FIFTH SUN CHAPTER 7

Why was don Martín Cortés (Malintzin’s son) arrested and tortured in 1568?

He was accused of treason during a political crisis and subjected to the water torture, though he refused to confess.

How did don Martín respond under torture?

He repeatedly upheld his innocence, choosing silence and dignity even as the treatment nearly killed him.

How did Spaniards and Indigenous people interpret don Martín’s endurance?

Spaniards saw him as a stoic noble figure; Nahuas viewed it as another act of Spanish violence within the tecpan.

What early life experiences shaped don Martín?

He was sent to Spain as a child, raised at court, legitimized by papal bull, and lived among royal children including Prince Philip.

What family tension shaped later events?

Inheritance disputes and conflict with his younger half-brother destabilized relations when they returned to Mexico.

Why did Mexico City become volatile in the 1560s?

Mexica were suddenly ordered to pay tribute; encomenderos feared losing privileges; political authority collapsed after Viceroy Velasco’s death.

Why was don Martín implicated in a supposed conspiracy?

He made bold political statements and associated with discontented young nobles, leading officials to claim he was part of a plot.

What happened after don Martín refused to confess?

His lawyers invoked Malintzin to plead for mercy; he was banished and later died fighting in Spain.

How had the Mexica royal family changed by the mid-1500s?

Epidemics, imposed monogamy, and colonial restructuring reduced their power, though limited prestige remained.

What role did don Martín play in 1564 during the tax riots?

As chief constable, he urged the crowd to disperse and warned they risked enslavement if they resisted.

Why did Viceroy Mendoza create an indigenous cabildo system in the 1530s?

To maintain order via Indigenous self-governance and regulate labor drafts more effectively.

Which members of Moctezuma’s lineage were considered for gobernador?

Surviving sons Nezahualtecolotl (Martín Cortés) and don Pedro, plus nephews like Huanitzin.

Why was Huanitzin chosen as gobernador?

He was respected, bilingual, worked with Franciscans, and fit Spanish goals for Christianized Indigenous leadership.

How did Huanitzin symbolically adapt to Christian rule?

He commissioned featherworkers to create a Christian-themed artwork (Mass of Saint Gregory) in Indigenous style.

What challenges did Tehuetzquititzin face as ruler?

Epidemics, shrinking resources, Spanish exploitation, and defending noble status.

Why did nobles petition for Bartolomé de las Casas?

They sought a powerful protector against Spanish abuses and loss of Indigenous resources.

Why was the appointment of a new gobernador delayed after 1554?

Spaniards feared strong Indigenous political voices and installed an outsider noble temporarily.

What major policy change came with Visitador Valderrama?

Imposition of a cash head tax on Mexico City’s Indigenous population, ending their exemption.

Why did commoners reject Valderrama’s attempt to blame nobles for the crisis?

They understood nobles held heavy responsibilities and did not believe corruption caused the tribute change.

What triggered the July 1564 uprising?

Sudden enforcement of the head tax, arrests of cabildo leaders, threats of forced labor, and economic strain on women weavers.

How did the riot at the tecpan unfold?

Crowds surged in, attacked officials, damaged property, and clashed violently with Spaniards.

What were the consequences of the uprising?

Forty-six men were flogged, shaven, and sold into servitude for two to five years.

Why was the Chalca Woman’s Song performed after the riot?

As a subtle, traditional form of protest expressing communal anger and suffering.

How did Spaniards suppress further dissent after the riot?

Erecting poles to punish critics, increasing surveillance, and arresting protesters.

Why did Valderrama misinterpret the crisis in his report to the king?

He believed Indians wanted a cash economy and blamed friars, failing to grasp Indigenous resistance to sudden impoverishment.

Why did don Martín resign his post after the crisis?

Political chaos, violent repression, and the death of Viceroy Velasco made the position untenable.

Why was Huanitzin an ideal figure for Christianity’s interpretive project?

He bridged Indigenous authority and Christian symbolism through language, collaboration with friars, and noble lineage.

How did featherwork communicate Christian ideas?

It used sacred Indigenous artistic forms to depict Christian miracles like transubstantiation.

Why did Pedro de Gante support the featherwork project?

To evangelize through respected Indigenous media, making Christian doctrine visually intelligible.

How did Christian imagery shape Indigenous political legitimacy?

Public displays of Christian piety helped Indigenous elites maintain authority under Spanish rule.

What message did the Mass of Saint Gregory artwork send?

To Spaniards: loyalty to Christian doctrine. To Nahuas: continuity of artistry and political identity under new conditions.

How did Christianity reshape Indigenous governance?

It became a required framework for leadership, identity, and political acceptance under colonial rule.

Why was Marcos jailed during the 1564 tribute crisis?

He refused to pay the required four pesos, illustrating commoner resistance to the new head tax.

What does Pedro Acaçayol’s exchange with Ceynos reveal?

It shows how colonial officials ignored Indigenous poverty while commoners used respectful but pointed speech to criticize unjust demands.

What is the significance of Acaçayol’s ironic line “Fine, you know what to do, for you are the king”?

It mocks Ceynos’s claim to royal-style authority while highlighting that a true king should protect, not destroy, his people.

Why did nobles reject the proposal for one noble and one commoner to refuse the tax and die as a sacrifice?

They knew the Spaniards would not stop at two deaths and would likely kill many more, showing their realistic view of colonial violence.

What does don Luis Cipac’s arrest and later violent outburst indicate?

The unbearable pressure of enforcing tribute pushed him toward psychological collapse and turned him against his own people.

What happened during the October 14 public tribute counting?

The cabildo publicly counted 3,360 pesos—short of the quota—while leaders wept and acknowledged both injustice and the reality of Spanish power.

Why is Paquiquineo (don Luis de Velasco of the Chesapeake) important in this chapter?

A kidnapped Algonkian noble, he witnessed the 1564 crisis and later killed Jesuit settlers back home, showing how colonial lessons shaped resistance elsewhere.

How did the Dominicans block Paquiquineo’s return to his homeland at first?

They convinced authorities that, as a Christian, he could not be sent back alone and held him as a future missionary intermediary for northern lands.

What did Paquiquineo learn from the Mexica before returning home?

That open rebellion after Europeans gained a strong foothold usually failed, shaping his later decision to destroy the Jesuit mission in Virginia.

Why did Ceynos conduct harsh treason trials against the Cortés brothers in 1566?

He exploited Spanish fear after the 1564 uprising, using torture and executions to reassert Audiencia authority.

What ended the direct Mexica royal line in Tenochtitlan?

Don Luis Cipac’s mental collapse, arrest over missing tribute funds, and death, after which Spaniards began appointing outsider nobles as governors.

What adaptation strategies did Mexica elites pursue after 1565?

They rewrote the census to argue for lower tribute, widened cabildo membership, and accepted non-Mexica gobernadors to preserve some influence.

Why did Nahua nobles begin writing detailed histories of recent events?

They feared their world and knowledge would be forgotten and used written annals to preserve Indigenous perspectives under colonial rule.