Spanish Conquest Essay

The Aztecs cosmology was a unique combination of mythology. Their beliefs about themselves and their purpose were not something they took lightly. “The mystic-militaristic approach characteristic of Aztec religion…felt that the purpose of man’s creation was to provide blood for the maintenance of the Sun’s life” (Leon-Portilla, Aztec Thought & Culture, 122). With this perspective of themselves, the Aztecs believed that human sacrifice was not only justified but necessary for the lives of civilization. Simply put, mankind was “food” for god.

All of the Aztecs were brainwashed to think that the success of their culture was more important than their own lives. Some may argue that they were showing loyalty to their community and religion. In reality, killing a myriad of people for the purpose of pleasing the gods and cannibalism in order to be rewarded, is not justified by religious beliefs. The Aztecs teach us good lessons today about government and countries competing to be the best. From these examples modern world society leaders can learn how selfish actions can impact the entire community in a negative way. It’s conspicuous that Aztecs were doing many things wrong that led to the death of thousands of innocent lives and the suppression of people under their

The Aztecs, part of modern day Mexico, were once the epitome of fine culture. They began their rule of southern and central Mexico during the 14th century and practiced an incredibly wealthy lifestyle. Nonetheless, this rule began to deteriorate when Spanish explorers disembarked at Tabasco and Vera Cruz on April 21st 1519. When the Spanish voyagers first arrived, they were welcomed warmly, respectfully and received Godlike treatment. Montezuma, the ruler at that time, believed that the Spanish military leader, Hernán Cortés, was the great god Quetzalcoatl. The Spanish took advantage of this Aztec belief and conquered Mexico within two years. By 1521, the Aztec culture was officially eradicated and a new culture, consisting of a

The letter written in 1524 by the Aztec Priests in response to the Spanish was mainly for the Aztecs people to “defend the legitimacy of their own customs and how most Aztecs did not want to renounce their own religion in favor of Catholicism.” Also, if they did listen to the Spanish king’s rule, they would be going against their own God. The Aztec Priests made sure to list numerous of examples to why they went against the Spanish who were trying to change their religious believes. For instance, in the letter the Priests stated, “you say our gods are not true gods. The new words that you put utter are what confuse us; due to them we feel foreboding. Our makers [our ancestors] who came to live on earth never uttered such words. They gave us

The author argues that the Spanish were completely at fault for the total destruction of the Aztec Empire. In Broken spears, the author explains how many factors other than Spanish power contributed to the downfall of the Aztecs. Not only did the Spanish have many advantages over the Aztecs, but also they also exploited them and took advantage of the cultural difference. The main key aspects to the Spanish victory, is that the Spanish were viewed as gods at first because of their appearance, the Aztecs welcomed the Spanish with gifts and festivities, which showed the Spanish had total control of people. The Aztecs also held a ritual ceremony for the arrival of the “god” that included a human

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

In 1532, an exploration led by spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro Conquered the Incan Empire. Pizarro, along with his army captured and killed the last Incan emperor Atahualpa in 1533.The Incas kindly welcomed the spanish into their Empire, when they suddenly set a trap for the unsuspected Incas.

The author argues that the Spanish were completely at fault for the total destruction of the Aztec Empire. In Broken spears, the author explains how many factors other than Spanish power contributed to the downfall of the Aztecs. Not only did the Spanish have many advantages over the Aztecs, but also they also exploited them and took advantage of the cultural difference. The main key aspects to the Spanish victory, is that the Spanish were viewed as gods at first because of their appearance, the Aztecs welcomed the Spanish with gifts and festivities, which showed the Spanish had total control of people. The Aztecs also held a ritual ceremony for the arrival of the "god" that included a human sacrifice, which was seen by the Spanish as a

