LITR 4326 Early American Literature Research Posts 2016 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Kimberly Loza 

The Power Struggle: Spanish Conquest of the Natives

        I have said before that I am familiar with the tale of La Malinche (Dona Marina), but I thought that it would be quite interesting to focus on the idea of the power struggle between the Indians and the Spanish as well as how it tied into the decision that Marina made. Due to how Dona Marina had ties to both the Indians and the Spanish, this could be connected to the struggle that she had to face, which would be either death or the betrayal of her people. The conquest of the Indians shows how much power that the Spanish had over them. So, by the Spanish using a young girl like Marina to their advantage, in order to get what they wanted really showed how desperate they were. During this time the Spanish only had one thing in mind when it came to the New World, which was to conquer over the natives.

       The reason that Marina had connections to the Indians was because of her mother. According to Ann McBride-Limaye’s article “Metamorphoses of La Malinche and Mexican Cultural Identity” in which she states that “in her youth, her father died and her mother remarried and bore a son…. Marina was sold or given to some people from Xicalango”. From the beginning of her life, Marina was already rejected by her culture, so her taking on a new culture so easily can be seen why here. When she was given to the Indians she quickly learned their language and dialect that would become useful later on. In 1519, Cortes and his men reached the Mexican Coast at Yucatan. According to Jessie Szalay's article “Hernan Cortes: Conqueror of the Aztecs”, he states that at this point “Mexico had been discovered by the Spanish just a year prior.” Cortes and his men won a battle against a Mayan settlement in the area of present-day Tabasco. Szalay explains the power struggle between these two people. Cortes and his men quickly overpowered the natives and they surrendered. Due to their victory the natives provided the Europeans with food, supplies, and 20 Indian slaves were presented to the Spaniards, of which Marina was one. I found that this was quite interesting that when Cortes and his men quickly overpowered the natives, that they rewarded them with supplies. It was almost like they were making an offering to the Gods; which is possibly how they may have seen Cortes and his men. This would also explain why La Malinche did what she did for Cortes because she saw that power over the people and she made the decision to side with that power. However, could you really blame her for doing this? She was a very educated woman and Cortes prided her on her knowledge of language. To her it would only make sense to help someone who not had power, but acknowledge her usefulness.

       By looking at this aspect of how even the Indians were willing to give Marina to the Spanish showed that to them she really had no value. They grouped her with the offering of “slave” Indian girls. I thought that this was quite interesting because even though she was a part of these, that she was still seen as a captive or slave. It is interesting to see that this young woman who really did not have a place even with the people that she spent most of her life with, even they did not think that she belonged. It is amazing to think that because of this educated young woman, was the key reason that Cortes overtook their land so quickly. Cortes had so many advantages over the Native Indians such as training, supplies, and the help of Marina. The power that the Spanish had over the Indians is quite incredible and to think how Marina was able to use her education to add even more power to the Spanish is even more interesting.

      After doing my own research over La Malinche an over the power struggle between the Indians and the Spanish, I see the decision that she made was a very difficult one to make for a young girl. She is viewed as a race traitor, a harlot, and a mistress, but people do not consider the rejection that she experienced early on and even after. However, now I see the struggles that not only Marina had to face but the Indians as well. Their lives were held in the balance when it came to how the Spanish just came and took over their land. The Spanish had so much power over the Indians, that they were almost seen as being “Godlike” due to the numerous resources that they had, such as a translator like Marina. She really had no place in society and even had no value to the Indians, so it was understandable to see why she made the decision that she made. It was the only logical choice in which she helped as many people as she could.

Work Cited:

"LA MALINCHE - Translator and Companion to Cortes." MEXIONLINE. 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

http://www.mexonline.com/history-lamalinche.htm

La Malinche. Wikipedia. 2013. Web. 7 Apr. 2016 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Malinche

Szalay, Jessie. "Hernan Cortes: Conqueror of the Aztecs". LiveScience. Web. 7 Apr. 2016

McBride-Limaye, Ann. "

Metamorphoses of La Malinche and Mexican Cultural Identity". Web. 7 Apr. 2016