Tran 1

(Steven) Hung Tran

Professor Campbell
History 007A
Moctezumas Greeting to Hernan Cortes
King Moctezuma thought Cortes and Europeans arrival were god, so he treated them with
respect and nicely until he found out the truth about them. Before King Moctezuma know the
truth about Cortes, he welcomed them with an open arm and willing to give Cortes whatever he
asked for. Since Moctezuma is a traditional kind of person, so it is very common that a King
treated new comer with respect. Kings servants even gave Cortes necklace as a welcoming gift
because they believe that Cortes is god. It comes to the part where they even share things such as
land and gold. After that, King invited Cortes to seat with him and then Moctezuma started to tell
Cortes about his ancestor. He also told Cortes on how they knew that they knew all along that
theyre not the lands native, and know that one day the foreigner would come back to take back
whats them. King Moctezuma also said that he and his people will obey and be loyral and see
Cortes as their lord, so if theres anything Cortes needs, they will provide him as much as
possible.
The term others can integrated here by comparing the differences between Moctezuma
and Cortes. The intentions of the Spaniard were to conquer the land and in the process of goods.
They would do anything to follow the directions of the natives for a greater good of the people.
While the Moctezuma trust the Europeans, Cortes is feeling the opposite but only interested in
the resources.