The Capitol Dome

MontezuMa SurrenderS in the Capitol by Matthew Restall Fig. 1. Partial view of the Dome and the Frieze of American History from the Rotunda floor 2 THE CAPITOL DOME Y ear after year, in front of millions of witnesses, Montezuma, the great emperor of the Aztecs, surren- ders in the U.S. Capitol. The moment was a milestone in human history. Life in the New World—and before long, everywhere in the world— would never be the same after November 8, 1519, when Mon- tezuma first met the invading Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernando Cortés, at the entrance to his spectacular island- capital. Most of the Spaniards at that meeting would be dead within the year, but more would soon come, proving to be merely the start of a centuries-long transformative flow into indigenous America by Europeans and enslaved Africans. 1 That encounter of 1519 is vividly represented at the base of the Capitol's Dome, as part of the Frieze of American History. Yet many visitors probably miss it—and its significance. After all, the frieze is 58 feet from the floor, and the meeting of Cor- tés and Montezuma is but one of its nineteen scenes (fig. 1). Furthermore, Montezuma's surrender is a subtle one. His pose is one of proud welcome, not abject defeat. Yet the context and ramifications of the encounter seem clear. The forward motion of the scene is with the advancing, armed conquistadors; the Aztecs are adorned with feathers, not weapons, and one of three Aztec princesses is on her knees (fig. 2). 2 Historians of Mexico have not commented on this scene in the Dome's frieze, probably because the U.S. Capitol seems an unlikely place to find Montezuma. Indeed, many visitors to

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