Anahuatlacanco: The Land Between the Waters, Land of the Nahuatlaca

Anahuatlacanco: The Land Between the Waters, Land of the Nahuatlaca
An Alternate History Timeline
By Luis Felipe Salcedo

Volume One
[The Spanish Conquest]
Book I of Cortesia: The Series
(1518-1700)

cortez_montezuma.jpg

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, Aztec emperor Montezuma and Franciscan friar Gerónimo de Aguilar meeting one another.

Lafalta de comunicación entre dos hombres puede llevar a consecuencias no deseadas.

"The lack of communication between two men can lead to unintended consequences."
- Hernán Cortés, at his deathbed in 1547.

Author's Note:

Otherwise known as my third, and hopefully, the final edition of the original Cortesia collaborative timeline done by John Frederick Parker and myself which led to the discontinuation and reboot as The Navatlacas: Heirs to Hernan and Montezuma. This one will be like the second edition, a reboot of the last one, though it will be done in the style of my other time-line Ashes and Ruin: A Newly Forged World. Detail and information is concentrated in the Americas, and most of that attention will be focused on Mesoamerica in particular, unless there is a strong demand by my readers to include an update mentioning the events in Europe, Africa, and Asia or when it is related to the main subject in hand. I hope this edition will be a lot more realistic in scope and include a lot more detail and background into the formation of an independent kingdom run by Cortés and his descendants.

The term Anahuatlacanco I decided to use for Mexico since it sounds better for me than Navatlaca Empire and for those interested, I combined Anahuac which in our time-line was considered as a name for the country to the south of the United States of America known as Mexico and the term Navatlaca(n) which was the Latin translation for the Nahuatl language, according to the Genocide. The latter is also obviously related to Nahuatlaca which meant "Nahua peoples" which includes everyone and not just the Mexica, Aztecs, etc. Anahuac means The Land Between the Waters, and was originally used to refer to the Valley of Mexico. The suffix -co, like the the suffix -c defines place. The people themselves will refer to themselves as Nahuatlaca or Nahuatlacan in the singular form and Nahuatlacans in the plural. We will know them as Anahuatlacancans.

Anyways, please comment. I would appreciate that very much and offer any criticisms of the last timelines. I felt that I "wanked" the native indigenous Americans far too much, particularly the Taino in regards to Cuba and the Comanche for what I had planned in the second edition and consider ditching.

And for reference, the last two editions:



So please enjoy the first book of the first volume of Cortesia: The Series!
 
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Not many people have the guts to do a third version publicly. Still find the font hard to read.
 
YES! More Nahuatl goodness! In this TL, I think that Spain should not have as large a potential presence as they did in the second incarnation. Perhaps a more powerful Portugal is in order.

Personally, I want a powerful Klein Venedig and especially any Kalmar colonies (Perhaps Nordamerika could be moved). I think England should still get good North American land.

And I know that you mentioned Tzedakaism, but don't be ruled by Rool of Cool. For example, I liked the fact that Persia was more powerful (Persified Iraq would be great) but would also love a revived and powerful Greece. The whole "flash to the future" ruined the linearity of the timeline, and the fact that the Nordamerika short stories mentioned various powerful native powers always irked me- I believe in European/White Raj supremacy over natives (not in the racial, but rather technological sense) and I think disease will probably allow a strong America analogue to arise. Perhaps Nordamerika could just be Amerika?

As for the Qumanche, horses didn't completely screw over American frontier settlements when in the hands of Indians. Technology still wins. I hope America is less balkanized. Hell, have the Incas lose. Only the Nahuatl and maybe Maya will survive!

Love the second TL, will love this TL in time, and hope to see more, Dingo Sa'id.

Brad Matthews, BHA, signing off.
 
Yay for more Mesoamerica! :D

*speaking of which, I should probably update my Mesoamerican TL soon, shouldn't I?

Yes, please.

And I might need some websites on the Maya principalities that existed in the sixteenth century during the Spanish arrival and those in explicit detail, please.

*braces for awesomeness* ;):D
Some of the stuff from the earlier editions of said timeline Cortesia and The Navatlacas: Heirs of Hernan and Montezuma will be retained but a lot will be different in regards to what happens, who is important and the dates.

Not many people have the guts to do a third version publicly. Still find the font hard to read.


True. But I'm not like most people.





 
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And I might need some websites on the Maya principalities that existed in the sixteenth century during the Spanish arrival and those in explicit detail, please.

Hmmm, lemme see what I can do...

Well, here is an online version of De Landa's writings. Not perfect, but then again he was a 16th Century Spanish priest. This is the best map of the northern Yucatan I could find, although it does not have Itzamkanac and Tayasal. But it has everything else. I think Calotmul however is just a Xiu province. If I find more I'll let you know.

Oh, by the way, I like the new name a lot better than the old one. Sounds more Mexican, and more pleasing to the ears. ;)
 
wait... you mean Navatlacas is dead??? :(

Like the phoenix, it has been reborn into something that I hope is better.

Hmmm, lemme see what I can do...

