30 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



Skillfully, Cortes reestablished cordial relations 

 with the Totonac, and upon his return to Tenochti- 

 tlan, he was accompanied by "many Indians of 

 Zempoala and Tlaxcala, all armed for war with 

 great haste" (Sahagim 4: 67). 



TOTONACAPAN DURING THE SIEGE OF TENOCHTITLAN 



About this time, mention of Totonacapan fades 

 from the early chronicles, which are absorbed by 

 the main drama of the siege and surrender of the 

 Mexican capital. 



It is, however, logical to suppose that peaceful 

 penetration was extended progressively through- 

 out Totonacapan. The implication is that the 

 northern zone was beginning to come under Span- 

 ish control. Since 1520, Cortes had planned an 

 expedition to the Huasteca, with a view to locating 

 a port more adequate than those of San Juan de 

 Ulua and "Quiahuixtlan." For various reasons, 

 he was not able to undertake this move until 1522. 

 But the Huasteca lies directly north of Totona- 

 capan, and we may assume he counted on control- 

 ling the latter province before establishing him- 

 self in the area to the north. In fact, it would ap- 

 pear that Papantla actually passed into Spanish 

 hands before the fall of Tenochtitlan. 55 



About the time the Mexican capital was under 

 siege, there were important uprisings in Jalacingo, 

 on the borders of Totonacapan (Diaz del Castillo 

 2 : 119-120 ; Gayangos, p. 163 ; Oviedo 3 : 344) , and 

 in Huatusco (Gayangos, p. 260; Ixtlilxochitl 

 1 : 383 ; Oviedo 3 : 426) , some distance to the south. 

 Both were suppressed by Sandoval. However, 

 there is no indication that these agitations had 

 strong reverberations in Totonacapan. Misantla, 

 at least, continued under Spanish rule (Kelacion 

 de Misantla), although it would appear that Al- 

 molonga rebelled, with disastrous results. 56 



For western Totonacapan — the highlands along 

 the modern Veracruz-Puebla border — we have old 

 relaciones from "Matlatlan" and Chila, Zacatlan, 

 Hueytlalpan, and Jojupango. Without offering 



55 ". . . quando vino el marques del valle tuvieron nueba de su 

 venida estos dichos yndios y como vioron que montecuma se avia 

 subjetndo aunque ellos no estaua a el, se subjetaron al dho. 

 marques . . ." (Relacion de Papantla). 



•• "Ay . . . hasta veinte indios tributaries ; en tiempo de su 

 gentilidad auia mas de myll y quinientos : consumyeronse como 

 esta dicho y tambien porque despues de conquistados se reuelaron 

 y en la redugioi; fueron destruydos" (Paso y Troncoso 5 : 118). 



resistance, the first two were conquered by Fran- 

 cisco de Montejo, about 1520 or 1521 (Relacion de 

 "Matlatlan" y Chila). Relaciones for the other 

 pueblos indicate that Hueytlalpan submitted 

 peacefully to Pedro Cintos de Portillo and Juan 

 de Salazar; S7 Jojupango, to Gonzalo Portero; and 

 Zacatlan, in 1520, to Hernan Lopez. 



In conclusion, it would appear that between 1519 

 and 1522 the Spanish conquest of Totonacapan was 

 more or less completed — with the exception of cer- 

 tain isolated pueblos, difficult of access. 



EVANGELIZATION 



Conquest was followed by evangelization — or, 

 as Kicard (1933) calls it,, "spiritual conquest." 

 Missionizing endeavors in Totonacapan began 

 early and endured late. Two religious orders were 

 involved, but, on the whole, their labors appear 

 not to have been very intensive. In any case, the 

 results were by no means in accord with the pro- 

 longed proselytizing to which Totonacapan was 

 subjected, and there are evident survivals, even 

 today, of old religious beliefs and practices. 



THE FIRST MISSIONARIES 



Proselytizing began at the same time as the mili- 

 tary conquest. Obviously, the initial procedures 

 were very distinct from those which the Fran- 

 ciscans followed later. We may recall the de- 

 struction of the idols in "Cempoala" ; the brusque 

 discourses of Cortes ; and the conversion, by force, 

 of idolatrous temples into Christian chapels. 

 There is no doubt that the conquerors, and espe- 

 cially Cortes, felt deeply the missionary aspect of 

 their enterprise. Not infrequently, Cortes was on 

 the verge of ruining his own plans — once, as we 

 have seen, in "Cempoala" — through the spirit of 

 religious crusade. 



The first Christian chapel in New Spain was es- 

 tablished in a teocalli in "Cempoala," after the 

 destruction of the native idols, which were sup- 

 planted by crosses and an image of the Virgin. 

 The temple was carefully cleaned and white- 

 washed, and a soldier, one Juan de Torres, elderly 

 and lame, was placed in charge. He was aided by 

 various Totonac functionaries, who were obliged 



67 ". . . los dichos yndios se les dieron por la noticia que 

 tuvieron que se auia dado monteguma en mexico . . ." (Relaci6n 

 de Hueytlalpan). 



