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The Conquest of New Spain Cortés came not to the New World to conquer by force, but by manipulation. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, in the "Conquest of New Spain," describes how Cortés and his soldiers manipulated the Aztec people and their king Montezuma from the time they traveled from Iztapalaopa to the time when Montezuma took Cortés to the top of the great Cue and showed him the whole of Mexico and its countryside, and the three causeways which led into Mexico. Castillo's purpose for recording the mission was to keep an account of the wealth of Montezuma and Mexico, the traditions, and the economic potential that could benefit Cortés' upcoming conquest. However, through these recordings, we are able to see and understand Cortés' strategy in making Mexico "New Spain." He came as a wolf in a sheep's clothing and manipulated Montezuma through his apparent innocence. In the first part of the document, Cortés and his men spend their time at Montezuma's palaces. Seeing the extravagant wealth of the Aztec king, Cortés begins his seduction (all the while knowing that Montezuma believes that he may be the fulfillment of a prophecy). He embraced Montezuma with the greatest reverence and "…told him that now his heart rejoiced at having seen such a great Prince, and that he took it as a great honour that he had come in person to meet him and had frequently shown him such favor" (World History: Castillo, 247). Cortés and his men are brought into the house of Montezuma and all of his riches are now at their disposal to observe and share in. Montezuma tells Cortés: "Malinche you and your brethren are in your own house…" (World History: Castillo, 247). The wealth of Montezuma is magnificent. Each soldier is given tw... ... middle of paper ... ...d." There is great economic potential to be found here. We are left with Castillo symbolically describing the events at the great Cue. Montezuma sent priests to help Cortés ascend the 114 stairs to the top but Cortés would not allow them to even come near him. At the top Montezuma tells Cortés that he and his men must be very tired from ascending the great Cue. Cortés promptly and firmly replies: "…that he and his companions were never tired by anything" (World History: Castillo, 252). This symbolizes and affirms Cortés intentions that we were only able to infer before. Castillo says that they "…stood so high that from it [the temple] one could see over everything very well, and we saw the three causeways which led into Mexico" (World History: Castillo, 252). Cortés is observing the future and destiny that awaits him and the great city of Mexico.
... A few photos of Tenochtitlan and warriors headdresses, clubs and obsidian blades would increase the pleasure 10 fold. Also in places the author tends to divert to other Ameriindian cultures and use their ritual practices as examples. These comparisons can bring the ritual practices of a 500 year extant culture into modern day belief.
He attempted this primarily through his portrayal of Montezuma’s system of governance as brutal and is people as disloyal to him. He described the apparent willingness of the peoples he encountered to abandon the Aztecs and swear allegiance to the King of Spain, “Although they were subjects of Montezuma … they had been reduced to that condition by force …and when they had obtained through me some knowledge of your Highness … they declared their desire to become vassals of your Majesty, and to form an alliance with me”(Second Letter, 38–39). Cortés justified his conquest further through his proclamation to the his king that he was acting in defense of these newly acquired vassals. Cortés wrote that Montezuma subjected the local people to violent and tyrannical repression and, “took from them their sons to be slain and offered as sacrifices to his idols”(Second Letter,
The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire. While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script, a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines that come together to make the event happen. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec is no different. Three major themes are seen in this struggle. One of them is the incredible advantage that the Spaniards technology gave them over the Aztecs. A second major theme is the greed that fueled the conquests in the New World. The last major theme was the effect of the political divisions and rivalries within Montezuma’s Central American Kingdom. As this historical event progressed each one of these themes began to intertwine until they became an almost unstoppable force.
In 1510, Montezuma turned his attention to a series of revolts and revolutionary flare-ups in the Aztec territories. These battles only increased the size of the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs also continued their Flower Wars with the Tlaxcatlecans to provide human sacrifices to their god Huitzilopochtli. Around the same time, Montezuma’s oracles passed information that there were strangers in the midst. In fact, his astrologer priests foretold of the coming of Quetzalcóatl, a white bearded god who was believed to eventually reclaim their empire. Reputed claims of Whit...
The Spanish portrayed Moctezuma as a “cruel, power-hungry tyrant who wantonly destroyed whatever displeased him” (Cohen, 1972). This may have been their way of justifying the conquest of the Aztecs. However, in Fray Bernardino de Sahagun’s General History of the Things of New Spain , a work written using firsthand accounts of the Spanish invasion of Tenochtitlan, portrays Moctezuma with a “unquestioning religious orientation and credulous mind”(Cohen,1972). One can envision Moctezuma standing before his people adorned with this headdress, the sunlight shimmering off the gold. The richness of color in the feathers articulates nature’s grandeur, a tie to the spiritual and natural world. It would have been a sight to behold. A man transformed into a
Conquests--- the art of obtaining power and authority through means of military forces--- have been adopted and practiced throughout the history of America for centuries. Similar to how two art paintings have resemblances and differences when replicated by different artists, the conquests of Sundiata and Cortés both share commonalities as well as a fair share of respective distinctions. In Djibril Tamsir Niane’s Sundiata: Epic of Old Mali and Bernal Díaz’s The Conquest of New Spain, the narrator’s arguments within each account display a ray of more similarities in regards to the conquests’ successes of Sundiata and Cortés compared to that of their differences.
