The Second relation letter from Hernán Cortés to emperor Charles V is one of the five ''Letters of relation'' written by

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...

by his name in the Holy Roman Empire, and to his mother, the queen

Joanna of Castile Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to Phi ...

in which he relates his trips to Mexico and the Fall of Mexico-Tenochtitlán. This second letter was dated on 30 October 1520.

Content

The letter begins with the headline: Written fifteen months after the ''First Letter'', Cortés informs in the ''Second letter of relation'' the previous process to the Fall of Mexico-Tenochtitlán. It began with an apology to the kings for the time he took to write; and continued with the sinking of the brigs to avoid his men regret to go with him and go back to The Spaniard; he exposed his decision to conquer the city and with this justified his expedition. He described the power, wealth and religion of the Mexica. He mentioned the meetings he had with the Tlatoani of

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

, Xicotencatl and the gold that received from the by caciques and the

Tlatoani ''Tlatoani'' ( , "one who speaks, ruler"; plural ' or tlatoque) is the Classical Nahuatl term for the ruler of an , a pre-Hispanic state. It is the noun form of the verb "tlahtoa" meaning "speak, command, rule". As a result, it has been various ...

Moctezuma II Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; oteːkˈsoːmaḁ ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sĩn̥), nci-IPA, Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin, moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecu ...

, his impressions when knowing the political conflicts within the territory and his visit to Cholula. Later he noted the conflicts with Moctezuma and his confrontation with the Mexica, the battle that took place in Mexico-Tenochtitlán during his absence, when he left to meet with Pánfilo of Nárvaez, the tlatoani's death and his defeat by Mexica forces. After this, they went to Tlaxcala, where the natives offered him his support to defeat the Mexica. They began to build brigantines to besiege Tenochtitlán in company of more native allies, the conflict with Pedro of Alvarado in the market of Tlatelolco, the sacrifices of the Spaniards, the capture of Cuauhtemoc, the defeat of the Mexica and the fall of Mexico-Tenochtitlán.Cortés, Hernán. ''Cartas y relaciones de Hernan Cortés al emperador Carlos V''. Edited by Pascual de Gayangos. Paris: A. Chaix, 1866. Microfilm. Disponible en: https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/classroom-content/teaching-and-learning-in-the-digital-age/the-conquest-of-mexico/letters-from-hernan-cortes, Consultado el 11 de diciembre, 2015

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Second relation letter from Hernan Cortes to emperor Charles V Letters (message) Mexican documents Tenochtitlan Tlaxcala Conquistadors 1520 documents Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor