Assignment 4a

The colonial conquest of the America's began with Christopher Colombus in 1492 and expanded through three centuries.

La Malinche was the translator between the Spaniards and the natives. She quickly learned Spanish and already knew many different Mayan and Aztec dialects. She learned native dialects because as a little girl, she had an incident where her mother passed her as dead, but really her mother gave her to a traveling group. La Malinche ended up in the Yucatan peninsula.

La Malinche gave birth to essentially the first "Mexican." That is a mix between Spaniard and native. She was very close to Cortes and very faithful. She was a big influence in getting the natives what they wanted.

Many people regard her as a traitor, but that is up to interpretation. She was always with Cortes and the Spaniards and was accustomed to some of their luxuries. But she played a big role in the conversion to Christianity and stopped many natives from being slaughtered by the Spanish.

http://www.mexconnect.com/en/articles/224-la-malinche-harlot-or-heroine
YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQU4CXqrbDs&feature=related

I chose to research La Malinche because in high school I read the book from my Spanish class. I really liked it and even though some parts are fiction, it was very interesting to read.

One interesting fact that I learned was that La Malinche forgave her mother even though she had given her away.

Another interesting fact was that La Malinche knew very many languages and dialects. She was basically the voice of the people.

Another interesting fact was that while Colombus conquest, he came to the Americas four times during his lifetime.