In 1519, Hernan Cortes set sail toward Yucatan, Mexico. The Spaniards were excited for being able to settle in this place for the first time. In Tabasco, Mexico Cortes ran into some resistant natives. He cleared them out with ease, until they were forced to surrender. They gave him supplies and then he left. His mind was set to conquering the Aztecs. He had heard of them and he knew that they were very important in Mexico and he wanted to overthrow them. While they were parading through Mexico they encountered the rivals of the Aztecs, called Tlaxcalans, which were another tribe in Mexico. They became very important allies for the Spanish, during their upcoming siege on the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlan. When Cortes arrived, the Aztecs actually though he was their God, Quetzalcoatl, and their leader treated him with a big party. This was because their God was supposed to be returning to Earth that day. The Spaniards wanted to make themselves look powerful, so they fired shots into the air, to scare the Aztecs. They further entered the city and started to sack the whole thing, with the help of the Tlaxcalans and Doña Marina. They took Montezuma (the Aztec leader) hostage. Cortes manipulated him and ruled the city that way. While Montezuma was captured and the Spaniards were ruling the city, another Spanish force arrived from Cuba. Cortes stormed the

When the Aztecs tell him that they follow a religion with multiple gods, the disdain Cortés feels makes him compel them to “learn there was but one God,” and that they will be “bound to adore and believe Him, and no other creature or thing.” Cortés uses parallelism in order to convey his downcast towards the aztecs incognizant ways of religion, and to force them to learn a different one if they wish to be as respected as his Spanish culture. As well as parallelism, Cortés applies coordinating conjunctions to his letter to further emit his disapproval of the Aztecs way of life. He first removes their deities from their temples, “and forbids them from sacrificing human beings to their idols,” “and during the whole period” of his abode, they were “never seen to kill or sacrifice a human being.” These words convey Cortés’s forcefulness to convert them to his way of religion, and that they are beneath the real God that they should be worshipping. This coordinating conjunction and the use of parallelism create an authoritative tone that convinces the reader that the Aztecs are inferior to Spanish culture because of their savage religion and barbaric

The Aztec religion had a mix of mythology which is seen through the Aztecs God’s uprising story and their significance. In the Aztecs religion, the people had multiple gods that they observed and prayed to. Their Gods ranged from nature spirts to supporter of the Gods. One of their Gods, was named Quetzalcoatl. This deity represented the four major aspects of their forces, their creation, virtue, learning and culture. Another influential God was Tlaloc, the God of rain. Tlaloc was a representation of the atmosphere and everything that happened that was impacted by the weather. Along with the Gods representing significant topics, the stories that led to that unique spirt becoming a God influenced their life as well.

Cortes showed up to the Aztec’s land planning on conquering it to be part of Spain. He did not want to negotiate with the Aztecs, he just wanted their land, with or without them. The Aztecs thought that he was a God and gave him extreme amounts of gold when he first arrived, but that did not satisfy Cortes. Cortes held a meeting with the leader of the Aztecs, Montezuma, and captured him, causing the Aztecs to fight the Spanish to get their leader back. Once the Spanish started to make a move to defeat the Aztecs, they realized that they were all dead or extremely ill. This was because the Aztecs were not immune to the Spanish diseases that came into their land, spreading over their people. Cortes eventually got the Aztec land, making it a part of 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'

The Aztecs were widely known for their rich, complicated mythological and religious ways, more so they were identified for their defeat to the Spanish. Although, the empire particularly dominated Mesoamerica during the time, their strong qualities were unfortunately part of the downfall too. On November 1519, Cortes and his

on to Christianity. The Spaniards wanted a motivational force to stop the genocide of the natives. In accordance, Reality Is Not Optional website, the Aztecs sacrificed 80,400 in four days in 1487 as a ritual and religion practices. Christianity gave the natives the route to end there "religion" and ritual practices by not exterminating its own people. Christianity was the avenue to give the Aztecs peace and freedom by choice from the Spaniard colonies. In accordance, Reality Is Not Optional, Cortes defeats the Aztecs in battle on their land, and whoever survive, he enlists the survivors in his forces, and the complied accordingly. Cortes' goals were not abstracted, and his actions mirrored his goals. If a nation surrendered, he was quick