP WORK

In most cases, group activities should be completed after some chapter content has been covered, probably in the second
or third session of the chapter coverage. (See the “Lesson Plan for Lecture” above.) For the “Class Activity: Marketing
Strategy Analysis, ” divide the class into small groups of four or five people and provide the information and the
questions asked by the class activity, as described later in this chapter.

Class Activity – Marketing Strategy Analysis

In this exercise, students are asked to brainstorm with you, using an overhead projector or blackboard. Let the students
select several high-profile goods and services. Then get the class to help analyze the marketing strategy by answering the
following questions.

1. What is the product?

2. Who is the target market?
3. On what criteria is this market segmented?
4. What demographic factors affected the choice of this target?
5. What is the price strategy? Promotion strategy? Distribution strategy?
6. How is the product packaged? Why?
7. Who is the direct competition? Indirect competition? Which firms would be appropriate benchmarks for this firm?
What competitive advantage does this product have?
8. How are environmental factors affecting the marketing of this product? Consider social, demographic, legal,
political, economic, technological, and competitive factors.
9. Is the purchase of this product affected by psychological or social needs? Situational factors?
10. Is the marketer attempting market penetration? Market development? Product development? Diversification?
11. Does this company appear to have a total quality management orientation? What is its reputation on overall quality
when compared to the competition?
12. Is this firm known for being responsive to customers? Brainstorm a list of adjectives that describe this firm and its
products. How does this list fit with the concept of value?

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REVIEW AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR CHAPTER 2

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Your cousin wants to start his own business, and he is in a hurry. He has decided not to write a marketing
plan because he has thinks that preparing such a document would take too long. He says he doesn’t need
a formal proposal because he has already received funding from your uncle. Explain why it is important
for him to write a plan anyway.

Strategic marketing planning is the basis for all marketing strategies and decisions. The marketing plan is a written
document that acts as a guidebook of marketing activities for the marketing manager. By specifying objectives and
defining the actions required to attain them, a marketing plan provides the basis on which actual and expected
performance can be compared. Even when in a hurry, one can construct a brief marketing plan to help guide thinking
and serve as a framework for future activities.

2. After graduation, you decide to take a position as the marketing manager for a small snack-food
manufacturer. The company, Shur Snak, is growing, and this is the first time that the company has ever
employed a marketing manager. As such, there is no marketing plan in place for you to follow. Outline a
basic marketing plan for your boss to give her an idea of the direction you want to take the company.

The marketing plan should contain the following sections:

a. Business mission statement
b. Objectives
c. Situation analysis
d. Internal strengths and weaknesses
e. External environmental opportunities and threats
f. Target market(s)
g. Marketing mix
h. Product/service strategies
i. Place/Distribution strategies
j. Promotion strategies
k. Pricing strategies
l. Implementation, evaluation, and control

3. You are given the task of deciding the marketing strategy for a transportation company. How do the
marketing mix elements change when the target market is (a) low-income workers without personal
transportation, (b) corporate international business travelers, or (c) companies with urgent documents or
perishable materials to get to customers?

Target Market: Low-income workers without personal transportation

Product: Bus or light rail service
Price: Inexpensive or free
Place: Inner city
Promotion: Billboards

Target Market: Corporate international business travelers

Product: High-speed jet service with laptop and telephone hookups, conference tables
Price: High
Place: International airports in densely populated business centers around the world
Promotion: Corporate print publications, direct mail

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 Target Market: Companies with urgent documents or perishable materials to get to customers
Product: High-speed motor carrier coupled with plane service, courier service, pickup and delivery
Price: Medium to high
Place: Downtown businesses around the country
Promotion: Television, radio

4. What techniques can make your school enrollment marketing plan more effective?

The effectiveness of the plan depends on the following factors: 1) how realistic the plan is (objectives, scope, and
timing of the events), 2) the resources available to implement the plan, 3) how thorough the situation analysis is, 4)
how broad the mission statement is, 5) how detailed and thorough the marketing mix variables are, and 6) the
soundness of the strategies (does the plan provide an opportunity to use competitive advantage?).

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

1. How are Coke and Pepsi using their Web sites, http://www.coke.com and http://www.pepsi.com, to
promote their newest product offerings? Do you see hints of any future strategies the companies might
implement? Where?

Answers will vary.

2. How can a new company best define its business mission statement? Can you find examples of good and bad
mission statements on the Internet? How might you improve the bad ones?

The mission statement is based on a careful analysis of benefits sought by present and potential customers and
analysis of existing and anticipated environmental conditions. The firm’s long-term vision, embodied in the mission
statement, establishes boundaries for all subsequent decisions, objectives, and strategies. A mission statement should
focus on the market or markets the organization is attempting to serve rather than on the good or service offered.
Students should be able to evaluate mission statements from company Web pages according to their marketing
orientation and focus.

3. Thinking back to review question 2, write a business mission statement for Shur Snak. What elements
should you include? Evaluate the mission you wrote against some of the mission statements you found
online in question 2.

The mission statement should focus on the market or markets that the organization is trying to serve rather than the
one good or service that it offers. Elements that could be included in a mission statement are 1) market(s) served; 2)
benefits; 3) long-term vision; 4) special competitive advantages, such as technology; and 5) goals, such as market
leadership.

4. Building on our Shur Snak example, imagine that your boss has stated that the marketing objective of the
company is to do the best job of satisfying the needs and wants of the customer. Explain that although
this objective is admirable, it does not meet the criteria for good objectives. What are these criteria?
What is a specific example of a better objective for Shur Snak?

Good criteria for objectives include 1) they are realistic, measurable, and time specific; and 2) they are consistent
and indicate the priorities of the organization. The objectives that students write should meet those criteria.