Well, here is an online version of De Landa's writings. Not perfect, but then again he was a 16th Century Spanish priest. This is the best map of the northern Yucatan I could find, although it does not have Itzamkanac and Tayasal. But it has everything else. I think Calotmul however is just a Xiu province. If I find more I'll let you know.

Oh, by the way, I like the new name a lot better than the old one. Sounds more Mexican, and more pleasing to the ears. ;)
The map is going to be useful to know who's who in the region. Thanks for the information. I am going to give it a read.

edit: Glad you like the new name. That's way I picked it. Sounds more native-sounding.
 
Anahuatlacanco: The Land Between the Waters, Land of the Nahuatlaca
An Alternate History Timeline
By Luis Felipe Salcedo

Volume One
[The Spanish Conquest]
Book I of Cortesia: The Series
Prologue
(1518-1700)

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Many accounts from the conquest of the Aztec empire are predominately written by the Spaniards. Most primary sources hail from the letters the conquistador Cortés wrote to his sovereign Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, prior to the events that led to his declaration of independence from the Crown. The other major primary source listed is Bernal Díaz del Castillo's Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España. In it he describes many of the battles he participated in, culminating in the defeat and conquest of the Aztecs in the year 1521. Detail is given to the indigenous cultures and peoples that thrived in the area upon their arrival.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The primary sources from the natives affected as a result of the conquest are seldom observed. Indigenous accounts, however, were documented as early as 1528. Written in the native tongue of Nahuatl, Sahugan described eight omens that were believed to have occurred ten years prior to the Spanish arrival. Aztec emperor Montezuma II and his people were filled with a sense of foreboding. A series of evil omens had foretold of calamities to come to them.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
pic_01_1.jpg
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Tongues of fires, like a flame, pointed and wide-based, pierced through the heavens to their mid-point, to their heart. It was a fiery display and Montezuma and his people all saw it. It is considered by Nahuatl accounts to be the first of the seven omens that foretold the arrival of the Spanish. [/FONT]​

pic_01_2.jpg

Then suddenly, the temple to the Aztec god of war, Huitzilopochtli burst into a fiery inferno of flames, frightening the temple priests and Montezuma himself. No man was found to have caused it, the accounts stated that it did so on its own.

pic_01_3.jpg

Then lightning struck the straw roof of Tzonmulco, the temple of the old fire deity Xiuhtecuhtli. Nahuatl accounts stated that the lightning did not appear during a heavy storm but a mere sprinkle with just a summer flash - not even thunder clapped following the lightning bolt.

pic_01_4.jpg

In full light during the late afternoon, a comet appeared, bursting into three heads over the ocean. The lakes of Anahuatlacanco, especially Lake Texcoco, boiled with the unbearable heat, crackled, and welled upward, far enough to melt adobes and tumble the houses on the islands where the people lived in.

pic_01_5.jpg

The devastation was immense. And often, a woman was heard, moving and weeping throughout the Aztec capital. She would pace about wailing in the middle of the night, "My dear children, we have to go! Where can I take you?"

pic_01_6.jpg


Once the floods had subsided, the fishermen returned to the lakes to snare the local birds to trade their meat and feathers at the market. They came upon and discovered one like a brown crane. Its crest on its head was like a round mirror. They showed the bird to the emperor Montezuma. He looked curiously at the crest, losing himself in the feathers. Montezuma was said to have seen a distant plain, with pale-skinned men riding on the backs on large, monstrous animals that had a small resemblance to deer, making war on his people. He became startled, and terrified, as they pulled out strange weapons that shot flames out their mouths, killing his people in droves with brutal efficiency.




pic_01_7.jpg

Then finally, thistle-people, single-bodied but having two heads - appeared to the frightened Aztec ruler and his court. As often as anyone found one, they showed it to Montezuma. As soon as he looked at one, it would disappear out of the blue.

An agitated Montezuma demanded that his soothsayers explain the meaning of these dire signs and was told, according to the Nahuatl accounts, that they prophesied the destruction of his kingdom. In fact, Montezuma had reason to be fearful - he had known of the Spanish. They had already settled on the islands of Hispaniola, Cuba and San Juan, having conquered and enslaved the native populations. His spies had reported of large wooden vessels right off the coast. These ships were mostly likely the vessels of Juan de Grijalva, commissioned by his uncle Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, conqueror and governor of Cuba, to sail south along the Yokatlān peninsula to the coastal province of Chontalpan, a part of the Aztec empire.

However, it should be noted that all sources depicting said omens were written after the siege and fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521. Historians say that the moment that the Spaniards arrived, the natives did not view them as supernatural in any sense but rather as simply powerful outsiders, disputing the common thought of historians who had until then based their books on the Spanish accounts. Many Spanish accounts incorporated omens to emphasize what they saw as the preordained nature of the conquest and their success as Spanish destiny, and later as a success of creating a civilized, Christian kingdom in the Americas. This means that native emphasis on omens and bewilderment in the face of invasion "may be a post-conquest interpretation by the native peoples who wished to please their new Hispanic overlords and who also resented the failure of Montezuma to provide leadership when the Aztecs needed it.
 
