Conquest Of New Mexico Essay

The Spanish Conquest of Mexico and the Aztec people started when Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquistadors to Tenochtitlán and conquered the Aztec Empire in 1519. The Spaniards had gunpowder, dogs, horses, and armor that would help fight against the Azteca. The Native Americans wanted to only wound their enemies with their woodened clubs tipped and sharp obsidian that was powerful enough to smash the Spaniard’s helmets. The use of the double-bladed swords helped the Spaniards fight close combat with the Indians. As soon as their chief died the Azteca would back down. Not only did the weapons cause a huge impact on the Aztec but also the spread of diseases such as smallpox that were carried by the Europeans affected the population. After conquering the Indians, the intensions of the Spanish in Mexico was to spread their beliefs about Christianity, find gold and use them as slaves. In drastic ways the Spaniards changed the native communities, for instance plagues spread throughout the whole country side after the defeat of Tenochtitlán. Smallpox, measles, and influenza were the outbreaks that hit urban cities the hardest. In 1520-1521 an outbreak of smallpox caused thousands to die because Azteca medicine was not affective against these diseases. The second outbreak occurred in 1531 and it was smallpox again but combined with measles and the third wave of the disease lasted from 1576 to 1581 killing 300,000 to 400,000 of the Aztec population. The Native Americans did not

a city where an eagle with a snake in its beak rested on a cactus. This

1). The Nations of Europe sought to expand their empire because they were on the verge of overpopulation.Between 1550 and 1600 the population grew from three million to four million people. Also, England and Spain were at a war for power. The Spanish attempts at colonizing the New World had been extremely successful, for they had gained both wealth and power. The English did not see such success, as their ships would crash, be lost to the seas, or their colonization efforts would cease to be useful. Through the Spaniards control over the Americas they had gained a massive naval army, noted as the Spanish Armada. The Spanish attempt to invade England in 1588 failed which lead to the beginning of the fall of the Spanish empire in the New World.

Throughout the period of colonization, several aspects of genocide can be identified. From the Genocide Convention of 1948, genocide was lawfully defined as any of the following committed with the intent to destroy in whole or part a national ethnical, racial, or religious group as such: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions to bring about its destruction, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, and/or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. In what is modern day North America, European settlers began colonizing the area in hopes of achieving their goals of expanding Christianity, acquiring wealth for their countries, and/or gaining personal wealth and power. The European settlers had little care about the indigenous people of the areas they were colonizing, leading to the American Indian Wars (Lasting from 1622 - 1924) and the genocide of Native Americans. During this time period, the Native American population decreased dramatically as a result of brutal war, disease, and torture. The modern day New Mexico area in particular was home to Indian Pueblos, who showed an extreme act of resistance against their Spanish conquerors. What later became known as the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 showed how resistance to genocide can be achievable and the impacts it may have.

The United States wanted to expand its territory toward the West and the Southwest during the Market Revolution in search for raw materials. After gaining its independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico was left “destitute, reducing its ability to supply the establecimientos as before.” Aside from that, Native groups such as the Apache and the Comanche returned to raid its supply. They continued to raid Mexico, especially Texas. Eventually, the Native groups reached the outskirts of Mexico City. To create a buffer zone between Mexico and the Natives, the Mexican government opened its border in Texas and welcomed new settlers. Most of these settlers were Anglo-American. By the end of the 1820s, “Anglo-American outnumbered Mexicans in Texas 12,000 to 5,000.” The Anglo-American brought with them cash crops that helped flourished the economy of Texas.

Starting from the beginning Mexico was full of violence and war. The Aztecs took over Azcapotzalco and became the central tribe in the area now called Mexico. Then the Europeans voyaged to the new world and brutally conquered the native tribes. The

Underestimating us, defying rules and power in our own rightful land. Mexico should not be treated so poorly after their gaining of independence. In 1836 Texas had gotten their independence from Mexico. Still 10 years later, America had interfered with the set border at the Nueces River (Doc B). Mexico was only defending their rightful lands and laws of slavery and governmental power when America invaded. Americas thoughts of going to war with Mexico were unjustified. Even though America was trying to achieve their American dream, and reach coast to coast; they never had to be disrespectful to Mexico’s authority and laws .The American government was being ignorant to Mexico’s governmental authority, invading their rightful territory, and defying the laws of slavery.

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.

On May, 13 1846, the United States officially went to war with Mexico. Before this declaration had taken place, Texas had broken away from Mexico and became independent, but the mother country believed this had been done illegally and that Texas’ land still belonged to them, because they’d held General Santa Anna at gunpoint. After ten years, America annexed the Lone Star Republic, which greatly angered Mexico. Fuel was only added to the fire when the two countries couldn’t agree on Texas’ border, arguing between the Rio Grande, where the United States believed they owned up to, and the Nueces River, where Mexico thought the border was. On April 25, 1846, United States’ soldiers were patrolling the disputed territory along the Rio Grande, Mexican troops fired at them, injuring and killing sixteen.

“The American government acted like a bandit who came upon a traveler” once wrote in an article in El Tiempo. The United States is seemingly a controversial country when it comes to many things, for example warfare. One war was the United States against Mexico, which shared its mixed opinions. Earlier on in 1821 Mexico declared itself free and decided to be a catholic and a anti-slavery nation. Their views would later cause many problems to arise because once they urged Americans to settle in Mexican cities, the government and the settlers would have opposing ideologies.

While the Spanish conquered the New World, there were a couple of approaches used to approach the cultures already present. There were those who focused on getting rich using whatever means they could. And those who valued the natives and the land and believed they weren’t as different as was first believed.

The territorial expansion of the United States toward the Pacific coast had been the goal of President Polk, the leader of the Democratic Party. His greed and insatiable appetite for territorial expansion drove him to take unconventional risks. Most Whigs in the North and South opposed it; most Democrats supported it.

The aforementioned revolts and rebellions reflected tensions in British North America and had intriguing effects on the economy. “They saw New Mexico not as mission country, where the friars had to be protected as they went about their task of saving Native souls, but rather as a buffer zone, protecting the precious silver mines from the not-so-distant French and even the British. They saw the New Mexican people as possible allies in the game of transcontinental empire, to be courted rather than conquered” (Countryman 1). After the Pueblo victory in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Spanish quickly sought to regain the territory. It took twelve years but eventually the Spaniards were able to protect their silver mines and focus on spreading their

Rodeos are full of energy. They can be very dangerous in the process of having fun. Protective gear is recommended for some of the events. There are many different competitions that can suit all ages. There is also a lot of history behind each of the events.

The Spanish had been expanding their influence in the new world by conquering the empires and peoples. Soon they would extend northward continuing to claim new land thereby building New Spain. Starting in 1540 the Spanish moved into what would become New Mexico. With the Spanish expansion came soldiers, missionaries, and settlers. These movements would lead to a confrontation between the Pueblo people and the Spaniards known as the “Tiguex War.” The "Tiguex War" was spearheaded by occurred during the winter of 1540-41. Leading the Spaniard troops was Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. The Spanish attacked the 12 tribes of the region leading to a further breakdown of Native and Spanish relations that would continue until 1598. Juan De Onate led a force of over 100 soldiers women children and Priests into the Rio Grande Valley attempting to start a Spanish settlement. The establishment of this new settlement soon leads to another revolt between the Pueblo and the Spaniards. This rebellion is known as the "Tacoma Massacre." Under the command of Juan De Onate, the Spanish soldiers killed and enslaved hundreds of Natives. Onate also ordered the right foot to be removed from the 24