“The King’s Fifth” is historical adventure novel, that brings us back to the 16th century. This novel shows us the Spanish Conquest over the Aztec Empire, and Spanish exploration of the as current Southwestern part of the United States. The story begins in San Jose De Ulloa (Spanish Fort, in Veracruz) here, Esteba de Sandoval is being held for defrauding the King of his rightful fifth. As he awaits his trial, he writes down all the events that occurred during his journey into the North American Wilds in search for the Golden Cities. Esteban then tells us his story that began two years prior to his arrest, on Captain Alarcon’s Fleet. Esteban was an educated boy that got his degree in cartography from Casa de la Contratación. In the beginning
The reading “An Aztec account of the Spanish Conquest” is mainly about a story when Hernan Cortes came for the first time at Tenochtitlan (nowadays Mexico City). The Aztecs believes that when Hernan Cortes arrive they believe the he was Quetzalcoatl, the main god in the Aztec culture. Cortes were friendly invite to the Aztec city as the most important guest, the Aztec people made a big party to celebrate the return of their god, but the Aztec people did not know Cortes intentions of conquer the empire. Later the Aztecs were betrayed by Hernan Cortes. Cortes’s army began to attack the city and at the end they take over the city.
Leon-Portilla based the stories told in this book upon old writings of actual Aztec people who survived the Spanish massacres. The actual authors of the stories told in this book are priests, wise men and regular people who survived the killings. These stories represent the more realistic view of what really happened during the Spanish conquest. Most of the history about the Aztec Empire was based on Spanish accounts of events, but Leon-Portilla used writings from actual survivors to illustrate the true history from the Indians’ point of view.
Before the 15th century, the Indians in the Americas were not connected with the world and would remain that way until Columbus's exploration. In the beginning of 15th century, the Aztecs were the dominant group in Mesoamerica leaded by Montezuma, the last leader, before the Spanish conquest. In 1519, Hernan Cortez led the Spanish mission to explore and conquer the New World. This paper will compare three primary sources about this event. First, an informing letter sent from Cortez to King Charles V, the king of Spain. Second, the Broken Spears which is an Indian recollection about the conquest of Mexico. Lastly, Bernal Diaz’s (one of Cortez’s men) account was written by him to share his experience with Aztec
The Broken Spears by Miguel León-Portilla is a novel of the Spanish conquest over the Aztecs in Mexico, as told through the Aztec perspective. Each chapter displayed short stories regarding each situation between the Aztecs and the Spaniards. Throughout this novel, the theme of terror, religion, and greed are brought up. Although Broken Spears was written by the Aztecs, and Seven Myths was more focused on the Spaniards, each novel ties into similar issues which are brought up throughout each book.
Miguel Leon-Portilla author of Broken Spears- The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, tells the story of the Spanish conquest over the Aztecs from the Aztec point of view. It is more familiar in history that the Spanish led by Hernan Cortez defeated the Aztecs with a powerful army and established an easy victory all while having intentions to gain power and greed. However, Leon-Portilla focuses on the Aztec Empire and their story. Leon-Portilla does a great job giving readers the real occurrences and events from Aztec members. This paper argues that history must be told from all sides. It is more common to hear about the Spanish conquest
In the book Daily Life of The Aztecs On the Eve of the Spanish Conquest by Jacques Soustelle you are walked through what life was like for the Aztecs. You are in 16th Century Mexico, or to them Mexico-Tenochtilan. Soustelle does an excellent job immediately putting you in character with the introduction of the book. The book is broken down into seven different main chapters detailing major aspects of the Aztecs lives in the late 1500’s. You learn about where they lived, to the wars they fought, and what life was like for them from birth to death. In this paper I will further discuss four topics that were very crucial in the daily lives of the Aztecs. I will help you find a better understanding in their daily life as well as the many changes they migrated through over time. The four topics I will be discussing are: 1. Culture and Customs of the Aztecs 2. Civilization vs Barbarism 3. Art and Architecture 4. Education and Home Life.
