Primary sourceLetter1520 (printed 1522)

Second Letter to Charles V

Hernán Cortés · 1520 (printed 1522)

Hernán Cortés's 1520 letter to Emperor Charles V describing Tenochtitlan, Moctezuma's court, and his supposed submission to Spain.

Describes Moctezuma's court, city, and the speech in which he reportedly yielded his realm to Spain.

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Woodcut title page of a 1522 Spanish printed letter. A seated, crowned figure holds a scepter in an arched room with checkered floor, flanked by a city scene and a landscape. Below is black-letter Spanish text beginning 'Carta de relación enviada a su S. majestad del emperador nuestro señor por el capitán general de la nueva España, llamado Fernando Cortés', with a handwritten signature at the bottom. — Hernán Cortés, Second Letter to Charles V, 1520, printed Seville 1522.

About this source

What it is

This is the second of five letters written by the conquistador Hernán Cortés to the Spanish emperor Charles V, dated 1520 and printed in Seville in 1522. It describes the city of Tenochtitlan, the rule of Moctezuma II, and events of the early conquest.

Why it matters

Cortés describes Moctezuma's palaces, court life, and even his zoo with admiration, and includes a speech in which Moctezuma supposedly agreed to submit his realm to the Spanish crown. Because Cortés wrote to justify his own actions to the king, historians read this account carefully, weighing it against other sources for what really happened between the two men.

Look closer

Why might Cortés want to portray Moctezuma as willingly submitting to Spain?
What parts of this letter can we trust as eyewitness description, and what parts might be exaggerated or self-serving?
How does the woodcut on the title page present the two rulers?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Montezuma II on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.