5. Competition in the private courier sector is fierce. Companies like UPS and FedEx dominate, but others, like
Airborne, Emery, and even the United States Postal Service, still have a decent chunk of the express package
delivery market. Perform a mini situation analysis on one of the companies listed by stating one strength, one
weakness, one opportunity, and one threat. You may want to consult the following Web sites as you build
your grid:

United Parcel Service (UPS): http://www.ups.com FedEx: http://www.fedex.com

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 USPS: http://www.usps.gov DHL: http://www.dhl-usa.com

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 The situation analysis (SWOT analysis) should include the following:
Internal analysis: Strengths and Weaknesses
External analysis: Opportunities and Threats

6. Based on your SWOT analysis, decide what the strategic growth options are for the company you chose in
question 5.

Strategic growth options should be chosen from the following: 1) market penetration strategy, 2) market
development strategy, 3) product development strategy, or 4) diversification.

7. Break into small groups and discuss examples (at least two per person) of the last few products you have
purchased. What specific strategies were used to achieve competitive advantage? Is that competitive
advantage sustainable against the competitors?

To have a successful marketing plan, one must seek a differential advantage over the competition when examining
internal strengths and external marketplace opportunities. A differential advantage is one or more unique aspects of
an organization that cause target consumers to patronize that firm rather than competitors. A differential advantage
may exist solely in the firm’s image. Differential advantages may also occur in any element of the marketing mix.
The two basic sources of differential advantage are superior skills and superior resources. The key to having a
differential advantage is the ability to sustain that advantage. A sustainable competitive advantage is one that cannot
be copied by the competition.

8. Choose three or four other students and make up a team. Create a marketing plan to increase enrollment in
your school. Describe the four marketing mix elements that make up the plan.

Students should provide detail for the following elements of the marketing plan:
Business mission statement
Objectives
Situation analysis
Internal strengths and weaknesses
External environmental opportunities and threats
Target market(s)
Marketing mix
Product/service strategies
Place/distribution strategies
Promotion strategies
Pricing strategies
Implementation, evaluation, and control

9. Have your school enrollment marketing plan team (from question 8 above) develop a plan to implement,
evaluate, and control the marketing strategy.

This section can use a number of formats, but a suggested format for the implementation plan is a Gantt chart or
other scheduling chart that shows the “big picture” of when important events should take place in order to put
the strategies and tactics into action. If students don’t know how to create a Gantt chart, they can put together a
simple timeline showing these events.

For the evaluation and control section, a simple grid containing the following elements should suffice: 1) the
marketing objectives (both financial and strategic objectives), 2) how to measure the objectives, and 3) when to
evaluate the accomplishment of each objective.

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Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
settlements of the different countries. In the third book, covering two thirds of the
text, and relating to Germany, each little province receives a historic notice, and
every town and castle of any note its description, with rude wood-cuts attached.
The next division given at some length is Asia, to which is appended half a dozen
pages on America, while Africa closes with the sixth book and about three times
that amount of text. The one chapter relating to our continent is headed, Von den
neuwen inseln, and gives a vague account of the discovery, the physical features
and natural products of the land, the inhabitants and their customs, illustrated with
several cuts, among them a volcano in eruption and two cannibal scenes. The
regular maps are grouped at the beginning of the volume, each on the verso and
recto of two leaves, bearing on the first recto the title, inclosed in a border more or
less ornamented with portraits, symbols, and arabesque. The mappemonde
shows Terra Florida and Francisia on each side of a bay. Above this runs a wide
strait marked Per hoc fretû iter patit ad Molucas, which issues between Cathay
regio and Temistitan. Below this land are placed Hispaniola and Cuba, at the
mouth of another wide strait, bounded on the south by the large island of America
seu insula Brasilij. Further down is Fretû Magaliani, with a large island to the
south. The map for America bears the inscription: ‘Die newe weldt der grossen
und vilen Inselen.’ The second edition of 1545 is considerably enlarged, the
chapter on America covering nine pages. In the third edition, of 1550, the wood-
cuts are increased by a number of large plans, views of towns, and other scenes
by Deutsch, making this the most attractive volume for collectors. A portrait of the
author in his sixtieth year is also given. The various editions in different languages,
issued even in the following century, vary considerably in arrangement and extent,
and that of 1614, although improved and enlarged to 1575 pages, devotes only
ten to America, while previous editions contain more material thereon. The binding
is provided with bosses, clasps, and vellum cover, impressed with tracery,
portraits, and emblems.

[410] Cap. iii. note 1.

[411] ‘Quauhpopocatzin, señor de Coyohuacan, uno de los grandes del imperio,

que asistia en Nauhtlan, y estaba á su cargo el gobierno de las costas del mar del
norte.’ Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 296.

[412] Bernal Diaz writes, 40 soldiers, 2 cannon, 2 firelocks, 3 cross-bows and

2000 natives; Cortés, 50 Spaniards and 8000 to 10,000 Indians, ‘y doce tiros de
pólvora.’ Cartas, 88.

[413] ‘Á la primera refriega ... huyeron, y dexaron al Juan de Escalante peleando,’

says Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 74.

[414] ‘And Montezuma believed this to be the great lady whom we claimed for
patroness.’ ‘Todos los soldados que passamos con Cortés, tenemos muy creido.’
Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 74.

[415] ‘Seis soldados juntamente con él.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 73. ‘Nueue
Españoles,’ says Gomara, who assumes that two were previously assassinated by
Quauhpopoca. Hist. Mex., 122, 129.

