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The real spanish conquest
Spanish conquest through manipulation
American Spanish conquest (essay
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The Spanish Conquests were led and completed by extraordinary, Spanish soldiers that received no help from translators as they obliterated the inferior, native culture! Right? Well, not quite. In fact, these are the very myths that Restall’s book sets out to disprove. From the time they were recorded in ink as primary sources to even now when historians heatedly debate historic events, facts have been misconstrued. For hundreds of years, stories of what took place during the conquest have been twisted, edited, and misunderstood to the point they give false recounts of History. Nevertheless, these charlatan stories have been blindly accepted as truth because sources were not cross-checked, inaccurate primary sources were accepted, and later …show more content…
To conquer other lands, Spanish conquistadors gained permission from the crown and entered an agreement that primarily states the adelantado, invaders, must share the wealth with the Spanish monarchy. (65) Many times, there would be strict rules on the adelantado contracts that not only made it harder to keep the license, but also made it easier to fine or arrest the conquistadors if they were to violate the agreement. (65) With so much pressure from their rulers, conquistadors would often paint pictures of subdued lands with obedient natives willing to give their abundant natural resources to the crown. (66) One such explorer guilty of stretching the truth was Christopher Columbus. To keep his contract, Capitulaciones de Santa Fe, Columbus often told Ferdinand and Isabella that the terms of their agreement were being fulfilled and more. He suggested that he not only did he discovered a more efficient trade route to Asia, per the agreement, but he also found new lands. (66) These deceptive letters are an example of how even primary sources can be misleading due to the motives of the person writing them. Christopher Columbus tried covering up his inadequate journeys thus far, and he is not the only one to in Spanish Conquests to spin white lies of completion to fulfill Spanish …show more content…
This misunderstanding stems from many primary sources excluding Native and African allies when speaking of victory. For reference, Ilarione da Bergamo wrote accounts of his battles in Mexico, and he credited Spanish wins to excellent swordplay when outnumbered by his enemies. There was no mention of Native or African allies helping them defeat enemy natives, no, it was all due to the Spanish’s impressive skills. (45) Despite many conquistadors leaving out their critical military allies in references of victory, heavily combed sources of the Mexican conquest find men in passing mention the support of natives and Africans. One such letter from Alavarado to Cortes states there were 250 Spaniards and at least 5,000 natives in their unit. (45) For every primary source that mentions external help, there’s another that doesn’t acknowledge the critical role Africans and natives played in keeping the Spanish conquests thriving. The myth that it was only Spaniards partially originates from people not cross referencing sources and just believing historic figures like Ilarione da Bergamo when speaking of Spanish
In Matthew Restall’s book The Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, he argues that many of the widely accepted modern beliefs about the Spanish Conquest are misguided or skewed. These myths more importantly show how dependent history is on the perspective of the one who is writing it, and how the writer perceives the events happening around them. One example, is the myth of white Spaniards going to a foreign land on the decree of a king and finding barbarous natives who are inferior to these so-called great men. Using documentation written from both sides, and taking into account the context of the time period, Restall explores the myths of the Spanish Conquest in order to frame a less romanticized, well-rounded view of what actually happened
Anais Nin once said that “we write to taste life twice: in the moment and in retrospection.” In his book, Seven Myths of Spanish Conquest, Matthew Restall tries to change our perception of the past in other to open our eyes to what life was really like during the colonial period. As Restall puts it, the main propose of the book is to “illustrate the degree to which the Conquest was a far more complex and protracted affair” (p.154) than what was supposed in the latters and chronicles left by the conquistadores. Each one of Restall’s chapters examines one of seven myths regarding the mystery behind the conquest. By doing so, Matthew Restall forces us to look back at the Spanish conquest and question
The history of Africans in Mexico is an oft-neglected facet of the cultural complexities of that country. In 1519, Hernando Cortes brought 6 African slaves with him to Mexico; these individuals served the conquest as personal servants, carriers, and laborers.[1] In the years to come, slavery would become a critical component of the colonial economy with approximately 2,000 slaves arriving each year 1580-1650; it is estimated that a total of 200,000 Africans were brought to Mexico during the colonial period.[2] Given this large number of slaves, the lengthy period of their importation, and the inevitable mixing of races, which took place throughout the colony, the historical and cultural significance of bozales, criollos, mulattoes, and zambos is far-reaching. The colonial period provides an excellent starting place for an examination of the significance of these groups not only because the institution of African slavery was introduced to New Spain at that time, but also because the regular influx of native Africans combined with the close attention paid to color-based castas in official records allows historians to trace the influence of African culture more readily during that period.
This text was created to bring to light the hardship Natives went through during the Age of Exploration. The populous, who only hear rumors and short stories from all territories west of the Atlantic Ocean, cannot grasp the tough and difficult task that is at hand in the Americas. From these short blurbs of what is said about the west, they make inferences of what it is like, and how it is possible for another land mass to be unknown to many for so long. But for those who do know what is past the Atlantic, know that this Agenda of the King and Queen must be fulfilled and to do so would be to claim land for Spain for it to be settled upon. On top of that is to further collect the riches of the Americas to benefit Spain in the conquest of the Americas.