The story is narrated in the first person by Mustafa ibn Muhammad ibn Abdussalam al-Zamori, a Moroccan slave who has been taken by his Spanish master, Andrés de Dorantes, on an expedition to the New World. The expedition lands in Florida in the vicinity of what is now Tampa Bay. Under the leadership of Pánfilo de Narváez, the men leave their ships behind and travel inland to look for gold. As they journey northward, they face resistance by indigenous tribes, suffer from disease and starvation, and quarrel with one another. Within a year there are only four survivors: Cabeza de Vaca, the treasurer of the expedition; Alonso del Castillo, a young nobleman, Andrés de Dorantes, one of the captains; and his Moroccan slave, Mustafa, whom the other three Spaniards refer to as Estebanico. Together, these four survivors travel westward, crossing the continent and living among indigenous tribes, reinventing themselves along the way as
Published in 2016, this secondary source was written using a variety of references by Thomas Brinkerhoff, a Ph.D. student studying Colonial Latin America and Global Empires and Imperial Legacies at the esteemed University of Pennsylvania. Brinkerhoff’s academic credibility
It is easy to mistakenly interpret the fall of Tenochtitlan as a one-sided ravaging, a destruction handed down from the higher power that was the Spanish. The label “conquistador”, or conqueror, given to the Cortés’ forces, reflects such a belief. However, the interactions between the Aztecs and Conquistadors and between Cortés and other natives as depicted in Cortés’ Second Letter and the compilatory Florentine Codex reveal that the exchange that transpired in Tenochtitlan was more complicated than an unprovoked vanquishing on the part of the Spanish. Further analysis of these two texts reveals that Cortés is not the destructive conqueror one would assume him to be, and that the Aztecs may be partially responsible for their own demise.
In the primary source document, The Aztec Marketplace at Tlatelolco by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Castillo manages to describe the magnificent marketplace at the Aztec city, Tlatelolco. Castillo’s memory and recollection of his experience at the market place occurred around the time period of 1521, when the Aztec empire was conquered by the Spaniards through the expedition of Hernán Cortés. After these expeditions and battles between the Aztec natives and the Spanish newcomers, Castillo was able to record his involvement and experience in his entries fifty years later in Guatemala where he lived in retirement.
In the book, “All The King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren, the character of Jack Burden gradually evolves into a person with a deeper comprehension of the world around him. Jack grapples with many new concepts, including the concept of whether or not knowledge is power. Jack’s profession involves digging into the past to discover information about others, which often, he will later use to blackmail them. So naturally Jack believes knowledge holds great power. However, as the book carries on, Jack struggles with the idea that his knowledge may have a much deeper effect on society than the original purpose of the information. Throughout this novel Jack demonstrates that knowledge is power, but he eventually realizes
The book has five main sections. In section one, the author mentions about Esteban and the three Spanish survivors; Andrés Dorantes de Carranza who initially was Esteban’s owner and a captain on the expedition, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca who was the treasurer, and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado who
“Kingdom of this World” is a story of succession, freedom, imprisonment, and despair. It is the stories of the different slaves and owners of the Haitian revolution. Ti Noell, one of the main slaves talked about in this book, is shown going through a constant struggle throughout his entire life. It also tells the story of M. Lenormand de Mézy, a slave owner who relies on riches and sins to fuel his life. This book shows the revolution through actual stories from these people. It makes it easier to understand what the revolution was actually like. Throughout this paper I will tell how this book supports, and devalues the Haitian revolution.
Henry the Fifth has been noted as England’s best King throughout history. He was loved among the common people and nobles alike for his fairness, his effectiveness on the throne, his justness, and his ability to relate to people of all classes. The kings that reigned before him, especially his father King Henry IV and King John, provide a striking contrast to Hal’s attitude on the throne. Kings of the past had not experienced the life of the common people, and chose to lead their lives in the realm of the castle. As we witnessed in I Henry IV, Hal’s father even went as far to discuss this approach to ruling at length with Hal. Henry IV believed that a king was best admired and supplicated if he was kept
The Servant King is a great book for any person who would want to get involved or simply study theology. Alexander focuses heavily on Christology throughout the entire book. He begins by going through the Old Testament and explains how it points to the Messiah that is Jesus Christ. He goes through specific events such as: Creation, the woman’s seed and the serpent’s seed, promises to Abraham, the judges, the beginning of a monarchy for the Israelites, and many other important events of the Old Testament. The main point of these sections is to show how even in the times of the Old Testament, all things were still pointing to Christ the Messiah, and the future king. In Chapter 13, titled the same as the whole book, “The Servant King,” Alexander talks about how the future king is described in the latter half of Isaiah, saying that he will suffer for those that have sinned. He will take on their sin for them. This is important because this is something that sets apart Christ from all other kings that have rules over the Israelite people.