Laura Loria - La Malinche

Published in 2018 by Britannica Educational Publishing (a trademark of Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.) in association with The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

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First Edition

Britannica Educational Publishing
J.E. Luebering: Executive Director, Core Editorial
Andrea R. Field: Managing Editor, Comptons by Britannica

Rosen Publishing
Heather Moore Niver: Editor
Nelson S: Art Director
Michael Moy: Designer
Cindy Reiman: Photography Manager
Heather Moore Niver: Photo Researcher

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Loria, Laura, author.
Title: La Malinche : indigenous translator for Hernn Corts in Mexico / Laura Loria.
Description: First edition. | New York : Britannica Educational Publishing, in association with Rosen Educational Services, [2018] | Series: Women who changed history | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016057947| ISBN 9781680486520 (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: Marina, approximately 1505-approximately 1530Juvenile literature. | MexicoHistoryConquest, 1519-1540Juvenile literature. | Aztec womenBiographyJuvenile literature. | TranslatorsMexicoBiographyJuvenile literature. | Indians of MexicoBiographyJuvenile literature. | Corts, Hernn, 1485-1547Juvenile literature.
Classification: LCC F1230.M373 L67 2018 | DDC 972.02092 [B] dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016057947

Manufactured in the United States of America

Photo credits: Cover, pp. 10, 14, 21 PHAS/Universal Images Group/Getty Images; p. 7 Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona, USA/Museum purchase with funds provided by the Friends of Mexican Art/Bridgeman Images; p. 13 v0v/iStock/Thinkstock; p. 15 Photos.com/Thinkstock; p. 16 Maryann Groves/North Wind Picture Archives; p. 19 Chris Hellier/Alamy Stock Photo; pp. 2223 Ned M. Seidler/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION/Getty Images; p. 26 Bettmann/Getty Images; p. 27 Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo; pp. 2829, 44 Private Collection /Archives Charmet/Bridgeman Images; pp. 3031 John Gress/Corbis News/Getty Images; p. 34 Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Florence, Italy/Bridgeman Images; p. 37 Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City, Mexico/Bridgeman Images; p. 39 Mireille Vautier/Alamy Stock Photo; pp. 4041 Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo; p. 43 Lucio Ruiz Pastor/age footstock/SuperStock.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE
MALINTZIN: FROM WEALTH TO SLAVERY

CHAPTER TWO
DOA MARINA: CORTS RISING STAR

CHAPTER THREE
CONQUERING MEXICO

CHAPTER FOUR
THE LEGACY AND MYTH OF LA MALINCHE

T hink about all of the history you have learned so far. Who were the people you read about? Who did your teachers discuss the most? Most likely, you have learned a history of men and their actions. Men have dominated government, literature, science, and exploration for most of written history. Because women make up about half the people on the planet, why dont we learn more about them?

Of course, there have been some exceptional women in history as well. When youve learned about a woman, it has been because she has accomplished something extraordinary, like the queens Cleopatra of Egypt and Elizabeth I of England. Still, womens stories are often told in the context of the men they were linked to, by blood or marriage.

This seems unfair, but we must consider what the lives of women have been like throughout history. Women have been seen as weak, unintelligent, and too emotional to do anything important in the world. Girls were kept home until they married. Girls from poor families might never even learn to read, while wealthier girls would get a feminine education, of reading, writing, simple math, and domestic subjects.

Until the last century, women were expected to stay in the home, cooking and cleaning while raising children. Failing to marry turned a woman into an old maid who was pitied. If a woman did work outside the home, usually it was in one of a few occupations deemed suitable for women: servant, teacher, nurse, or factory laborer.

Artists can only imagine what the real Malinche looked like. This modern portrait of her may have been based on another Mexican woman.

Malinches story is unlike most womens of her time. She was able to do things forbidden to most women, like travel, explore, and speak with important leaders. The support of a powerful man, Hernn Corts, the Spanish conqueror of Mexico, enabled her to do this. Their partnership resulted in the complete takeover of Mexico by the Spanish. Corts could not have achieved his goals without her knowledge and assistance.

Malinche can be compared to Pocahontas in America. She was a native Mexican Indian who guided a foreigner in her land. She translated for Corts, not only the local languages, but also the meanings behind the words. It is said that she was always by Corts side, and she was certainly of great importance to his mission. It is possible that he would not have succeeded so quickly without her.

Also like Pocahontas, most of the story of Malinches life is uncertain, or has become something of a myth. None of her writings, if there were any, have survived. She is only briefly mentioned in other historical documents, including those of Corts. Most of what we know about Malinche was passed down orally, and changed over time.

Unlike Pocahontas, who is seen in a positive light by most Americans, Malinche is a controversial figure among Mexicans. Some see her as a heroine who tried to make the colonization of Mexico as peaceful as possible. Others think she is a traitor to native Mexicans, who sold out her people to save her own life. Perhaps there is some truth to both viewpoints. Her story is fascinating and unusual, like those of most women who changed history.

A round the year 1501, a girl named Malintzin was born in the village of Painalla in the Coatzacualco province, located on the Yucatan Peninsula of present-day Mexico. Her father was a cacique, a wealthy and influential man of the Nahua peoples, which included the Aztecs. This group was very powerful and had a large empire. The Aztecs had organized governments and religion, social classes, and a trading economy. They also kept excellent written records.

Early Life

Although historians dont know a lot about Malintzin, or Malinche, as she came to be widely known, we can guess what her early life was like by looking at the lives of other people in the upper class. As the daughter of a noble, Malinche would have worn clothes of cotton, a fine fabric at the time. She would have had a variety of foods to eat, beyond the local corn and beans, because her family could afford imported food. Her home would have been made out of stone and contain many rooms. Her familys wealth allowed them to have servants, so she could spend her time getting some education, rather than doing chores at home. Aztec children were taught to be polite, respectful, honest, and to have self-control. They should always be well behaved.