Cortes was Aided in Defeating the Aztecs by a Native Woman Named La Malinche
The Spanish overcame the Chontal Maya of Potonchán in April 1519, and were rewarded with 20 slave women, one of them was dubbed La Malinche. Mayan and Nahuatl were her native languages. She quickly picked up Spanish and became a translator for Cortes. She later became Cortes' mistress and gave birth to his first child, Martin.
La Malinche was an important figure in the conquest of the Aztec empire by the Spanish. She had a crucial role in diplomacy, assisting the Spanish ally with the native tribes, in addition to working as Cortes' counselor and interpreter. She forewarned Cortes about a native scheme to kill his little force, which resulted in the destruction of the scheming tribe. According to one story, Cortes himself stated that Malinche was the main cause for his success after God. So they said that
Cortes was aided in defeating the Aztecs by a native woman named La Malinche
The term "malinchist" was coined in her honor to describe someone who is drawn to other cultures while ignoring their own. Some see La Malinche as a lady stuck between two cultures and the mother of a new species, while others regard her as a traitor who brought her civilization to an end.
