Leal, George Foster; Mould, Paul

Sayola : The Conquest of the Aztecs

In 1519 Mexico was ruled by the Aztec Empire front the island city of Technotitlan. They ruled their world and honoured their Gods by building huge temples and sacrificing conquered people. Their army numbered in the thousands and their subjects paid homage to the mighty Montezuma, the prince of the Aztecs. Then the Spanish came and the New World met the Old. Two more different cultures had never met before in history. Through the lust for gold and silver, Cortes and his men set in motion a series of events that propelled the Aztec Empire on a collision course with destiny. One man chronicled all these events that led to the ultimate betrayal and downfall of an empire. He was known as Friar Marcos de Niza to the Spanish. To the Aztecs and other natives he was called Sayola, the Man from the Sky, for they believed he talked to God. History has always painted a glorious picture of the powerful haughty Dons from Spain as they fought their way across Mexico to Technotitlan and the final battle with the Aztec Jaguar and Eagle knights. They were called Conquistadors, their action praised by the Catholic Church and the king alike. Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan friar, writes a different tale of the conquest and the fall from grace of the mighty Aztecs. Aztec legend speaks of a vengeful God, Quetzalcoatl the winged serpent, who would someday return to wreak his vengeance. He would come out of the east as the Spanish did, on wings, like the sails of their ships and he would bring destruction with him. The year he would appear was the Aztec year Reed I. Reed I was 1519. Destiny is at hand. The winged serpent had returned to destroy the Aztecs, Friar Marcos, the Man who talks with God, befriended by Montezuma, witnessed it all first hand. His story, his legacy is "la verdard", the truth and paints a vivid picture of the clash between the Old World and the New.