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Florentino Aspillaga
Montezuma II was the Aztec ruler in power when Hernán Cortés and his army arrived in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1519. Montezuma and Cortés did not speak the same language and had to rely on translators to communicate. An error in translation led Cortés to wrongfully believe that Montezuma believed Cortés to be a god and had gifted him the city. Cortés proceeded by capturing and killing Montezuma, leading to a bloody war that killed 20 million Aztecs. Gladwell presents this historical scene in the Introduction to show how misunderstanding strangers can result in deadly consequences.
Montezuma II Quotes in Talking to Strangers
The Talking to Strangers quotes below are all either spoken by Montezuma II or refer to Montezuma II. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Introduction
Quotes
Today we are now thrown into contact all the time with people whose assumptions, perspectives, and backgrounds are different from our own. The modern world is not two brothers feuding for control of the Ottoman Empire. It is Cortés and Montezuma struggling to understanding each other through multiple layers of translators. Talking to Strangers is about why we are so bad at that act of translation.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Talking to Strangers LitChart as a printable PDF.
Montezuma II Quotes in Talking to Strangers
The Talking to Strangers quotes below are all either spoken by Montezuma II or refer to Montezuma II. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Introduction
Quotes
Today we are now thrown into contact all the time with people whose assumptions, perspectives, and backgrounds are different from our own. The modern world is not two brothers feuding for control of the Ottoman Empire. It is Cortés and Montezuma struggling to understanding each other through multiple layers of translators. Talking to Strangers is about why we are so bad at that act of translation.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
