Compare And Contrast The Military Conquest Of Mesoamerican Americans

The lives of Native Americans were impacted by the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in 1492, changing their lives forever. Spain would now rule a vast empire for the next 350 years structured on factors such as labor and exploitation of the Indian population. The conquistadors had aspirations of bringing about Catholicism to non-Christian areas, while extracting riches in the process. With many Spaniards going over seas to find riches, diseases followed them causing problems for New World natives due to their lack of immunities. With the trouble caused upon natives, individuals like Bartolomé de Las Casas attempted to bring awareness and a halt against the oppression of the Indians.

Before Europeans landed in the Americas, Native Americans lived within various complex societies across modern day North and South America. Two of the greatest empires that existed at the time were the Aztecs located in modern central Mexico or at the time it was called Mesoamerica and the Incas located in modern Peru, these societies were unique because they were ruled by kings, nobles and warriors whereas most North American Natives were ruled by chiefdoms. North American Native’s religion consisted of animist quality- a belief that the natural world had spiritual powers. They applied this belief to everyday life- praying to be exempt from disease, good crops, and plenty of food. Some societies amongst many North American Natives were matriarchal for example in the Iroquois society power and possessions were passed down through the female line of authority. Most women were gatherers and watched over the towns and men hunted for food for their families, maize agriculture was popular amongst the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes Natives. The Native Americans traded extensively before the Europeans arrived, for example there were annual trade fairs between the Navajos, Apaches and the Pueblos. In 1521, Hernan Cortes arrived in Mesoamerica and quickly overcame the Aztecs, not only by force but also disease. Europeans unknowingly brought many diseases, such as smallpox, influenza and measles, that the Native Americans were never exposed to and it was one of the biggest killers of the Natives. At first, Europeans forced Native Americans to be slaves and work on their plantations but soon they were replaced with the African slave.

Mesoamerica have been connected the North and South America culturally and geographically throughout the history. Mesoamerican culture and aspects heavily influenced southwestern United States, being the frontier borderline between North America and Mesoamerica. It is very important to study the relationship between the Mesoamerica and American Southwest because American Southwest contains various elements of Mesoamerican culture and this provides fundamental information about human behaviors, history, interactions, and tradition in America. Our group has selected Agriculture, Architecture, Religion, and Trade as our categories to analyze the relationship between American southwest and Mesoamerica. Fair trade, we will focus on scarlet macaws and how it got traded from Mesoamerica in the American southwest and its significance. For architecture, we will compare the ball courts of Hohokam and that of Mesoamerica. Significance of ball courts and how it got introduced into the American southwest from Mesoamerica will be discussed as well. Religion will be analyzed by focusing on the cosmological beliefs of both groups and the similarities and differences between Mesoamerican cosmology and American southwest cosmology.

When it came to the economics, the Spanish did not respond so peacefully; they were acted harshly. Spanish conquistadors originally established their rule in colonial America in search of gold and silver. Throughout their rule, they have not forgotten their main goal. For example, the Spanish deprived the Natives of their resources, and forced them into slavery. The Native Americans were ordered to work in gold and silver mines. Another example of the Spanish behaving brutally towards the Natives was when Cortez conquered the Aztecs. After he had besieged their capital city, Cortez had already robbed the Aztec’s resources. The Spanish did not play nicely when it came down to wealth and resources.

Religion played a very important role in the Aztec and Inca culture. Religious rituals consisted of human sacrifice and polytheism. Their deities were inspired by nature and the earth’s physical makeup. Both appear to be similar but peel back the onion and notable differences reveal themselves. It is difficult for modern day society to understand how human sacrifice can exist in such advanced civilizations.

The Aztec people felt very strong about their beliefs in gods and superstitions. Montecuhzoma the independent ruler of the Aztec empire swayed his people to believe in the power of gods and idols and live a spiritual life. This ultimately was a turning point for the Aztecs and is where the Spanish once again gained advantage over the Aztecs. While the Aztecs were faithful to their beliefs it made them powerless an easy take down. Superstitions played a huge factor in the Aztecs first encounter with the Spanish people. In 1519 when the Aztec people saw sight of something coming from a distance in the water, they believed it was Quetzalcoatl (Leon-Portilla, 18). Quetzalcoatl was a legend to them that promised to come back. Montecuhzoma misread the situation and sent messages and gifts in hopes that it sent a gesture to welcome the gods onto their land. This was a big mistake that Motecuhzoma made by opening his arms to the Spanish people upon their first encounter together (Leon-Portilla, 63). This is just one case where the Aztec people poorly used their judgement. However, Motecuhzoma did come to realize the behavior of the Spaniards or “Gods”. When the Spaniards held the gold given by the Aztecs their greed became noticed in the eyes of the Aztecs. The Natives described them as monkeys. They soon caught on that the Spaniards were not gods and heroes and more so barbarians

During the early stages of North America, the Spanish settlements in the Southwest and the English colonies contrasted from each other as a result of different resources, religion, and various other factors. In the 17th century, North America was just beginning colonization. In 1588, the Spanish attacked the English but were defeated because the English used different tactics that were swifter. Both the Spanish settlers and English were devoted to their religions. While the English were trying to decide what path of religion to follow, the Spanish had already choses Christianity as their dominant religion. Some Spanish missionaries were founded in California and Texas with the goal to Christianize the natives. The English

