Hernan Cortes

I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold.

We Spaniards know a sickness of the heart that only gold can cure.

I came to get rich, not to till the soil like a peasant.

If I were not Cortés, I would wish to be Pedro de Alvarado.

Do not fear, my men, for the gods have promised us this land.

They are not men, but beasts to be tamed.

I would rather be a poor captain in Spain than a rich man in the Indies.

The land is so rich that pigs root up gold with their snouts.

I have seen more wonders in this land than in all the tales of Amadís.

If they bring me gold, I will call them brothers; if not, dogs.

I would burn my ships again if it meant another Mexico.

Better to die a conqueror than live a beggar.

Their temples are as high as our towers, but their gods are false.

I would rather face a thousand warriors than one Spanish lawyer.

They call me Malinche’s captain, but I am the one who tamed her tongue.

Gold is the blood of the earth, and we are its surgeons.

If they will not serve God, they will serve me.

I have made kings into my porters.

Their women are comely, but their gods demand too much blood.

I would trade all the pearls of the coast for one good Spanish horse.