The dominant theme is still the comparisons of the two kingdoms. Like a good salesman, Cortés hammers home the fact of idol worship by the Aztecs, accompanied with the acts of human sacrifice and cannibalism. These are clear violations of Gods law. Acts that cannot be allowed. Cortés brings the point to bear off-handedly that it is the king’s duty to save these savages souls. He sales this fact splendidly playing on obvious moral standards recognized and enforced by king and…
sources. Some sources with Aztec bias and some others with Conquistador bias. What is known,…
Anderson also shared his views of Miguel Leon-Portilla’s book The Broken Spears. According to Arthur J.O. Anderson even though Miguel Leon-Portilla’s book is mostly of the defeat, the chaos, and grief the Aztecs endured, it is also a story that wanted to remind Spain of their debt they owe to the Aztecs . In my opinion, I also felt that this story was written to make the Spanish aware of their dark history and chaos they brought to ancient Mesoamerica. The book is written in the Aztec perspective and it depicts the Spanish as greedy, careless men who tried to annihilate any trace of Mesoamerican culture and tried to enforce their own way of life. So I do agree with Anderson and feel that the Spanish do owe a huge debt to the natives of Mesoamerican. Anderson also discussed how many natives after the conquest of Mexico were taught by Spanish Francian friars to read and write Spanish and Latin as well as to put their native language into Latin. Unos annles de la nacion Mexicana written in 1528 put native accounts written in Nahuatl with Spanish translation from the Franciscan fathers into one source. The Broken Spears included writings which traced back to the first transliterations such as Unos annles de la nacion Mexicana or The Codex Florentino and many other accounts. Anderson deeply appreciated the energy, artistry and poetry that went in Miguel Leon-Portilla’s book. He felt that Leon-Portilla selected a decent background of the Aztec culture and used effective sources that told the descriptions of the natives very well. He felt that the reader would find Leon-Portilla’s work to be interesting, accurate, and useful to…
Hernan Cortez died, on December 2, 1547, of pleurisy in Spain. This was twenty-six years after initially conquered the Aztecs. That is the legacy he left behind, he manned the defeat and conquering of the great barbaric Aztecs. He never even got to truly rule the empire that he created, and that’s all he wanted; he wanted power. This guy went from studying law in Salamanca, to conquering Mexico and Central America. Without Cortez, Mexico would probably not be the same as it is…
Wright, Ronald. “Aztec Resistance.” Stolen Continents: the “New World” through Indian eyes. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1992. 144-160. Print.…
King Montezuma was the leader of the Aztec empire from 1502-1520. The Aztecs had a large empire and complex civilization in present day Mexico. At their height, the Aztec empire had about five million citizens, about the same population as present day Paris. Hernando Cortez, a Spanish conquistador, set out to explore Mexico in 1518. In doing so, he disobeyed King Charles, the King of Spain. Cortez left Spain with 500 men in 11 ships. Once he arrived in Mexico, he burned most of his ships so his troops can’t escape back to Spain. He declared war against the Aztecs. Despite his underwhelming numbers compared to the Aztecs, the Spaniards did more than hold their own thanks to the revolutionary advantage of gun powder. On June 29th, 1920 Montezuma…
The Broken Spears written by Miguel Leon-Portilla is a book that goes into depth about the conquest of Mexico starting in 1519 from an Aztec point of view. The book discusses everything in depth about what occurred during this time period of the conquest. It discusses when the Aztecs first take news of the arrival of Cortez and the Spaniards comparing it to small floating mountains off the Mexican coast, all the way to the revolt of the Aztec people that lead to the end of the Aztec civilization. This book portrays the story from an Aztec point of view so it is clear that the author is on the Aztecs side.…
Montezuma, who was the ruler of the Aztecs, had a funny feeling about them. Not too long after they arrived, the Aztecs realized that the Spanish could be killed just like their other enemies, so they went to war. They caught some of the Spanish, killed some of them, even ate some. The Spanish won out because of their preparation, and because they brought so many diseases with them, it killed some of the Aztecs as well. The Spanish came to the Aztecs land, and the Aztecs thought that this was the 'God' that they had been waiting for. They treated the Spanish with riches and lavish food, as they would a God. They only treated them to the finest of treasures because they were sure this was what they were looking for. The Spanish reported that they 'were sickened by the people's shocking routines', which was mentioning toward the sacrifice they saw. Then, when the Spanish tried to take advantage of what the Aztecs had given them, they realized they weren’t the Gods they thought they were looking for. So they cut them off. Conversely, the Spaniards had the horses, firearms, and they had most of the people of the Aztec society on their side. With that being said, the Spaniards didn’t like how the Aztec land was being run. With these people and the Spanish's knowledge expansions, they overthrew the Aztec Empire. After the Aztecs were conquered by the Spaniards, they were turned into…
Political: Spanish conquistadors took over Aztec capital (Hernán Cortés) and later on defeated Incas (Francisco Pizarro)…
The land of Tenochtitlan, which is currently owned by the Spanish, known as Mexico City, was not always under the same empire. This land used to belong to the Aztecs but was taken over when the battle between the Spanish and Aztecs occurred. Though some would think that this conflict was avoidable, I believe otherwise. In my opinion, I believe that the conflict of the Aztecs was inevitable, because of the differing religions, the Aztec's resources, Spanish’s excellent technology, and the Aztec's population size.…
We arrived after a long sail the great men serving me loaded the supplies of the boats and then I burned the ships to insure they stayed loyal to me and didn’t dessert me. I didn’t…
After the Spanish Conquest, many written document have become used as sources that help recount major events from the past. Therefore, it becomes that job of historians to analyze sources and determine their accuracy and relevancy. “The Conquest of New Spain” written by Bernal Díaz and “The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico” are two sources whose themes can be compared and contrasted in order to determine their accuracy as primary sources. There are several themes portrayed throughout both sources such as: the civility of Cortez and Montezuma, initial encounters, the difference between the perception of gift versus greed, and the variation of religious…
Cited: Henderson, Timothy J. A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and Its War with the United States. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007. Print.…
The author of Mexican Lives, Judith Adler Hellman, grapples with the United States ' economic relationship with their neighbors to the south, Mexico. It also considers, through many interviews, the affairs of one nation. It is a work held to high esteem by many critics, who view this work as an essential part in truly understanding and capturing Mexico 's history. In Mexican Lives, Hellman presents us with a cast from all walks of life. This enables a reader to get more than one perspective, which tends to be bias. It also gives a more inclusive view of the nation of Mexico as a whole. Dealing with rebel activity, free trade, assassinations and their transition into the modern age, it justly captures a Mexico in its true light.…
spread civilization. When a certain power occupied the wealthiest country on earth at that time,…