[416] According to Bernal Diaz, whose version is chiefly adhered to, the death of
so many soldiers caused the Spaniards to fall somewhat in the estimation of the
Indians, who had looked upon them as invulnerable beings. ‘Y que todos los
pueblos de la sierra, y Cempoal, y su sujeto, están alterados, y no les quieren dar
comida, ni servir.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 73-4. But this is probably an
exaggeration, for Cortés would not have ventured to send down a new
comandante almost without escort, or to have remained quietly at Mexico for
months, had his rear been so threatened. Cortés, who should be regarded as the
best authority, gives a curious motive for the campaign. Qualpopoca, as he calls
him, sent a message to Escalante, offering to become a vassal of the Spanish
king. He had not submitted before, fearing to pass through the intervening hostile
country; but if four soldiers were sent to escort him, he would come with them.
Believing this protestation, Escalante sent the four men, two of whom wounded
returned shortly after with the story that Quauhpopoca had sought to kill them, and
had succeeded in despatching their comrades. This led to the expedition of
Escalante. Cartas, 87-8. It appears most unlikely that this officer should have so
far forgotten the prudence ever enjoined on his captains by Cortés, and trusted
only four men in an unknown country, in response to so suspicious a request.
There was beside no need for Quauhpopoca to go to Villa Rica, since his
submission through envoys would be just as binding. If he desired to see the
Spanish fort, he could have gone safely by water, for large canoes were used on
the coast. It is not improbable that the story was made up to justify the expedition
sent against Nautla, since a campaign by a small force, merely on behalf of a
wretched tribe of natives, might have been regarded as unwarranted. This story
was also useful afterward, when Cortés first thought proper to reveal it, for rousing
his men to action. Gomara follows Cortés, with the difference that Pedro de Ircio,
as he wrongly calls the captain at Villa Rica, having orders from Cortés to
anticipate Garay by incorporating Almería, sent an order to Quauhpopoca to
tender his submission. This he agreed to do, provided the four Spaniards were
sent to escort him. Gomara appears to favor the view that Quauhpopoca acted on
his own responsibility, for he says that this chief sent to warn Montezuma of
Cortés’ intention to usurp the empire, and to urge upon him to seize the white
captain. Hist. Mex., 122, 129. Bernal Diaz stamps this account as false. Peter
Martyr, dec. v. cap. iii., assumes that the two Spaniards were slain by robbers, so
that Quauhpopoca was innocent of any misdeed. Tapia’s version is incomplete,
but appears to favor Bernal Diaz. In Duran’s native record, Coatlpopoca appears
as the guide of the Spaniards. He treacherously leads them along a precipice,
over which two horsemen fall with their steeds, and are killed. For this he is tried
and executed. Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 411-13.

[417] He reveals it only after his arrival at Mexico, and thus leads Bernal Diaz to
assume that the news reached him there. In this he is followed by Herrera, dec. ii.
lib. viii. cap. i., and consequently by Torquemada, i. 455.

[418] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 62; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 97; Torquemada, i. 442.

[419] The estimate varies from fourteen days, Herrera, to over twenty days,
Gomara. By assuming that nineteen days were spent at Cholula, the army has a
week in which to reach Mexico, and this is about the time consumed.

[420] Gomara, Hist. Mex., 97. ‘Saliẽdo acompañarle los señores de Chulula, y con
gran marauilla de los Embaxadores Mexicanos.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. iii.
‘Andauamos la barba sobre el ombro,’ says Bernal Diaz, in allusion to the
precautions observed. Hist. Verdad., 63.

[421] Bernal Diaz relates in a confused manner that at Izcalpan the Spaniards
were told of two wide roads beginning beyond the first pass. One, easy and open,
led to Chalco; the other, to Tlalmanalco, had been obstructed with trees to impede
the horses, and so induce the army to take the Chalco route, upon which the
Aztecs lay in ambush, ready to fall upon them. Hist. Verdad., 63. This finds some
support in Sahagun, whose mythic account relates that Montezuma, in his fear of
the advancing forces, had blocked the direct road to Mexico and planted maguey
upon it, so as to direct them to Tezcuco. Hist. Conq., 21. Cortés indicates clearly
enough that the Mexican envoys had at Cholula recommended a route leading
from that city south of Huexotzinco to the usual mountain pass, and used by their
people in order to avoid this inimical territory. Upon it every accommodation had
been prepared for the Spaniards. This road was not only circuitous, but had been
declared by Tlascaltecs and others as hard and perilous, with deep ravines,
spanned by narrow and insecure bridges, and with Aztec armies lying in ambush.
Cortés, Cartas, 76-8; Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 574. Peter Martyr,
dec. v. cap. ii., calls this route shorter and easier, though more dangerous. Certain
remarks by Bernal Diaz indicate that the ambush had been arranged in connection
with the plot at Cholula, and abandoned upon its failure, loc. cit. There could
hardly have been more than one route across the range, through the pass wherein
the Aztecs had erected their station for travellers, and this the Spaniards did
follow. Here also accommodation was prepared for them, and here the embassy
from Montezuma appeared. Hence the obstructions spoken of must have been at
the junction of the Huexotzinca road with the main road from Cholula to the pass,
and intended as an intimation to the Huexotzincas or to the Mexicans not to
trespass. They could have been of no avail against the Spaniards, who were
beside invited to enter on the main road then at hand. These are facts overlooked
by Prescott, Clavigero, and writers generally who have lost themselves in the
vague and confused utterances of the chroniclers, and in seeking to elaborate a
most simple affair. Modern travellers follow the easier and less picturesque route
north of Iztaccihuatl, which skirts Mount Telapon. This was the road recommended
by Ixtlilxochitl, leading through Calpulalpan, where he promised to join him with his
army; but Cortés preferred to trust to his own arms and to his Tlascaltec followers.
Torquemada, i. 442.

[422] ‘Dezian algunos Castellanos, que aquella era la tierra para su buena dicha
prometida, y que mientras mas Moros, mas ganancia.’ Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap.
iii.

[423] Gomara, Hist. Mex., 97; Oviedo, iii. 500.

[424] Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 295. Torquemada, followed by Brasseur de

Bourbourg and others, calls it Ithualco, which appears rather to have been a
general term for these stations, since ithualli, according to Molina, signifies a court.
Peter Martyr and Gomara refer to it as a summer palace.

[425] Cortés, Cartas, 79. ‘Aun que para los Tamemes hizieron los de Motecçuma
choças de paja ... y aun les tenian mugeres.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 97. ‘Los Indios
hizieron de presto muchas barracas,’ says Herrera, who places this ‘casa de
plazer’ in the plain below. dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. iii. Tapia calls the buildings ‘casas de
paja.’ Relacion, in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 578.

[426] Martin Lopez was the watchful sentinel. Torquemada, i. 443.

[427] Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 577; Cortés, Cartas, 80. Herrera
intimates that an attack on the summit, where the Spaniards were benumbed with
cold, might have succeeded in creating confusion. dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. iii. Unless
the naked Indians had been equally benumbed!

