Cortés proposed to overthrow the Mexican monarch Montezuma by having him act as a puppet of Cortés’s authority.
Excerpt 2 from William H. Prescott’s History of the Conquest of Mexico, 1843 In this perplexity, Cortes proposed an expedient, which none but the most daring spirit, in the most desperate extremity, would have conceived. This was, to march to the royal palace, and bring Montezuma to the Spanish quarters, by fair means if they could persuade him, by force if necessary—at all events, to get possession of his person. With such a pledge, the Spaniards would be secure from the assault of the Mexicans, afraid by acts of violence to compromise the safety of their prince. If he came by his own consent, they would be deprived of all apology for doing so. As long as the emperor remained among the Spaniards, it would be easy, by allowing him a show of sovereignty, to rule in his name, until they had taken measures for securing their safety, and the success of their enterprise. The idea of employing a sovereign as a tool for the government of his own kingdom, if a new one in the age of Cortes, is certainly not so in ours. Question Use the excerpt from William H. Prescott’s History of the Conquest of Mexico to answer the question. How did the conquistador Cortés propose to overthrow the Mexican monarch Montezuma? (1 point) Responses by having him publicly executed by having him publicly executed by having him kidnapped and silenced by having him kidnapped and silenced by having him act as a puppet of Cortés’s authority by having him act as a puppet of Cortés’s authority by having him demand peace from the Mexican people
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