Malinche
Before the Spanish conquest, the Aztec civilization controlled trade routes from the Pacific Ocean
to the Gulf of Mexico and as far south as Guatemala. Its rich and populous empire was held
together by marriage alliances and ritualized battles in which large numbers of enemy warriors
were captured and sacrificed to honor and sustain the gods. Indigenous women were present from
the beginning of the war of conquest: among the first Cortés received from Moctezuma was a
group of women slaves for his delight. In both worlds, then, women were objects to be bestowed
and with whom to seek pleasure. Bernal Diaz del Castillo recounts that in March 1519, Cortés
and his men received presents from the caciques and headmen of Tabasco, from a town they
called Santa María de la Victoria, the most important of which were twenty women. It was
around twenty women and Cortés received these gifts with pleasure (Tuñón 16). One of the