[428] He appealed to the Tlascaltecs by his side, and they declared that they knew
him to be Tzihuacpopoca. Torquemada, i. 446.

[429] A load being at least 50 pounds, the bribe swells to over $5,000,000.

[430] Cortés and Martyr call the envoy a brother of Montezuma. Cartas, 79; dec. v.
cap. ii.; Gomara and Herrera, a relative. Hist. Mex., 98; dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. iii.
According to Bernal Diaz, the bribe is offered by four nobles at Tlalmanalco. Hist.
Verdad., 64. Sahagun, who is the original authority for the story of
‘Tzioacpupuca’s’ attempt to pass himself off for Montezuma, says that Cortés was
highly indignant at the deception, ‘y luego con afrenta enviaron á aquel principal y
á todos los que con él habian venido.’ Hist. Conq., 19; Torquemada, i. 445-6.
[431] Sahagun, Hist. Conq., 20-1; Acosta, Hist. Ind., 519-20; Torquemada, i. 447.
Solis, the ‘penetrating historian,’ repeats and improves upon this as an account
taken from ‘autores fidedignos.’ Hist. Mex., i. 353. And with a similar belief it has
been given a prominent place in West-vnd Ost-Indischer Lustgart, 131. Gaspar
Ens L., the author, was one of the editors of the famous set of De Bry, from which
he like so many others borrowed text, if not engravings. The narrator of several
individual European travels, he also issued the Indiæ Occidentalis Historia,
Coloniæ, 1612. The German version, published at Cöllen in 1618 in a small quarto
form, under the above title, has for its guiding principle the appropriate maxim of
Horace, Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci. The first part, relating to
America in general, is divided into three sections, for physical and natural
geography and Indian customs, followed by discovery, voyages, and conquests,
and concluding with a review of political history, and an appendix on missionary
progress. This arrangement, however, is nominal rather than real, and the
confusion, extending into chapters as well as sections, is increased by the
incomplete and undigested form of the material, enlivened, however, by an
admixture of the quaint and wonderful.

[432] ‘Ya estamos para perdernos ... mexicanos somos, ponernos hemos á lo que
viniese por la honra de la generacion.... Nacidos somos, venga lo que viniere.’
Sahagun, Hist. Conq., 21.

[433] ‘Este parecer de Cuitlahuac, abraçaron muchos de los Presentes.’

Torquemada, i. 444-5.

[434] With seven towns and over 25,000 families, says Chimalpain, Hist. Conq.,
115. Herrera states that at the foot of the descent from the range felled trees
obstructed the road, and appearances indicated that an ambush had been
intended. Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. iii.

[435] Cortés, Cartas, 80-1. Bernal Diaz places this occurrence at Tlalmanalco,
where the chiefs jointly offer eight female slaves, two packs of robes, and 150
pesos’ worth of gold. They urge Cortés to remain with them rather than trust
himself within Mexico. This being declined, twenty chiefs go with him to receive
justice from the emperor at his intercession. Hist. Verdad., 63. ‘Se dieron por sus
confederados.’ Sahagun, Hist. Conq. (ed. 1840), 74.

[436] For map of route see, beside those contained in this volume, Carbajal
Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 201, 538, and Alaman, in Prescott’s Hist. Conq. (ed. Mex.
1844), i. 337, 384. The last maps in these books illustrate the later siege
operations round Mexico, and so does Orozco y Berra’s, in Ciudad México,
Noticias, 233. Prescott’s route map, in Mex., i. p. xxxiii., claims to be based on
Humboldt’s, with corrections from the chroniclers.
[437] ‘Mataron dellos hasta veynte.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 98. The chiefs
complained in secret of Montezuma. Tapia, Rel., in Icazbalceta, Col. Doc., ii. 578.

[438] By touching the ground with the hand and then bearing it to the lips.

[439] Cortés ‘le dió tres piedras, que se llaman margaritas, que tienen dentro de si
muchas pinturas de diuersas colores.’ Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 64. A certain
vagueness in the phrase has led some to translate it as a present of three fine
pearls for Cortés.

[440] ‘No les quedaba sino decir que me defenderian el camino.’ Cortés, Cartas,
81. ‘Dieron a entender que les ofenderiã alla, y aun defenderiã el passo y
entrada.’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 98.

[441] Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 64. Ixtlilxochitl contradicts himself about the place
of meeting, and makes Cacama invite Cortés to Tezcuco. Hist. Chich., 295; Id.,
Relacion, 411. Torquemada does the same. i. 449.

[442] Native Races, ii. 345-6, 575. Cortés mentions another smaller town in the
lake, without land communication. Cortés, Cartas, 82.

[443] ‘Pariente del rey de México.’ Chimalpain, Hist. Conq., 116. ‘Prince du
quartier de Ticic.’ Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 203.

[444] ‘Cortés, ca yua con determinacion de parar alli, y hazer barcas o fustas ...
con miedo no le rompiessen las calçadas (to Mexico).’ Gomara, Hist. Mex., 99.

[445] Torquemada, i. 451; Oviedo, iii. 500.

[446] For an account of the dispute between Cacama and Ixtlilxochitl, see Native
Races, v. 474-7.

[447] Tezcuco was entirely out of Cortés’ route, and the narratives of the march
show that no such detour could have been made. Torquemada, who contradicts
himself about the visit, describes with some detail the reception at this capital,
where the population kneel to adore the Spaniards as children of the sun. They
are entertained at the palace, and discover in one of the courtiers, named
Tecocoltzin, a man of as fair a hue as themselves, who became a great favorite. i.
444. Herrera takes the army from Ayotzinco to Tezcuco and back to Cuitlahuac.
dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. iv. Impressed perhaps by the peculiarity of this detour,
Vetancurt, after repeating the story, expresses a doubt whether the visit was really
made. Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 127-8. But Clavigero brings arguments, based partly
upon vague points in Cortés’ later letters, to prove that it took place. Storia Mess.,
iii. 74. Solis, ‘the discriminating,’ lets Cacama himself guide Cortés from Ayotzinco
to Tezcuco. Hist. Mex., i. 360-1.

