Malintzin's Choices

I would say that Townsend’s book is definitely a book that looks a history through many different lenses while still being a microhistory. While the book is concentrated on Malintzin’s role as an interpreter for the Spanish during their conquest, it also is a book about how her choices affected her children, grandchildren, and the other indigenous people she interacted with.  Her choices affected the way other indigenous peoples were treated and how they viewed her. Some of the tribes definitely saw her as a traitor.  They did not trust her nor did they understand why she decided to help the Spanish.  I do not think she was a victim or a traitor because she was able to see a positive way out of her situation and took it.  She did not regret what she did nor did she try to return to her original situation. By choosing to improve her situation, Malintzin shows that she was able to take control of a fairly bad circumstance. It allows us to look at the Spanish Conquest through a rather unique lens. An indigenous woman, who became a powerful political figure who sided with the Spanish in order to potentially better indigenous people’s lives through negotiation.  Even though some of her own people did not trust her once she chose the Spanish, I think that she believed she was helping the indigenous population. She understood the Spanish and she understood the Natives. She was able to help both sides make choices that, hopefully, would not lead to bloodshed but to peaceful interactions.  But it also helps us to look at the Spanish in a new way.  While they did not always write about her or mention her by name in their accounts of the conquest, they were clearly taking her recommendations and instructions seriously.  Which means they were able to view the Natives as more than just savages or barbarians.  They were able to interact socially and politically with them at least for a time.