Franciscan priest Bernardino de Sahagún in his famous
Florentine Codices.
[At] once they [the Spanish] firmly seized
Moctezuma … then each of the guns shot
off … Fear prevailed. It was as if everyone
had swallowed his heart. Even before it had
grown dark, there was terror, there was
astonishment, there was apprehension, there
was a stunning of the people.
And when it dawned thereupon were
proclaimed all the things which [the
Spaniards] required: white tortillas, roasted
turkey hens, eggs, fresh water, wood,
firewood, charcoal … This had Moctezuma
indeed commanded.
And when the Spaniards were well settled,
they thereupon inquired of Moctezuma as to
all the city’s treasure … with great zeal they
sought gold. And Moctezuma thereupon went
leading the Spaniards. They went
surrounding him … each holding him, each
grasping him.
And when they reached the storehouse, a
place called Teocalco, thereupon they
brought forth all the brilliant things; the quetzal
feather head fan, the devices, the shields, the
golden discs … the golden nose crescents,
the golden leg bands, the golden arm bands,
the golden forehead bands.
Thereupon was detached the gold … at
once they ignited, set fire to … all the
precious things. They all burned. And the gold
the Spaniards formed into separate
bars … And the Spanish walked
everywhere … They took all, all that they saw
which they saw to be good.
Thereupon they went to Moctezuma’s own
storehouse
… at the place called
Totocalco
…
they
brought
forth
[Moctezuma’s] own property … precious
things all; the necklaces with pendants, the