The Spanish Leaders And Indian Warriors

Restall, Matthew. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2003

Hernán Cortes is one of Spain's most influential explorers. He heard of the failed expeditions that had been repelled by the indians, and he believed that he could succeed where they had failed. In 1519, he landed of the coast of mexico with about 600 troops, 16 horses, and some cannons. The armour they wore and the guns, horses, and cannons had never been seen by the indians before. The message quickly got back to Moctezuma, who sent emissaries to make peace with the conquistadors. This soon was found to be unsuccessful and Cortés started making his inland trek to Tenochtitlán. As he was making his way, he ran into many villages, many of which he recruited to help him in the fight against the Aztec people. Cortés himself was thought to be Quetzalcoatl by Moctezuma, a god-king that swore to return one

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

In 1522 Cortes conquered Michoacan, a territory near the volcano. By 1526, he had conquered all of present-day Mexico

For decades, the history of Latin America has been shrouded in a cover of Spanish glory and myth that misleads and complicates the views of historians everywhere. Myths such as the relationship between natives and conquistadors, and the individuality of the conquistadors themselves stand as only a few examples of how this history may have become broken and distorted. However, in Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Matthew Restall goes to great lengths to dispel these myths and provide a more accurate history of Latin American, in a readable and enjoyable book.

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

Hernan Cortez was a Spanish conquistador that landed in Mexico in April of 1519. Upon his arrival, he met a native woman named Dona marina. Dona marina spoke many languages and was eventually Cortez’s interpreter when he found the Aztec empire. It was because that the Aztecs saw Cortez as some god and the weapon differences that he took advantage of that and killed off everyone leading to a defeated Aztec empire Cortez eventually claimed Mexico for Spain. Cortez is important to history because he began the European

Maybe too much credit is given to Cortés as one of the greatest Spanish conquerors who developed effective strategy to defeat the Aztecs. Restall see this as somewhat of a myth accounting for the failure of historians to look at history before the 1519 (Restall, 19). Restall says “However, too often, without any direct evidence, the actions of Conquistadors after the 1519– 21 invasion of Mexico are taken as deliberately imitating Cortés, while pre-1519 patterns are ignored.” Whatever the case for whom should be given the credit for the strategy used to defeat the Aztecs; one must admit Cortés was able the win the trust of the people and use the Aztecs’ fear of him to control their empire. Cortés harbored fear of his own. Elliott says, “Cortés felt some uneasiness, when he reflected that it was in the power of the Indians, at any time, to cut off his communications with the surrounding country, and hold him a prisoner in the capital.” The Omens of the Aztecs betrayed them and caused them to see the arriving settlers as gods. They were not prepared to defend themselves against the advanced weapons of the Spanish. Much like the Aztecs, the Mayans faced hard times at the hands of the Spanish conquerors, but their defeat came much easier to the Spanish.

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

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.

The capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, and what is known today as Mexico City was conquered in 1521 by the Spanish explorer named Hernando Cortez. Cortez was born Medellin, Spain in 1485. He was the only son of a noble family and his father was a captain in the Spanish army. He was fascinated with Christopher Columbus’ journeys in the new world. This was a far cry from his parents wish for him to be lawyer. Before reaching the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Cortes along with Diego Velazquez, were powerful figures in the island of Cuba. Their partnership soon ended when Cortes went against Velasquez’s wishes to marry his sister and sailed to the mainland of Mexico against his orders. On 1519 Cortez reached the harbor of central Veracruz (“True Cross”). He arrived with 11 ships, 15 horses and a fleet of 500 men in search for gold. Cortes soon learned that the land was ruled by the great Aztec lord in the city of Tenochtitlán: King Monezuma II.

To begin with, Christopher Columbus had already landed upon the Caribbean Islands in 1492 and his arrival had led many other European countries to conquest and invade the Native Americans land. Hernando Cortes was initially assigned to go on an Expedition to Mexico by the Spanish royal government and landed on the Island of Cozumel in 1519. After sailing into Veracruz and taking over it through force he made his way through the city of Tenochtitlan. Carrasco writes that upon arrival of the Aztec capital the Europeans were wonderstruck by the enormous

Cortez and his force arrived in Tenochtitlan on November 8th, 1519. Tenochtitlan was the capital of what we know today as Mexico. Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the world at that time. Tenochtitlan was run by the Aztecs. Cortes then met Montezuma, the Aztecs’s emperor. Montezuma and the Aztecs thought Hernan Cortes was a god. They thought he was Quetzalcoatl. Cortez was there at the right time because the god was supposed to arrive the same year Cortes was there. Since they thought he was a god they would do anything for his command. Later on Montezuma suspected Cortez not to be the god. He gave him gold and jewels to try and get him to leave. It had the opposite affect and increased the Spaniards greed. Cortez then captured Montezuma as hostage to prevent the Aztecs attacking.

The Black Legend and White Legend: Relationship Between the Spanish and Indians in the New World

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