The myth of “La Malinche”

In 1519 Hernan Cortes conquered Mexico, which was ruled by the Aztecs, and at that time had at least a
million subjects, but Cortes had only 500 men, a few horses and cannon.

What was his secret weapon? A 17 year old slave girl named Malinche.

Malinche's story can be interpreted in different ways. She has been known as the mother of Mexico (the son
she had with Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, was likely the first mestizo person, European and
indigenous, yet her name is also associated with betrayal.

A young girl was born in 1502 named Malinalli to an Aztec noble family. In her early life she learned Nahuatl,
the language of the Aztecs. As a girl, her father was killed by the aztecs, then her mother remarried and had
another son. Not wishing to jeopardize her new son's inheritance, Malinali's mother sold her into slavery. As a
slave she learned to speak Mayan, acquiring bilingual skills that would later serve as a crucial link for
communication between the Spanish conquistador and the Mayans and Aztecs.

In 1519 Hernan Cortes landed in what is now called Mexico, which was part of the Aztec Empire, and began the
conquest of the territory for Spain.  In an early battle he was given Malinalli and 19 other slave girls as tribute
by the Indians at Tabasco. The Spanish baptized the girls and gave them Christian names. Malinalli was named
Marina, to which the Spanish soldiers added Doña, so they called her Doña Marina. As time went on, Malinche
quickly learned Spanish and became Cortés’s exclusive interpreter. The two formed a close relationship. But
Doña Marina could think only about revenge for his father´s death.

She became Cortes’ key to the conquest of the Aztecs and all of Mexico by her intelligence and charm,
translating the various dialects into Spanish and tricking the Aztec Emperor Montezuma into believing Cortes
was the returning god Quetzalcoatl or Feathered Serpent. Cortés himself stated in a letter that “After God, we
owe this conquest of New Spain to Doña Marina.”

In 1523, just a year after the Spanish army took Tenochtitlan, Malinche gave birth to Cortés’s son. Shortly
afterward, Cortés’s wife arrived to Mexico from Spain and he arranged for Malinche to marry the conquistador
Juan Jaramillo. Then, she gave birth to a daughter by Jaramillo. Not much is known of her life beyond this time,
it is not clear when or how she died.

Some observers ask if it is fair to remember Malinche as a traitor or to judge her relationship with Cortés and
the Spanish conquest of Mexico, pointing out that being sold as a slave into that relationship was clearly not a
personal decision. No matter how one chooses to interpret her role, the historic encounter of two separate
worlds and the subsequent birth of a new nation seem to revolve around the figure of Malintzin, Malinche, or
Doña Marina.

Source:
https://malincheinfo.wordpress.com/
https://www.donquijote.org/mexican-culture/history/la-malinche/
1. What was Malinche´s original name? Malinalli
2. Why was she sold as a slave? As a girl, her father was killed by the aztecs, then her mother remarried
and had another son. Not wishing to jeopardize her new son's inheritance, Malinali's mother sold her
into slavery.

3. What were all the languages that she could speak? Mayan, Spanish, Nahuatl

4. Why was her name changed to Marina? The Spanish baptized the girls and gave them Christian names.
5. How did she want to revenge her father´s death?.
6. She worked for Cortes as
7. It is believed that Cortes said that all the new conquests were thanks to…
8. Moctezuma thought that Cortes was…
9. How many children did she have?
10. Why is it unfair to remember her as a traitor?