[448] ‘Yxtapalapa, que quiere decir Pueblos donde se coge Sal, ó Yxtatl; y aun
hoy tienen este mismo oficio los de Yxtapalapa.’ Lorenzana, in Cortés, Hist. N.
Esp., 56.

[449] Including Matlatzincatzin, lord of Coyuhuacan and brother of Montezuma;

Tochihuitzin of Mexicaltzinco, and Huitzillatl of Huitzilopochco. Clavigero, Storia
Mess., iii. 75; Chimalpain, Hist. Conq., 116; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ.,
iv. 205.

[450] Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. ii.; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 99; Cortés, Cartas, 82.
What with the retreating waters and the removal of native lords in whose interest it
lay to preserve the gardens and palaces, her glories are now departed. The
evaporation of the lake waters had been observed before the conquest. After this
it increased rapidly, owing to the thoughtless destruction of forests in the valley, as
Humboldt remarks. In Bernal Diaz’ time already Iztapalapan lay high and dry, with
fields of maize growing where he had seen the busy traffic of canoes. Hist.
Verdad., 65. The fate of the lake region was sealed by the construction of the
Huehuetoca canal, which drained the big lake to a mere shadow of its former self,
leaving far inland the flourishing towns which once lined its shore, and shielding
the waters, as it were, from further persecution by an unsightly barrier of desert
salt marshes—and all to save the capital from the inundations to which blundering
locators had exposed her. Humboldt has in his map of the valley traced the outline
of the lake as it appeared to the conquerors, and although open to criticism it is
interesting. Essai Pol., i. 167, 173-5.

[451] Cortés, Cartas, 82. Bernal Diaz reduces it to 2000 pesos. According to
Sahagun, Cortés summons the lords of the district and tells them of his mission.
The common people keep out of the way, fearing a massacre. Hist. Conq., 21-2.
Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 205-6, assumes from this that many of
the chiefs promised to support Cortés against the government, which is hardly
likely to have been done in a city ruled by Montezuma’s brother, who was at heart
hostile to the Spaniards. Here again, says Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. v.,
Montezuma sought to dissuade Cortés from entering the capital; Torquemada, i.
449. His envoy being Cacama, adds Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., 295.

[452] Hist. Verdad., 64-5.

 CHAPTER XVI.
MEETING WITH MONTEZUMA.

November, 1519.

Something of the City—The Spaniards Start from Iztapalapan—Reach the

Great Causeway—They are Met by many Nobles—And presently by
Montezuma—Entry into Mexico—They Are Quartered in the Axayacatl
Palace—Interchange of Visits.