The United States of America was justified in going to war with Mexico. Throughout history, it has always been exceedingly dangerous to occupy the same land as another nation. Such close borders contribute to invasions or prompt a significant decrease of commerce with other foreign nations. These fears were proven to be legitimate when American soldiers investigated Mexican military near the Rio Del Norte territorial boundary. The group was attacked by Mexican soldiers, resulting in an estimated 16 Americans killed or wounded on U.S soil. Mexican soldiers ignored the boundaries of the newly annexed Texas, and then engaged American military, it provided a more than sufficient reason to claim that Mexico had supplied the means to declare war.

Mexico was one of the main points of the conquistadors’ conquest. Mexico was home to two of the biggest Pre-Colombian civilizations, the Aztecs and the Mayans. The Mayans and Aztecs both faced the wrath of the conquistadors, as they were both conquered very easily due to the Spanish’s advanced weaponry. After conquering the natives, the Spanish would rule over that land for anout 300 years. This new ruling came with new foods, races, animals, and changes that effected the natives.

For thousands of years mankind has felt an insatiable desire to explore. Many people groups from around the world have discovered and conquered new lands. The Spanish Conquistadors are among these. In the 1500s, there were many compelling incentives luring them to gain control of the Aztec Empire in New Spain (Mexico). What impelled the Conquistadors to conquer the Aztecs was a desire to spread the teachings of the Christian church, to gain wealth allowing them to establish roots in New Spain, and to develop relationships between the Aztecs and the continental Spaniards.

In the 16th century Spaniards Herman Cortes and Christopher Columbus set out on endeavoring journeys in search of new worlds. Christopher Columbus encountered, in the Caribbean islands, a group of extremely simplistic Native Americans. Herman Cortes however encountered a much more advanced Native American group in Meso America; we formally know this area to be Mexico. In my essay I will be comparing and contrasting several aspects between both of these Native American Civilizations including sophistication, technology, housing, weapons, religion and their reaction to the Spaniards. Letters written by Columbus and Cortes will be used to make these comparisons.

During Pope’s rebellion, the Pueblo rebels killed hundreds of Spanish settlers. You can’t fight violence with violence, more and more people are killed ad it doesn’t end well for anybody. The Franciscan Friars built their missions along the Californian coast to convert natives. Halfway through their conquering, the Spanish realized it would be more beneficial to be friends with the Indians rather than enemies. Through marriage the Spanish and the Indians, especially the Pueblos, incorporated their separate cultures into one new culture and human species: mestizos.

Since the Aztecs considered the Spanish gods, they welcomed the conquistadors into Mexico City, the city which the Spanish were repeatedly cautioned not to try and conquer. Furthermore, the Spanish were well cared for and given food, gold, and women. Diaz comments, "to each of our captains he (Montezuma) presented small gold objects and three loads of cloaks of rich feather work" (221). The Spanish did not exactly respond graciously to the good treatment they received. The diseases they brought and the Christianity they forced upon the indigenous peoples would lead to destruction of a once great Aztec empire.

Indigenistas rejected religion, not necessarily because the Church was cruel or corrupt in its practices, Sommers points out, but because religious leaders controlled the hearts of the general public. Indigenistas believed that organized religious institutions hindered modernization. The clergy impeded revolution by resisting state and local authority. This limited the ability of Indians to become fully assimilated into the national community. This idea is stressed in Stephen Lewis’ The Ambivalent Revolution. The Mexican government viewed religion as an impediment to the building of a unified Mexican state. Government leaders realized that a new uniform national culture could not come to fruition until the rituals which described the generations before were extinguished. With this in mind, the Mexican state banned religious symbols exiled priests from the country. The retaliation against the Catholic Church became a way for the Mexican state to accumulate power and standing in the indigenous communities where religion previously dominated. Ultimately, according to Sommers and Lewis, the clergy were seen as an obstacle to progress. Scholar of indigenismo, Allen Knight, asserts the importance of national, political, and social agendas when discussing the Mexican revolution, and how they functioned at the local level. Knight notes, referencing the

The Mayan civilization derived from a massive empire that covered Mesoamerica from modern-day Mexico in the north into El Salvador. While the Mayan culture has remained prominent in isolated pockets in some areas of Mexico and Guatemala, in general the culture was extremely integrated into the colonial culture of the Spaniards, rather than being lost through a process of acculturation. Spanish legislative policies towards the indigenous Mayans were lenient and allowed them to keep their language and customs for the most part. The encomienda estate system in the Americas relocated the natives to allow them to work on the Spanish estates, where they were taught English as their primary language, as well as conversion to Christianity (Shuman, 1999). Religion was one of the few areas where the Spanish actually forbade native practices, forcing Christianity on the Mayans. Rather than replacing the native beliefs, the gods were merged together into the personhood of the Catholic Saints. This overt religious practice appeared to the Spanish as colonial, while still retaining the traditional meaning for the Mayan peoples (O’Neil, 2009).