The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico

First published in Spanish in 1959 and translated into many languages since, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Spanish title: Visión de los vencidos: Relaciones indígenas de la Conquista, or “Vision of the Defeated: Indigenous Relations of the Conquest”) is a collection of primary historical documents and supplementary materials on the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. While the story had historically been shaped by the victors for almost 450 years, Broken Spears reorients the narrative to the perspective of the vanquished. After a thorough introductory essay, the volume’s editor, Mexican anthropologist and historian Miguel León-Portilla, steps aside to let the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico speak for themselves. The bulk of the text consists of translations of contemporary Nahuatl-language documents describing fateful interactions “between one of the most extraordinary pre-Columbian cultures and the strangers who would eventually destroy it” (xxv).

As J. Jorge Klor de Alva describes in the volume’s Foreword, Broken Spears is an important example of a broader trend in modern historiography: amplifying the voices of Indigenous Peoples. After the WWII, the developing world—Asia, Africa, and some parts of the Middle East and South America—reclaimed their ancestral narratives to combat their colonial oppressors. Because Broken Spears collects some of the earliest examples of Mexican literature, it provides an invaluable foundation for modern-day Mexicans in reconstructing their national identity. Moreover, the themes of the Nahua narratives are still relevant today. As de Alva summarizes, the text highlights “the challenge of cultural pluralism and social diversity and the search for common ground in a sea of ethnic differences” (xiii-xiv).

Broken Spears has enjoyed substantial popularity in the Spanish-speaking world and beyond. Scholars have particularly praised León-Portilla’s introductory essay on the Aztec empire, as well as the volume’s translations. Critics note that Broken Spears does not always provide the supplementary materials necessary to interpret its source documents, but León-Portilla acknowledges and embraces this flaw. While the native accounts he has assembled sometimes contradict each other, it is not within his purview to solve their discrepancies. Rather, his “fundamental concern is with the human interest of the accounts, which reveal how the Nahuas interpreted the downfall of their civilization” (4).

By this metric, he was successful. In addition to its many contributions to the field of Nahua studies, Broken Spears has revitalized five hundred years of Nahua oral tradition, allowing Indigenous poets and historians not only to maintain the integrity of their cultural inheritance, but build upon it.

This guide refers to the 2006 expanded and updated edition of Broken Spears by Beacon Press.

Summary

Broken Spears can be loosely divided into three parts. The first section gives a primer on Aztec society before the arrival of the Europeans in 1519. In his lengthy Introduction, Miguel León-Portilla traces the stages of cultural development in ancient Mexico from 20,000 BCE up to the peak of the Aztec empire in the 16th century AD. The primary source documents begin with omens observed in the years before the arrival of the Spaniards. After they land, the Aztec King Motecuhzoma II is distressed to learn of mysterious foreigners on his shores. He deliberates carefully with religious leaders and his most trusted chieftains on the best course of action.

The second section covers initial interactions between the Spanish and the native peoples of Mexico and culminates with the Spanish defeat of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. When Motecuhzoma’s emissaries meet with Hernán Cortés and his conquistadors for the first time, Cortés frightens the emissaries with his cruel manner and advanced military technologies, so the Aztecs flee to Tenochtitlan. There, Motecuhzoma is even more unsettled at their reports. He is unsure about the identity of the strangers—he believes they might be the god Quetzalcoatl and his retinue, whose return to Mexico had long been prophesied. All attempts at religious placation and magical attack against the Spaniards fail, deepening Motecuhzoma’s terror and apathy.

The narrative lens broadens as the Spanish ally with another powerful Indigenous Mexican group, the Tlaxcaltecas. Sworn enemies of the Aztecs, the Tlaxcaltecas fear the Spanish, but recognize the alliance could shift the power balance of the region. The Tlaxcaltecas use the partnership to treacherously crush an ally of the Aztecs, the Cholultecas. Meanwhile, the Spaniards pursue their primary motivations: stealing the gold amassed by Motecuhzoma and converting the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico to Roman Catholicism. After the Spanish finally arrive at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, a tepid initial peace is disrupted when the Spanish massacre Aztec celebrants at a religious event. However, Spanish victory is not completely assured—they flee Tenochtitlan during the “Night of Sorrows.” Convinced that the Spanish are gone for good, the Aztecs enjoy a brief return to normalcy before being hit by a devastating plague. The Spanish return to siege Tenochtitlan: documents detail various skirmishes and moments of heroism in the final fight for the Aztec capital before the city surrenders. We then see a brief summary of these events from the perspective of another Indigenous People, the Tlateloco.

Finally, the third section of Broken Spears deals with the aftermath of the war, featuring mournful elegiac poetry written by the Aztecs after the fall of Tenochtitlan. The book ends by outlining the difficult coexistence of Indigenous Mexicans and their conquerors from the 16th century to the modern day.