Conquistadors
P = Purpose(s) of reading material – I believe the purpose of this reading material was to give us a better understanding of what life was like for the Native Americans before the conquistadors arrived. This is described in the later part of the first chapter in Restall & Fernandez-Armesto’s The Conquistadors: A Very Short Introduction. I think the authors would also like us to see that not everything in the conquistador’s letters was necessarily and completely true. They embellished facts to make themselves look good.
A = Audience(s) of reading material – The audience for this book would be college students studying history or anyone interested in getting some background information on the Spanish conquistadors and their quests to conquer the New World.
S = Subject matter of reading material – The subject matter of the reading material is the reports (probanza de merito) the conquistadors had to send to the king, their style and tone of those letters, and the paradoxes that were the result.
S = Stance of author toward reading material - the stance of the authors is serious and matter-of-fact. Their personal opinions are interwoven when appropriate.
K = Key passage (and why it is key!) – “Not despite his relative lack of fame but because of it, Jimenez de Quesada is a better candidate to introduce this book. Although the oft-told feats of Cortes and Pizarro will appear in the pages that follow, our volume is more about men like Jimenez de Quesada, a man of middling status, higher ranked than the vast majority of Spaniards but not a nobleman” (p. 7). I feel that this is key because men like Jimenez de Quesada (the small names) are the majority of the subject matter for the entire book.
E = Elaborate on at least 3 questions and/or comments – 1. I found it interesting that on page 8, Restall and Fernandez-Armesto referred to the conquistadors as “armed entrepreneurs.” No one made them go. They went on their own accord
A = Audience(s) of reading material – The audience for this book would be college students studying history or anyone interested in getting some background information on the Spanish conquistadors and their quests to conquer the New World.
S = Subject matter of reading material – The subject matter of the reading material is the reports (probanza de merito) the conquistadors had to send to the king, their style and tone of those letters, and the paradoxes that were the result.
S = Stance of author toward reading material - the stance of the authors is serious and matter-of-fact. Their personal opinions are interwoven when appropriate.
K = Key passage (and why it is key!) – “Not despite his relative lack of fame but because of it, Jimenez de Quesada is a better candidate to introduce this book. Although the oft-told feats of Cortes and Pizarro will appear in the pages that follow, our volume is more about men like Jimenez de Quesada, a man of middling status, higher ranked than the vast majority of Spaniards but not a nobleman” (p. 7). I feel that this is key because men like Jimenez de Quesada (the small names) are the majority of the subject matter for the entire book.
E = Elaborate on at least 3 questions and/or comments – 1. I found it interesting that on page 8, Restall and Fernandez-Armesto referred to the conquistadors as “armed entrepreneurs.” No one made them go. They went on their own accord