Despite the people’s dismay with Montezuma’s opinion of sacrifice, some important milestones were achieved during his reign. For example, they were one of the first civilizations to develop a written language. The one thing that could be considered one of the most important inventions ever, still used today, is the modern calendar. That’s right, the Aztecs of Montezuma’s time created that system of days, months, and even leap years that is of everyday use to us now. We have calendars in our homes, our school planners, and even on our phones. This is one of the longest lasting inventions of all time. Also, Aztecs were devoted to beauty, poetry, and music, which also are an influence ...
The letter that Cortes’ wrote described firsthand encounters of all of the fascinating things that he saw and experienced in the city of Tenochtitlan. Cortes’ description of what he encountered reflects as primary sources to the reader. Descriptions of how the city is set up with waterways and bridges as a form of protection from anyone getting inside. He explains how the markets are situated for buying/selling for everything that one could ever imagine, and how controversies are overseen by ten to twelve magistrates to ensure fair-trading is conducted as well as delinquents being punished. Secondary sources that Cortes’ had experienced were seen through the eyes of the people speaking about certain priest entering the chapels where idols were worshiped as well as human sacrifice rituals.
Myths are "hangups from way back":[1] false or highly inaccurate beliefs that are taken at face value. One collection of myths which has exercised a powerful grip on the minds of many, and contributed to feelings of inferiority on the part of large numbers of "pure" or "mixed" descendants of Native Americans in the region of northern Mesoamerica,2 has to do with the conquest of the "Aztec Empire" by HernanCortes and his followers in the early sixteenth century. This paper attempts to shatter one of these myths; namely, that Cortes was an extraordinarily brave and intelligent individual who accomplished an almost miraculous feat. It will do so by making use of the twin concepts of virtu and fortuna.
Cortes letter had the sound of someone attempting to explain or justify their actions. This is reasonable since we know that he had disobeyed orders. He wrote, “Having passed six days, then, in the great city of Tenochtitlan, invincible Prince, and having seen something of its marvels, though little in comparison with what there was to be seen and examined, I considered it essential both from my observation of the city and the rest of the land that its ruler should be in my power and no longer entirely free; to the end that he might in nowise change his will and intent to serve your Majesty, more especially as we Spaniards are somewhat intolerable and stiff-necked, and should he get across with us he would be powerful enough to do us great damage, even to blot out all memory of us here in the land; and in the second place, could I once get him in my power all the other provinces subject to him would come more promptly to the knowledge and service of your Majesty, as indeed afterward happened” (Cortes, 1929). Cortes was explaining his reasoning, and attempting to make it appear that he did the right thing. Also, the Florentine Codex’s tone was angry and spiteful. Then again, that is understandable seeing as how they had just lost their home. The codex said, “And the Spaniards walked everywhere; they went everywhere taking to pieces the hiding places, storehouses, storage places. They took all, all that they
I can infer that Cortes’ motives in writing about “the wonders of Tenochtitlan” and the Aztecs, were to describe it in such a way that the Sire could almost picture it himself. It seemed that he was impacted in such a way that it marveled him
Cortés, Hernando. 5 Letters of Cortés to the Emperor 1529 – 1526. Trans. J. Bayard
The source discusses many of the same events that The Broken Spears does, however they are more polished and detailed. The more detailed nature of the text itself can be attributed to the fact that The Conquest of New Spain most certainly contained less errors in translation when compared to The Broken Spears. The document was originally written in Spanish, whereas The Broken Spears contains a compilation of documents translated from the Aztec’s native Nahuatl. Another factor to consider when looking at The Conquest of New Spain as a source is the fact that Bernal Diaz himself was a solider under Cortes’ command. His account is perhaps one of the most accurate due to the fact that he was actually present during all of the events he describes in his account. It is also extremely important when looking at this document through the lens of history to consider the differences in faith between the Aztecs and the Spaniards. Diaz and his fellow soldiers were Christian and many of the abnormalities that he attributes to Aztec life, such as human sacrifice, choice of clothing, and their temples, are related to their native religious traditions and were extremely foreign to him. Another interesting aspect of The Conquest of New Spain to highlight is Diaz’ status as a soldier under Cortes’ command. Diaz often depicts Cortes as less of a heroic figure, which is often how Cortes describes himself. In one particular passage Diaz describes Cortes as “…very frightened,” when he sees how numerous the Aztec forces are in their canoes. He goes on to say that Cortes, “…stationed himself in the lake, so that if he his men hard pressed he could sail out freely and hurry to any place he chose.” These types of descriptions of Cortes by Diaz aim to attribute his feats to those of his
Diaz’s account is more believable because the objective tone of his account compared to the others. That was noticeable when he describes the events with many details without his emotions. Even, it is difficult to recognize his opinion about the event. For example, when he said “he placed it round the neck of the Great Montezuma and when he had so placed it he was going to embrace him, and those great Princes who accompanied Montezuma held back Cortés by the arm so that he should not embrace him, for they considered it an indignity” (Diaz, P. 2). On the other hand, the embellishing tone of Cortez’s letter makes it subjective in some parts when he explained the event. According to Cortez, he attacked two villages before it was dawn, but he d...
... will”, which gives Cortes all the power of the kingdom. Plus, Moctezuma is willing to give all the gold to Cortes without interfer. After all the lecture, Moctezuma take off, Cortes and his soldiers rest. All this was recorded during the presence of the great Moctezuma and the conquistador Hernan cortes, which later on would conquer Aztec’s empire, a thing that Moctezuma was afraid.