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nice opening.

will this TL be taking the same turn as Navatlacas?

Well, you can expect some things to be exactly the same or very similar as the Navatlacas, mostly events overseas though I can not guarantee that. A lot of stuff in regards to the formation of Cortes' independent empire in Mexico would be a lot different and gradual.

You and the others will find that out eventually. :)

No further comments?
 
Anahuatlacanco: The Land Between the Waters, Land of the Nahuatlaca
An Alternate History Timeline
By Luis Felipe Salcedo

Volume One
[The Spanish Conquest]
Book I of Cortesia: The Series
Chapter I: Montezuma's Background
(1518-1700)

21024_Montezuma-II.jpg

Aztec emperor Montezuma (1466-1520).


Montezuma, also known by a number of variant spellings including Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma, was born in Tenochtitlán, the capital city of the Aztec empire, in the year 1466. He is referred to in full by early Nahuatl texts as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin to distinguish him from an earlier Montezuma. Sources attribute him of being the son of Aztec emperor Axayácatl and Izelcoatzin, daughter of Netzahualcoyotl. He received a thorough education in the sciences, arts and religion. He was especially devoted to the Aztec religion, becoming a priest in the temple of the Aztec deity, Huitzilopochtli [1]. He also distinguished himself in the numerous Aztec campaigns, gaining experience leading his uncle's armies as Tlacochcalcatl [2] as they conquered more and more lands from their neighbors as well as capturing prisoners for the purpose of human sacrifice to their gods. Ahuitzotl was later killed when he hit his head on a stone lintel trying to escape the great floods that devastated Tenochtitlán and the greater area surrounding it in 1502.Montezuma was elected to succeed his uncle Ahuitzotl to the throne and became infamously known for his pride and superstitious ways. Unlike his predecessors, he lacked the harsh pragmatism and respect amongst the people. He allowed himself to be influenced by omens and prophecies. He dismissed anyone not associated with the nobility from his court and raised the rate of taxation on the growing subdivision of trade merchants in the empire.

Although his remaining advisers warned that his actions would lead to the weakening of the empire, he demanded heavier amounts of tribute from their conquered neighbors. When they refused, he launched numerous expeditions to obtain victims for sacrifice. His actions led to revolts and to wars between Tenochtitlán and several tribes. One prominent campaign mentioned in Nahuatl texts was a campaign that lasted from 1503 to 1511 against Tututepec and the following Mixtec altepetl [3]: Yanhuitlan, Zozollan, Tlaxiaco. Another campaign mentioned is the Aztec intervention in the conflict between the Tlaxcallans and Huexotzingo which led to Tlaxcallan defeat. During his reign, the Aztec empire would reach its maximal size, expanding until it reached as far south as Xoconosco in Chiyapan and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and incorporated the Zapotec and Yopi peoples into the empire. He changed the previous meritocratic system of social hierarchy and prohibited commoners from working in the royal palaces, widening the social divide between the nobility and the commoners. He also began concentrating power towards himself, and combined with his other actions and negative traits, made him a very unpopular ruler amongst his own people and the neighbors of the Aztec empire. All this would lead to his downfall.
_____
[1] Huitzilopochtli - a god of war, a sun god and the patron of Tenochtitlán; his name literally meaning "Left Handed Hummingbird" or "Hummingbird on the Left". He was the national god of the Mexica, better known as the Aztecs. Originally he was of little significance to the pantheon of the Nahua peoples but with the rise of the Aztecs, Tlacaelel reformed the religion and elevated Huitzilopochtli to the same level of Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, replacing Nanahuatzin. In constant struggle against the darkness, legends said he required nourishment in the form of sacrifice to ensure the sun would survive the cycle of fifty-two years. Under the influence of Tlacaelel, the Aztecs believed that human blood would give strength to this deity and thereby postpone the end of the world, at least for another fifty-two years.

[2] Tlacochcalcatl - an Aztec military title and rank second only to the Tlatoani, the Aztec emperor, when it came to command of the armies. He usually led the Aztec army when the ruler was occupied with other matters. Together with the tlacateccatlacas, the generals, he was in charge of the army and undertook all military decisions and planning once the Tlatoani had decided to undertake a military campaign. He was also in charge of the tlacaochcalcos, armories placed at the entries to the ceremonial precinct of the capital. These armories were stocked with new weapons every year, during the feast of Quecholli. The tlacochcalcatl also headed the military order of the Cuachicqueh, known as "the shorn ones". The office was often the last step towards becoming the Tlatoani's successor.

[3] altepetl -the local, ethnically based politically entity, almost equivalent to the city-state. The word is a combination of the Nahuatl words ā-tl, meaning water, and tepē-tl, meaning mountain The concept is comparable to the Maya term "cah" and the Mixtec term "ñuu".
 
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Footnotes and pretty picture had been added so more information that I managed to extract from the Genocide which is pretty good as long as it's nothing controversial with a few extra other websites to back that up. Unlike the second edition, this one will not give any hints towards the future. I'll make sure of that. ;)



You mean Napoleon III?

I meant king, not emperor. :rolleyes::p
 
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