From Iztapalapan the imperial city of the great plateau could

clearly be seen, rising in unveiled whiteness from the lake. Almost
celestial was its beauty in the eyes of the spoilers; a dream some
called it, or, if tangible, only Venice was like it, with its imposing
edifices sparkling amid the sparkling waters. Many other places had
been so called, but there was no other New World Venice like this.
Sweeping round in sheltering embrace were the green swards
and wood-clad knolls on the shore, studded with tributary towns and
palatial structures, crowned with foliage, or peeping forth from
groves, some venturing nearer to the city, and into the very lake. “We
gazed with admiration,” exclaims Bernal Diaz, as he compares with
the enchanted structures described in the Amadis their grand towers,
cues, and edifices, rising in the lake, and all of masonry.
Let us glance at the people and their dwellings; for though we
have spoken of them at length elsewhere, we cannot in this
connection wholly pass them by.
 Two centuries back, the Aztecs, then a small and despised
people, surrounded and oppressed by enemies, had taken refuge on
some islets in the western part of the saline lake of Mexico, and
there by divine command they had founded the city which, under the
title of Mexico Tenochtitlan, was to become the capital of Anáhuac.
The first building was a temple of rushes, round which the settlement
grew up, spreading rapidly over the islets, and on piles and filled
ground. The city was enlarged and beautified by successive rulers,
and when first beheld by the Spaniards it had attained its greatest
extent—one it never again approached—and was reputed to be
about twelve miles in circumference. This area embraced a large
suburb of several villages and towns with independent names,
containing in all sixty thousand houses, equivalent to a population of
three hundred thousand.[453]
Four great avenues, paved with hard cement, ran crosswise
from the cardinal points, and divided the city into as many quarters,
which were again subdivided into wards.[454]
Three of the avenues were connected in a straight line, or nearly
so, with the main land by means of smooth causeways, constructed
of piles filled up with rubble and débris. The shortest of these was
the western, leading to Tlacopan, half a league distant, and bordered
all the way with houses. They were wide enough for ten horsemen to
ride abreast, and were provided at intervals with bridges for the free
flow of water[455] and of traffic. Near their junction with the city were
drawbridges, and breastworks for defence. A fourth causeway, from
the Chapultepec summer palace, served to support the aqueduct
which carried water from the mountain spring in that vicinity.
Round the southern part of the city stretched a semicircular
levee, three leagues in length and thirty feet in breadth, which had
been constructed in the middle of the preceding century to protect
the place from the torrents which after heavy rains came rushing
from the fresh-water lakes of Xochimilco and Chalco. This levee was
the chief resort of the people—during the day for bustling merchants
and boat crews, during the evening for promenaders, who came to
breathe the fresh air soft-blown from the lake, and to watch the
setting sun as it gilded the summits of Popocatepetl and his consort.
Traffic, as may be supposed, was conducted chiefly by canals
guarded by custom-houses, lined with quays, and provided in some
places with docks. Upon these abutted narrow yet well lighted cross
streets, connected by bridges, and leading to a number of open
squares, the largest of which were the market-places in Tlatelulco
and Mexico proper, wherein as many as one hundred thousand
people are said to have found room.
Viewed architecturally and singly, the buildings did not present a
very imposing appearance, the greater portion being but one story in
height. This monotony, however, was relieved to a great extent by
the number of temples sacred to superior and local deities which
were to be seen in every ward, raised high above the dwellings of
mortals, on mounds of varying elevations, and surmounted by
towering chapels. Their fires, burning in perpetual adoration of the
gods, presented a most impressive spectacle at night. The grandest
and most conspicuous of them all was the temple of Huitzilopochtli,
which stood in the centre of the city, at the junction of the four
avenues, so as to be ever before the eyes of the faithful. It formed a
solid stone-faced pyramid about 375 feet long and 300 feet broad at
the base, 325 by 250 feet at the summit, and rose in five
superimposed, perpendicular terraces to the height of 86 feet. Each
terrace receded six feet from the edge of the one beneath, and the
stages were so placed that a circuit had to be made of each ledge to
gain the succeeding flight, an arrangement equally suited for showy
processions and for defence. Surrounding the pyramid was a
battlemented stone wall 4800 feet in circumference, and through this
led four gates, surmounted by arsenal buildings, facing the four
avenues.[456]
The pyramid was quite modern, and owed its erection to
Ahuitzotl, who for two years employed upon it an immense force of
men, bringing the material from a distance of three or four leagues. It
was completed in 1486, and consecrated with thousands of victims.
The rich and devout brought, while it was building, a mass of
treasures, which were buried in the mound as an offering to the
gods, and served subsequently as a powerful incentive for the
removal of every vestige of the structure. The present cathedral
occupies a portion of the site.[457]
The appearance of the city was likewise improved by terraces of
various heights serving as foundation for the dwellings of rich
traders, and of the nobles who were either commanded to reside at
the capital or attracted by the presence of the court. Their houses
were to be seen along the main thoroughfares, differing from the
adobe, mud, or rush huts of the poor, in being constructed of porous
tetzontli stone, finely polished and whitewashed. Every house stood
by itself, separated by narrow lanes or by gardens, and inclosing one
or more courts. Broad steps led up the terrace to two gates, one
opening on the main street, the other on the back lane or canal. The
terrace platform was particularly spacious in front, where
occasionally a small oratorio faced the entrance. The façade was
adorned with elegant cornices and stucco designs of flowers and
animals, often painted in brilliant colors. Balconies were occasionally
to be seen, supported on monolith columns without base or capital,
though with incised ornamentation; but they were not common,
owing to the prevalence of flat roofs surrounded by battlemented and
even turreted parapets. Behind them rose flowering plants, arranged
in pots or growing in garden plots, and aiding to render the spot
attractive for the family gathering in the evening. Flower-gardens
might be seen also in the courts, with a sparkling fountain in the
centre. Around ran the shady porticos, lined with suites of
apartments, the larger reception rooms in front, the stores and
kitchen in the rear, and other rooms and chambers, with the never
failing temazcalli, or bath, arranged between them, and provided with
wicker screens or curtains in lieu of doors.
Courts as well as rooms were covered with flags of stones,
tessellated marble or cement, polished with ochre or gypsum; and
the walls were decorated not infrequently with porphyry, jasper, and
alabaster, and hung with cotton tapestry adorned with feather and
other ornaments. The furniture on the other hand was scanty,
consisting chiefly of mats of palm leaves, cushions, low tables, and
stools.[458]
It was in the morning of the 8th of November that the Spaniards
mustered for the entry into Mexico. Not far from Iztapalapan they
came upon the longest causeway, two leagues in extent, which with
the exception of a short angle near the shore led in a straight line
northward to the heart of the city.[459] They passed several towns,
some on the shore, others touching the causeway,[460] and
supported to a great extent by the manufacture of salt from the lake
water. The causeway had been reserved for the passage of the
troops, out of deference to the desire manifested to keep the natives
at a respectful distance,[461] but both sides were lined with canoes
bearing an eager crowd of sight-seers. About half a league from the
city the causeway formed a junction with the road from Xochimilco
and Coyohuacan, at a spot called Acachinanco,[462] where a stout
battlemented wall, fully ten feet in height, and surmounted by two
towers, guarded the two gates for entry and exit.
Entering here the Spaniards were met by a procession of over
one thousand representative people from the capital,[463] richly
arrayed in embroidered robes, and with jewelry of pendent stones
and gold. These passed before the visitors in a file, touching the
ground with their hand and carrying it to the lip in token of reverence.
This ceremony occupied an hour, after which the march was
resumed. At the junction of the causeway with the main avenue of
the city was a wooden bridge ten paces wide, easily removable,
inside of which Cortés halted to await the emperor, then
approaching.[464] On either side of the street, closely along by the
houses, came processions of nobles, headed by lords and court
dignitaries, all of whom marched with bare feet and bowed heads.
This humility was owing to the presence of the emperor, who in
