Who is malinche

Apparently wishing the boy to inherit all three villages, Malinche's mother sold her into enslavement in secret, telling the people of the town that she had died. Malinche was sold to traders of enslaved people from Xicallanco.

They in turn sold her to the lord of Potonchan. Although she was a captive, she was high-born and never lost her regal bearing. She also had a gift for languages.

In March , Cortes and his expedition landed near Potonchan in the Tabasco region. The local Indigenous people did not want to deal with the Spanish, so before long the two sides were battling.

The Spanish, with their armor and steel weapons , easily defeated the Natives and soon local leaders asked for peace, which Cortes was only too happy to agree to. The lord of Potonchan brought food to the Spanish and gave them 20 women to cook for them, one of whom was Malinche. Cortes handed the women and girls out to his captains; Malinche was given to Alonso Hernandez Portocarrero. It was around this time that some began referring to her by the name Malinche rather than Malinali.

Therefore, Malintzine originally referred to Cortes, as he was Malinali's enslaver, but somehow the name stuck to her instead and evolved into Malinche. Cortes soon realized how valuable she was, however, and took her back. At that time, Aguilar had learned to speak Maya. Malinche could speak Maya and Nahuatl, which she learned as a girl. After leaving Potonchan, Cortes landed near present-day Veracruz, which was then controlled by vassals of the Nahuatl-speaking Aztec Empire.

Cortes soon found that he could communicate through these two translators: Malinche could translate from Nahuatl to Maya, and Aguilar could translate from Maya to Spanish. Eventually, Malinche learned Spanish, thus eliminating the need for Aguilar.

Time and again, Malinche proved her worth to her new enslavers. The Mexica Aztecs who ruled Central Mexico from their magnificent city of Tenochtitlan had evolved a complicated system of governance that involved an intricate combination of war, awe, fear, religion, and strategic alliances. The Aztecs were the most powerful partner of the Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tacuba, three city-states close to one another in the central Valley Of Mexico.

It was a very complex system and the Spaniards understood very little of it; their rigid Catholic worldview prevented most of them from grasping the intricacies of Aztec life. Malinche not only translated the words she heard but also helped the Spanish grasp concepts and realities that they would need to understand in their war of conquest.

After the Spanish defeated and aligned themselves with the warlike Tlaxcalans in September , they prepared to march the rest of the way to Tenochtitlan. Their path led them through Cholula, known as a holy city because it was the center of the worship of the god Quetzalcoatl. While the Spanish were there, Cortes got wind of a possible plot by Aztec Emperor Montezuma to ambush and slay the Spanish once they left the city.

Malinche helped provide further proof. She had befriended a woman in town, the wife of a leading military officer. One day, the woman approached Malinche and told her not to accompany the Spaniards when they left as they would be annihilated.

She may also have had very little affection for the society that had allowed her to be enslaved and ruthlessly exploited when she was still a child.

But when considering her story, it is important to keep all of the circumstances of her life in mind. She bore him a son, Martin, in It is impossible to know whether this was something she wanted or whether it was forced upon her.

Throughout the conquest, no matter how much power she seemed to wield, Malitzen was a slave. The marriage elevated Malitzen to the status of a free Spanish noblewoman, with all the rights and privileges of that class. So even though her marriage meant a major improvement of status for Malitzen, it was still an instance where her life course was altered to suit the needs of others. Malitzen bore a daughter, Maria, for Juan Jaramillo in Her marriage meant that both of her children became part of the Spanish nobility in Mexico and back in Spain.

Malitzen died in during a smallpox outbreak. Though she was only about 29 years old, in her short life she acted as one of the most important figures of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, and she left the world a wealthy, free woman. Historians still debate how her life should be interpreted, but there is no doubt that her actions changed the course of Mexican history.

In a professional context it often happens that private or corporate clients corder a publication to be made and presented with the actual content still not being ready. However, reviewers tend to be distracted by comprehensible content, say, a random text copied from a newspaper or the internet.

The are likely to focus on. Sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Content Warning: This life story addresses sexual assault. Resource Teaching Materials Suggested Activities.

Print Image. Aztec: One of the two dominant communities of the Yucatan Peninsula at the time of European contact. Most Aztec people spoke the Nahuatl language. Maya: One of the two dominant communities of the Yucatan Peninsula at the time of European contact.

Most Mayan people spoke the Yucatec language. Mexican Amerindian: Name for the Native people who have lived in the territory of modern-day Mexico since before the arrival of European colonials. Privacy Policy Contact Us You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the provided link on any marketing message.

La Malinche left no records of her own life. JSTOR is a digital library for scholars, researchers, and students. By: Farah Mohammed. March 1, March 2, Share Tweet Email Print. Have a correction or comment about this article? Please contact us. La Malinche, Feminist Prototype. Join Our Newsletter.