ABSTRACT
Cortes had the choice of two routes for reaching the Mexican plateau. The northern route led through Jalapa; the southern through Orizaba. He chose the northern and shorter route. The Captain-General’s instructions were to proceed quickly and directly to the goal. The houses were well constructed and were white, as in Andalusia. The inhabitants did not flee but, on the contrary, approached the strangers and fixed them with insistent stares. The Tlaxcalans had regrouped and were reinforced: 6,000 howling Indians rolled down upon the Spanish vanguard. Cortes’ great skill was to transform an alliance imposed first of all by arms into genuine collaboration. In the main, Mexico comprises a vast plateau formed by the prolongation of the gigantic Andean cordillera which flanks the western coasts of South America. The Spaniards remained at Tlaxcala for seventeen days. The soldiers rested, but Cortés displayed intense political activity.