On October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on unknown territory, however, in his perspective of Earth he thought he made a new route to Asia. He travels throughout the lands, soon, he discovers new forms of inhabitant plants, as well as, indigenous people that were native to those lands. Years later he soon unravels that it was all unaccustomed terrain. The monarchy of Spain also discovers Columbus’s new discoveries, then, they send more explorers to conquer the lands. In 1520, Hernan Cortes goes with the order from Spanish royalty to go to the newly discovered lands to conquer them, also, help expand the Spanish empire. Overall, Columbus and Cortes both reported the new lands they recently discovered back to Spain, however, their descriptions
Another way the author supports his thesis are his descriptions of the reactions made by the Europeans who arrived at the immense and powerful society that already existed in the Americas. A distinct example is portrayed when describing the Spaniards arrival in Tenochtitlan: “Tenochtitlan dazzled its invaders-it was bigger than Paris, Europe’s greatest metropolis. The Spaniards gawped like yokels at the wide streets, ornately carved buildings, and markets bright with goods from hundreds
them, and little if any was given in return. The people who live among these
The Spanish defeat of the Aztecs has been extensively criticized for many years. Religion was a motive for discovery, enabled the Spanish to enter the heart of the empire, and was used as justification for torture of the natives. The centrality of religion as a force in Spanish conquest is undeniable. Virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed and the Spanish victory has had lasting effects for both natives and Europeans up to and including the present-day.
Las Cases argues that if those outside of the faith see Spain engaging in this war, they will be seen as, “Christian men, forgetting Christian virtue” instead of the nation showing mercy. While Las Cases wants Spain to treat the natives with compassion, he knows this is not how he’ll win the dispute. He must frame his appeal in ways that flatter the King or positions that oppose Las Cases, will hurt the image of Spain and undermined the king’s rule. To prove this point, Las Cases says that while Sepulveda claims to be upholding the King’s rule, he actually, “tears to pieces and reduces your rights by presenting arguments that are partly foolish, partly false, and partly of the kind that have the least force.” His next move is to criticize the soldiers who have the evil intention of looting the native’s possessions and are not bound to pay restitutions.
In addition Columbus made deals with both the Spanish and Portuguese officials to maximums his profits from his so called Discoveries. Van sertima states that Columbus was trying to line
“The Conquest of New Spain” is the first hand account of Bernal Diaz (translated by J.M. Cohen) who writes about his personal accounts of the conquest of Mexico by himself and other conquistadors beginning in 1517. Unlike other authors who wrote about their first hand accounts, Diaz offers a more positive outlook of the conquest and the conquistadors motives as they moved through mainland Mexico. The beginning chapters go into detail about the expeditions of some Spanish conquistadors such as Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, Juan de Grijalva and Hernando Cotes. This book, though, focuses mainly on Diaz’s travels with Hernando Cortes. Bernal Diaz’s uses the idea of the “Just War Theory” as his argument for why the conquests were justifiable
The outnumbered Spanish conquistadors were able to so easily defeat the natives of South and Central America for many reasons. These reasons include the spread of disease, the fear the Spanish spread, civil war, and the thought that Cortez was a God. The Natives were not immune to the European disease such as smallpox, influenza measles, typhus, plague, malaria, and yellow fever. This wiped out 85-90% of the Native population in 50 years. This was the largest demographic catastrophe in human history. (Document 4: The American Holocaust)
Although this essay is historically accurate it lacks important details, which might paint a different view of Columbus. Boorstin writes favorable of Columbus and depicts him as a heroic and determined figure who helped shape history, but he neglects to include Columbus’ unethical acts committed in the world that was not supposed to exist, the Americas. When Columbus first discovered the New World, he took care that the royal standard had been brought ashore and he claimed the land for Spain in front of all, including the indigenous population who had been sighted even before Columbus made landfall. According to the medieval concepts of natural law, only those territories that are uninhabited can become the property of the first person to discover them. Clearly this was an unethical act. Thus, the first contact between European and non-European worlds was carried out through a decidedly European prism, which ensured Spanish claim to the islands of the Americas. Faced with a colony in an inhospitable area, the Spanish soon inaugurated the practice of sending regular military parties inland to subdue the increasingly hostile natives. Members of the indigenous population were captured and enslaved to support the fledgling colony. The object of Columbus’ desire changed from exploration and trade to conquest and subjugation.
Victors and Vanquished by Stuart Schwartz attempts to explore differing perspectives of the conquest of Mexico as the historical narratives are from both the outlook of the Spanish conquistadors as well as the Nahua peoples. In these primary sources, there was a fundamental focus on the encounters between the Spaniards and the Mexica. The first source is an excerpt from The True History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a foot solider in the conquest of Mexico with Hernán Cortés. Although Díaz del Castillo was a witness of the conquest, he wrote his account of what he had witnessed decades after the Spanish victory, in 1521. In his account, Díaz del Castillo concentrated on the ways in which the Spanish viewed the Nahua peoples. The second source is taken from the Florentine Codex and is one which was collected twenty
From Spain's early arrival in the Caribbean through their establishment of the Spanish empire indigenous people were exploited through cheap, slave like labor. One of the most incredible subjects raised by the documents presented in Colonial Spanish America is the topic of Labor Systems that were imposed on the indigenous people. Spain tried to excuse this exploitation by claiming to save these indigenous people by teaching them the ways of Christ but many of the Articles in Colonial Spanish America, Struggle & Survival, and The Limits of Racial Domination prove otherwise. Through letters, personal stories, and other documents these books present accounts that tell about the labor system used in this area. They tell of the Spanish labor systems such as the encomiendos and later rapartamientos and how these operations were run.