Point of Divergence (EOTN)

***Eagle of the New World***
By 1518 the governor of the already conquered territory of Cuba, Diego de Velazquez, elected Hernan Cortés to lead the third expedition into the Americas despite the mistrust he had with him given his well-known past of being incarcerated due to supposed conspiration against his superiors. Even members of the council warned Velazquez of this decision, but nevertheless he refused to revoke Cortés of his duty and by February of the next year, armed with roughly 700 crewmembers and scarce supplies the conqueror departed before the date given to him by the governor.

He would later make brief resupply stops in other ports along the way with guidance of the experienced navigating officer Antón de Alaminos who had taken part in both previous expeditions and was quick to lead Cortés fleet to the closest continental beach he knew of, that being, the sacred bay of Cozumel. The Mayas who inhabited the island fled in fright upon seeing the fifteen massive ships arrive at their shoreline. Cortés and his army set foot upon the white sand, and after the chaos and screaming had dissipated they tried to preach to the natives about the catholic religion and attempted to convince them to believe Christianity was superior to their “savage, heretic and bloodthirsty” religion, but the natives were resilient to these attempts of conversion, so Cortés decided to take more drastic measures and destroyed the existing religious symbols and statues and replaced them with crosses and images of the virgin Mary. After some other “negotiations” and rough translations, some natives let the Spaniards know that they weren’t the first white men they knew of and in fact, a nearby cacique kept some of their kind as slaves in their palace. Cortés upon hearing this, thought of rescuing the castaways so he could use them in his later conquest as translators and began negotiating the terms of release with the natives.

He gave them a couple of fine cotton clothes and some silver beads, promising them more if they brought back the castaways to the bay of c‘otoch where the captain Diego de Ordáz would be waiting for them in a lesser boat alongside other twenty armed men. The slaves had a week to be released and taken to the assigned beach, otherwise Cortés would wage his wrath against the chiefdom of Ekab. The tribute would be accompanied by a letter written by Cortés himself, stating the terms of release and the meeting point, also promising them that if they were to join and assist him in his conquest of the savage lands, they would be greatly rewarded with riches, prestige and lands.

This letter was given to a native merchant who was familiar with one of these castaways, Geronimo de Aguilar, who was a devout catholic cleric that had been treated like a slave during the last three years of his servant life and naturally received this letter with remarkable enthusiasm and relief, showing it to his master as soon as he could. The Cacique agreed to the terms of release, accepted the tribute and granted Aguiar his freedom. Once he stepped out of the palace, Aguilar began the search for an old comrade of his, the only other lasting survivor in the depths of the jungle, Gonzalo Guerrero. Aguilar had heard little from Guerrero ever since they parted, as far as he was aware Gonzalo had remained as a priest’s servant in the chiefdom of Taxmar, but in reality, while Aguilar continued his slave life fishing and fetching water, Guerrero had risen through the ranks providing the maya chiefdom with his western military experience and tactics, granting many victories to Taxmar. And as Gonzalo became a more powerful warrior and a more respected member of society, he slowly began to integrate himself into the maya culture, tattooing his face, piercing his ears and dressing in accordance to maya tradition. This bravery and renowned glory eventually granted Gonzalo his freedom, and as a free man he married a beautiful young maya princess and had three kids with her, consolidating his loyalty to the new world. And when finally, Aguilar and Gonzalo reunited after so many years it was quite a shock for both of them, seeing how their bodies had been shaped and scarred by the maya way of life; and naturally, they exchanged memories and anecdotes as they described their fate in the jungle of Yucatán. As the conversation carried on, it became clearer how each of them saw the maya and it was evident Guerrero wasn’t leaving with Aguilar to betray his new family.

“But brother Guerrero, don’t you remember the god and religion you once fought for? Are you going to sacrifice your soul for the sake of an Indian woman? Why don’t you bring your family alongside us if you love them so dearly?”

"Brother Aguilar, I am married and have three kids. Here people know me as a captain and a respected warrior, my face is tattooed and my ears are pierced. What would the Spaniards think of me if they were to see me in such state? You may go, but I have to stay for my kids and wife. Here I’ve made a life of my own, a better life than I would have ever imagined, I can’t just leave it like that.”

“I see… well, may it rest on your conscience if that’s the path you choose to take my brother. May you take these green beads of mine and give them to your sons, tell them they were sent to you by your brothers from another land. Are there any words you want me to give to the other men of Castile? Any favours I can do in your name in the civilised world?”

***POINT OF DIVERGENCE***
“Yes, in fact, there is one las thing I would greatly appreciate you did from my part. When you join this so called Cortés in his journey conquest and self-entitled glory at the expenses of this noble people, I want you to think for a second in the souls you’ll be sacrificing, on the kids you’ll be turning into orphans, in the spouses you’ll be turning into widows. Do you know whose families will scream and burn? How many hearts will be broken? How many “heretic” temples will you shatter before you’re able of seeing that God also lives in the eyes of these people?” Oh, but there is no need to worry, your heart shall not carry an ounce of regret, there shall be no tears, no anxiety, no sins, no pain or grief. There will only be blood Geronimo… your blood.

Upon reading Cortés’s letter, Geronimo became aware of the Crown’s thirst for power, gold and land, and he knew that they could easily get it if given the chance. He had already seen the true face of colonialism in the Caribbean and Darien. He had also seen and taken part in the horrors of war. He would not let that happen again, not in Yucatán, not to his people, not to his family.

And so, he decided to murder Aguilar, stabbing him in the side with an obsidian knife to prevent Cortés from taking advantage of Aguilars’ knowledge. A war was coming and he was going to need every advantage he could get.

***Sources***
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/historia/grandes-reportajes/hernan-cortes-el-conquistador-del-imperio-azteca_6818/3 https://www.biblioteca.org.ar/libros/134.pdf https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernán_Cortés#Cuba http://www.memoriapoliticademexico.org/Efemerides/2/18021519.html https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquista_de_México https://masdemx.com/2016/06/asi-fue-el-primer-encuentro-entre-los-mexicas-y-hernan-cortes/ https://elpais.com/diario/2002/12/04/opinion/1038956407_850215.html http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2019/1116248.html http://bibliotecadigital.ilce.edu.mx/sites/estados/libros/tlaxcala/html/sec_9.html https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerónimo_de_Aguilar https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzalo_Guerrero https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liga_de_Mayapán https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquista_de_Yucatán