Preface:
This is a fictional account of the ways in which Mairna played a vital role in the life of Cortes and the achievements they made together.
I am Cortes and I have recently come to the New World. I was given 19 women for my disposal. I have found one, Marina. She is quite different than the others. She is intelligent and she speaks her mind. I respect that about her.
I have been having trouble communicating with the Indian people. I have been using Father Aguilar to assist me in communicating but it just isn’t working. I know that Marina speaks Nahautl. She can help me.
I have been using Marina’s translation as a means to speak to the Indians. I have been frustrated by the way the Indian people don’t want to do what I want. Marina has been showing me a new way of thinking. She calls it negotiating. Since I have been trying this, I have found that the Indian people are more receptive to my ideas. Fortunately, I am able to use empowerment; I am benefiting form something in which I do not have in order to make things go the way I see they need to be.
I have realized just how important Marina is to me and my beliefs. In fact, I am writing a letter for all to read. In it I will write the following: "After God we owe this conquest of New Spain to Dona Marina."
Now that the Conquest is over, I will have Marina married to a Castilian knight. His name is Don Juan Xamarillo. Together they will become powerful and happy together.