almost solitary grandeur kept the centre of the road, borne in a richly
adorned litter on the shoulders of his favorite courtiers, and followed
by a few princes and leading officials.[465] Three dignitaries
preceded him, one of whom bore aloft three wands, signifying the
approach of the imperial head of the tripartite alliance, so that all
persons in sight might lower their heads in humble reverence till he
had passed.
On nearing the Spaniards Montezuma stepped from the litter,
supported on either side by King Cacama and Cuitlahuatzin, his
nephew and brother, and followed by the king of Tlacopan and other
princes. Four prominent caciques held over his head a canopy
profusely covered with green feathers set with gold and silver, and
precious stones, both fixed and pendent, and before them attendants
swept the road and spread carpets, so that the imperial feet might
not be soiled. The monarch and his supporters were similarly
dressed, in blue tilmatlis which, bordered with gold and richly
embroidered and bejewelled, hung in loose folds from the neck,
where they were secured by a knot. On their heads were mitred
crowns of gold with quetzal plumes, and sandals with golden soles
adorned their feet, fastenings embossed with gold and precious
stones.[466]
 Montezuma was about forty years of age, of good stature, with a
thin though well-proportioned body, somewhat fairer than the
average hue of his dusky race. The rather long face, with its fine
eyes, bore an expression of majestic gravity, tinged with a certain
benignity which at times deepened into tenderness. Round it fell the
hair in a straight fringe covering the ears, and met by a slight growth
of black beard.[467]
With a step full of dignity he advanced toward Cortés, who had
dismounted to meet him. As they saluted,[468] Montezuma tendered
a bouquet which he had brought in token of welcome, while the
Spaniard took from his own person and placed round the neck of the
emperor a showy necklace of glass, in form of pearls, diamonds, and
iridescent balls, strung upon gold cords and scented with musk.[469]
With these baubles, which were as false as the assurances of
friendship accompanying them, the great monarch deigned to be
pleased, for if every piece of glass had been a diamond they would
have possessed no greater value in his eyes. As a further
expression of his good-will, Cortés offered to embrace the monarch,
but was restrained by the two princes, who regarded this as too
great a familiarity with so sacred a person.[470] The highest
representative of western power and grandeur, whose fame had
rung in the ears of the Spaniards since they landed at Vera Cruz,
thus met the daring adventurer who with his military skill and artful
speech had arrogated to himself the position of a demi-god.
After an interchange of friendly assurances the emperor returned
to the city, leaving Cuitlahuatzin to escort the general.[471] The
procession of nobles now filed by to tender their respects,
whereupon the march was resumed to the sound of drums and wind
instruments. At the head were scouts on horseback, followed by the
cavalry, under Cortés, who had by his side two large greyhounds;
then came the infantry, with the artillery and baggage in the centre;
and last, the allies.[472] The streets, which had been deserted by the
people out of deference to the emperor and to the requirements of
his procession, were now alive with lookers-on, particularly in the
entrances to the alleys, in the windows, and on the roofs.[473]
At the plaza, wherein rose the great pyramidal temple
surrounded on all sides by palatial edifices, the procession turned to
the right, and Cortés was led up the steps of an extensive range of
buildings, known as the Axayacatl palace, which faced the eastern
side of the temple inclosure.[474] Here Montezuma appeared, and
through a court-yard shaded by colored awnings and cooled by a
playing fountain he conducted him by the hand into a large hall. An
attendant came forward with a basket of flowers, wherein lay “two
necklaces made of the shell of a species of red crawfish,” so they
said, and “much esteemed by the natives, from each of which hung
eight crawfish of gold, wrought with great perfection, and nearly as
large as the span of a hand.”[475] These the emperor placed round
the neck of the general, and presented at the same time wreaths to
his officers. Seating him upon a gilt and bejewelled dais,[476] he
announced that everything there was at his disposal; every want
would be attended to. Then with delicate courtesy he retired, so that
the Spaniards might refresh themselves and arrange their quarters.
The building contained several courts, surrounded by
apartments, matted and furnished with low tables and icpalli stools.
Everything about the place was neat and of a dazzling whiteness,
relieved by green branches and festoons. The finer rooms were
provided with cotton tapestry, and adorned with figures in stucco and
color, and with feather and other ornaments set with gold and silver
fastenings. Here and there were vases with smouldering incense
diffusing sweet perfume. So large was the place that even the allies
found room. The halls for the soldiers, accommodating one hundred
and fifty men each, were provided with superior beds of mats, with
cotton cushions and coverlets, and even with canopies. Cortés was
glad to find the building protected by strong walls and turrets, and
after arranging the men according to their corps, he ordered the
guns to be planted and the sentinels posted, issuing also instructions
for the considerate treatment of the natives, and for intercourse
generally. Meanwhile the servants had spread a dinner, which Bernal
Diaz describes as sumptuous.[477]
In the afternoon Montezuma reappeared with a large suite.
Seating himself beside Cortés,[478] he expressed his delight at
meeting such valiant men, whose fame and deeds had already
aroused his interest during their visits in the two preceding years at
Potonchan and Chalchiuhcuecan. If he had sought to prevent their
entry into the capital, it was solely because his subjects feared them,
with their animals and thunder; for rumors had described them as
voracious beings, who devoured at one meal what sufficed for ten
times the number of natives, who thirsted for treasures and who
came only to tyrannize. He now saw that they were mortals, although
braver and mightier than his own race, that the animals were large
deer, and that the caged lightning was an exaggeration. He related
the Quetzalcoatl myth,[479] and expressed his belief that they were
the predicted race, and their king the rightful ruler of the land. “Hence
be assured,” said he, “that we shall obey you, and hold you as lord
lieutenant of the great king, and this without fail or deceit. You may
command in all my empire as you please, and shall be obeyed. All
that we possess is at your disposal.”[480]
Cortés expressed himself as overwhelmed with these kind offers
and with the many favors already received, and hastened to assure
the emperor that they were not misplaced. He and his men came
indeed from the direction of the rising sun, and their king, the
mightiest in the world, and the ruler of many great princes, was the
one he supposed. Hearing of the grandeur of the Mexican monarch,
their master had sent the former captains, brethren of theirs, to
examine the route, and to prepare the way for the present
commission. He had come to offer him the friendship of their great
king, who wished in no wise to interfere with his authority, but rather
that his envoys should serve him and teach the true faith.
The reference to Montezuma’s grandeur led the emperor
evidently to suppose that the rumors concerning him current in the
outlying provinces might have reached the ears of the Spanish king,
for he now alluded to the tales which raised him to a divine being
inhabiting palaces of gold, silver, and precious stones. “You see,” he
added with a sad smile, wherein seemed to linger regrets arising
from his departing glory, “that my houses are merely of stone and
earth; and behold my body,” he said, turning aside his vestment, “it is
but of flesh and bone, like yours and others. You see how they have
deceived you. True, I possess some gold trinkets left me by my
forefathers; but all that I have is yours whenever you may desire
it.”[481]
Cortés’ eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he expressed his
thanks. He had heard of Montezuma’s wealth and power, and had
not been deceived in the expectation, for a more magnificent prince
he had not met with during his entire journey. Such fine words must
be rewarded. At a sign the attendants came forward with a rich
collection of gold, silver, and feather ornaments, and five thousand to
six thousand pieces of cloth, most fine in texture and embroidery.
[482]Being asked what relationship the men bore to one another,
Cortés said that all were brothers, friends, and companions, with the
exception of a few servants.[483]
Montezuma afterward elicited from the interpreters who the
officers and gentlemen were, and in conferring favors he sent them
more valuable presents through the mayordomo, while the rest
obtained inferior gifts by the hand of servants.[484] At his departure
from the Spanish quarter the soldiers with redoubled alacrity fell into
line to salute a prince who had impressed them both with his gentle
breeding and his generosity, and the artillery thundered forth a salvo,
partly to demonstrate that the caged lightning was a fearful reality.
[485]

