Townsend, Camilla. Malintzin’s Choices: an Indian woman in the conquest of Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. 2006.
Selfishness or NOT Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico is a book written by Camilla Townsend. Townsend’s timeframe in this book takes place in the 1519-1521.Townsend describes the thesis of this book throughout her work, her thesis basically stated that Malintzin was an indigenous woman that translated for Hernando Cortés in the meetings he had with the Aztec emperor Moctezuma, and claimed she didn’t really want to, but her actions speak otherwise. I found it interesting that Malinztin basically worked her way to the top from starting out as a slave to becoming the term “Malinche”, which she …show more content…
She ends up being Cortes interpreter. Even though Townsend says it was just a “choice” that she ended up being Cortes interpreter, I don’t actually believe that. I believe she had a very calculated plan, knowing that Cortes was a powerful person she used being his interpreter to her advantage to get what she wanted. She ended up with the title “doña”, which meant she was a woman of rank and status. She eventually ended up having a child with Cortes, which was obviously an advantage. The remaining of the chapters in the book describe the war that took place between 1519-1521, which led to the fall of the Tenochtitlan, which resulted in the defeat of the Mexica. Cortes’s plan to trap the Aztecs within their capital worked flawlessly. He wanted to capture them within their capital therefore he could increase his weakness which was protecting his flanks. The fall of Tenochtitlan was so significant because basically the old saying out with the old and in with the new. Native cultures disappeared due to the natives not being immune to the European
Selfishness or NOT Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico is a book written by Camilla Townsend. Townsend’s timeframe in this book takes place in the 1519-1521.Townsend describes the thesis of this book throughout her work, her thesis basically stated that Malintzin was an indigenous woman that translated for Hernando Cortés in the meetings he had with the Aztec emperor Moctezuma, and claimed she didn’t really want to, but her actions speak otherwise. I found it interesting that Malinztin basically worked her way to the top from starting out as a slave to becoming the term “Malinche”, which she …show more content…
She ends up being Cortes interpreter. Even though Townsend says it was just a “choice” that she ended up being Cortes interpreter, I don’t actually believe that. I believe she had a very calculated plan, knowing that Cortes was a powerful person she used being his interpreter to her advantage to get what she wanted. She ended up with the title “doña”, which meant she was a woman of rank and status. She eventually ended up having a child with Cortes, which was obviously an advantage. The remaining of the chapters in the book describe the war that took place between 1519-1521, which led to the fall of the Tenochtitlan, which resulted in the defeat of the Mexica. Cortes’s plan to trap the Aztecs within their capital worked flawlessly. He wanted to capture them within their capital therefore he could increase his weakness which was protecting his flanks. The fall of Tenochtitlan was so significant because basically the old saying out with the old and in with the new. Native cultures disappeared due to the natives not being immune to the European