Short Writing Response

-Katherine Lim

The following statement Dona Maria is a traitor is highly inaccurate. Dona Maria wasnt a traitor for the Aztecs. The key word in this statement, traitor, is defined as a person who betrays a friend, country, or principle according to the Oxford American Dictionary. Although Dona Maria is often ignored and underestimated in history and written documents, she has played an extremely significant role in the relationship between the Aztecs and Cortes. One of the members of Cortes has described Dona Maria as a princess..as her appearance and bearing clearly showed (page 102). Her background information is quite unexpected. She had been enslaved by the Aztec Empire due to their conquer of her tribe. (Mr. Lopezs lecture) In other words, she has been forcefully been included to the Aztec empire without any options: abduction. Therefore, there is no guarantee that Dona Maria had full patriotism and fondness for the empire. In fact, there is a higher possibility that she did not develop an attachment for the Aztecs because overall the Aztecs were not in a good relationship with other organizations/tribes. At that period of time, they have been continuously conquering other neighboring tribes and putting them into use as a form of brutal sacrifice for their gods. Since the Aztec empire is not even Dona Marias native country or the same land that her ancestors have lived in and passed on for generations, she mustve thought Cortes arrival as a opportunity to get out from under the Aztec rule and earn freedom. As a result, she was more than willing to assist Cortes and his soldiers increase the army and earn knowledge about the Aztec Empire, such as their weakness and strengths. The help of Dona Maria was of the highest significance to us [Cortes and his army] (page 103). For instance, Dona Maria told Cortes

where Tenochtiitlan was located and myths about the Aztecs wealth and military superiority. She also translated and convinced other conquered Native Americans to join up with Cortes. Some people might say that Dona Maria is a traitor because she now is officially included in the Aztec empire and therefore should give some kind of affection to some degree towards her empire. However, how can you control someones heart? Can you forcefully make someone love a person or country? In the perspective of Dona Maria, it was the morally right thing for her to do. She considered it to be beneficial and made her actions accordingly. Therefore, Dona Maria is not a traitor, she was just acting for her own sake.