The following forenoon Cortés sent to announce that he would

make a return visit, and several officers came to escort him. Arrayed
in his finest attire, with Alvarado, Velazquez de Leon, Ordaz,
Sandoval, and five soldiers, he proceeded to the residence of
Montezuma, in the new palace as it has been called, situated in the
south-east corner of the great temple plaza.[486] If they had admired
the palace forming their own quarter, how much more charmed were
they with this, “which has not its equal in Spain,” exclaims Cortés.
The exterior presented an irregular pile of low buildings of
tetzontli, raised upon high foundations, and communicating with the
square by twenty doors, over which were sculptured the coat of arms
of the kings of Mexico. The buildings were so arranged as to inclose
three public squares, and contained an immense number of rooms
and halls, one of them large enough to hold three thousand men, it is
said. Several suites were reserved for royal visitors, envoys, and
courtiers, while others were assigned for the emperor’s private use,
for his harem and his attendants. Large monoliths adorned the halls
or supported marble balconies and porticos, and polished slabs of
different kinds of stone filled the intervening spaces or formed the
floors. Everywhere, on projections and supports, in niches and
corners, were evidences of the artist’s skill in carvings and
sculptures, incised and in relief.
After being conducted through a number of courts, passages,
and rooms, partly for effect, the Spaniards were ushered into the
audience-chamber, and removed their hats as Montezuma advanced
to receive them. Leading Cortés to the throne, he seated him at his
right hand, the rest being offered seats by the attendants. Around
stood with downcast eyes a number of courtiers, who in accordance
with etiquette had covered their rich attire with a coarse mantle and
left their sandals outside the room.[487] The conversation fell chiefly
on religious topics, the favorite theme with Cortés, who aside from
his bigotry was not averse to use the faith as a means to obtain a
secure hold on the people. In any case it afforded a shield for other
objects. He explained at length the mysteries of Christianity, and
contrasted its gentle and benevolent purposes with those of the
idols, which were but demons intent on the destruction of their
votaries, and trembling at the approach of the cross. Aware of the
inefficiency of himself and his interpreters as preachers, indicated
indeed by the passive face of the proposed convert, Cortés
concluded by intimating that his king would soon send holy men,
superior to themselves, to explain the truths which he had sought to
point out. Meanwhile he begged the emperor to consider them, and
to abandon idols, sacrifices, and other evils. “We have given him the
first lesson, at any rate,” said Cortés, turning to his companions.[488]
The ruler of a superstitious people, himself a high-priest and
leader of their bloody fancies, was not to be touched by this appeal
of Cortés. The prejudices of a lifetime could not be so easily
disturbed. He had well considered the words, he replied, transmitted
already from the sea-shore by his envoys, and had found many of
the points identical with those held by his people; but he preferred
not to dwell on the subject at present. The god depicted was
doubtless good; so were their own, for to them they and their
forefathers owed health and prosperity. Suffice it that he believed his
guests to be the men predicted to come. “As for your great king,” he
added, “I hold myself as his lieutenant, and will give him of what I
possess.” As a tangible proof thereof, he again before dismissing
them distributed presents, consisting of twenty packs of fine robes
and some gold-ware worth fully one thousand pesos.[489]
 FOOTNOTES
[453] The ruins of the old city, clearly traced by Humboldt, showed that it must
have been of far greater extent than the capital raised upon its site by the
Spaniards. This is also indicated by the size of the markets and temple courts. The
reason is to be found partly in the former prevalence of one-story houses with
courts inclosed.

[454] For ancient and modern names of quarters see Native Races, ii. 563.

[455] Cortés believed that the waters ebbed and flowed, Cartas, 102-3, and Peter
Martyr enlarged on this phenomenon with credulous wonder. dec. v. cap. iii.

[456] For a description of the interior see Native Races, ii. 582-8.

[457] Ramirez and Carbajal Espinosa define the limits pretty closely with respect
to the modern outline of the city, Hist. Mex., ii. 226-9, and notes in Prescott’s Mex.
(ed. Mex. 1845), ii. app. 103; but Alaman, in his Disert., ii. 202, 246, etc., enters at
greater length into the changes which the site has undergone since the conquest,
supporting his conclusions with quotations from the Libro de Cabildo and other
valuable documents.

[458] For further description of streets, buildings, and people, see Native Races,
passim. Also Ramirez, Noticias de Mex., etc., in Monumentos Domin. Esp., MS.
no. 6, 309-50; Dávila, Continuacion de la Crónica, etc., MS., 296; Viagero Univ.,
xxvi. 203-6; Libro de Cabildo, MS., 1, 5, 11, 62, 105, 201-2; Sammlung aller
Reisebesch., xiii. 459-60, 464-67; Las Casas, Hist. Apolog., MS., 17-27; L’America
Settentrionale, 88-207; Mex., Not. Ciudad, 1-8. Venecia la Rica is the name
applied to the city by some of the Spaniards. Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas,
Col. Doc., xiii. 339.
A curious view of Mexico is given in the edition of Cortés’ letters issued at
Nuremberg in 1524, which exhibits six causeway connections with the mainland.
Both in situation, with respect to the surrounding towns, and in the general plan, it
accords very fairly with the descriptions of the conquerors. The temple of
Huitzilopochtli occupies an immense square in the centre of Temixtitan, as the city
is called. Round the south-east corner extend the palace and gardens of the
emperor, other palaces being scattered on the lake, and connected with the
suburbs by short causeways. Less correct in its relative position is the view
presented in the old and curious Libro di Benedetto Bordone, which has been
reproduced in Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, 81, so famous for its cuts, and, of