La Malinche

La Malinche — page 3 — INTRODUCTION T hink about all of the history you have learned so far Who were the people you read about Who did your teachers discuss the most Most likely you have learned a history of men and their actions Men have dominated government literature science and exploration for most of written history Because women make up about half the people on the planet why don’t we learn more about them Of course there have been some exceptional women in history as well When you’ve learned about a woman it has been because she has accomplished something extraordinary like the queens Cleopatra of Egypt and Eliz abeth I of England Still women’s stories are often told in the context of the men they were linked to by blood or marriage This seems unfair but we must consider what the lives of women have been like throughout history Women have been seen as weak unintelligent and too emotional to do any thing important in the world Girls were kept home until they married Girls from poor families might never even learn to read while wealthier girls would get a feminine education of reading writing simple math and domestic subjects Until the last century women were expected to stay in the home cooking and cleaning while raising children Failing to marry turned a woman into an old maid who was pitied If a woman did work outside the home usu ally it was in one of a few occupations deemed suitable for women servant teacher nurse or factory laborer 6

La Malinche — page 4 — INTRODUCTION 7 Artists can only imagine what the real Malinche looked like This mod ern portrait of her may have been based on another Mexican woman

La Malinche — page 5 — 8 LA MALINCHE Malinche’s story is unlike most women’s of her time She was able to do things forbidden to most women like travel explore and speak with important leaders The support of a powerful man Hernán Cortés the Spanish conqueror of Mexico enabled her to do this Their part nership resulted in the complete takeover of Mexico by the Spanish Cortés could not have achieved his goals without her knowledge and assistance Malinche can be compared to Pocahontas in America She was a native Mexican Indian who guided a foreigner in her land She translated for Cortés not only the local lan guages but also the meanings behind the words It is said that she was always by Cortés side and she was certainly of great importance to his mission It is possible that he would not have succeeded so quickly without her Also like Pocahontas most of the story of Malinche’s life is uncertain or has become something of a myth None of her writings if there were any have survived She is only briefly mentioned in other historical documents including those of Cortés Most of what we know about Malinche was passed down orally and changed over time Unlike Pocahontas who is seen in a positive light by most Americans Malinche is a controversial figure among Mexicans Some see her as a heroine who tried to make the colonization of Mexico as peaceful as possible Others think she is a traitor to native Mexicans who sold out her people to save her own life Perhaps there is some truth to both viewpoints Her story is fascinating and unusual like those of most women who changed history

La Malinche — page 6 — MALINTZIN FROM WEALTH TO SLAVERY A round the year 1501 a girl named Malintzin was born in the village of Painalla in the Coatzacualco province located on the Yucatan Peninsula of present-day Mex ico Her father was a cacique a wealthy and influential man of the Nahua peoples which included the Aztecs This group was very powerful and had a large empire The Aztecs had organized governments and religion social classes and a trading economy They also kept excellent written records EARLY LIFE Although historians don’t know a lot about Malintzin or Malinche as she came to be widely known we can guess what her early life was like by looking at the lives of other people in the upper class As the daughter of a noble Malinche would have worn clothes of cotton a fine fabric at the time She would have had a variety of foods to eat beyond the local corn and beans because her family could afford imported food Her home would have been made 9 CHAPTER ONE

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