Analysis Of Seven Myths Of The Spanish Conquest And Guns, Germs, And Steel

Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest and Guns, Germs, and Steel:

Similarities and Differences

Emma Chacon

Latin American History to 1824

Professor Prado

September 9, 2014 In the book Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Restall establishes seven of the most widely believed theories of the Spanish conquests in the Americas, and refutes most of them with evidence from the expeditions themselves, and historians over the eras. He begins with the first myth, which states that the men leading the expeditions are not all as heroic as they are made out to be in both their personality and their methods of conquering. He states that though many people in the modern times think highly of their unique techniques to conquer land, the

The second myth diverts from this, talking about the makeup of the Spaniard forces who were thought to work solely under the Spanish king, thus making all his soldiers Spanish as well. He continues the book with the third chapter which ties in this belief that all the fighters were Spanish, by indicating the large number of indigenous allies who participated in the numerous wars that occurred during the conquests. The fourth chapter addresses that not all indigenous people fell immediately under Spanish rule, and describe the revolts and continuing conflicts that ensued after Spanish invasion. He moves into the fifth chapter by discussing miscommunication and the importance of translators in addition to stating that there is no way that the two opposing sides could have ever completely understood each other. In one of the final chapters, it highlights the belief that the land was never truly taken over by the Spaniards, but instead the native people formed a dual alliance between their own government and the Spanish government. Finally, he discusses that the main success of the conquistadors was due to the diseases, steel, and

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, it is mentioned how the Spaniards saw the immense numbers of Atahualpa’s army and were fearful that they would not be successful due to their lack of men in comparison . While this does ring true, what is not mentioned in the book is the immense help from the indigenous allies and how their assistance contributes to their success. Restall mentions how Spanish procedure was to search for and befriend the indigenous people, to help them navigate the area, but most importantly to help them during war . The lack of mention of this in the documentary suggests and makes it seem that the small Spaniard forces defeating the people is a huge feat. Though this is impressive, the documentary does not account for the immense help that the indigenous allies provided, and also indicates that the entire Spaniard army was white. Using the native peoples, the Spaniards gained an advantage in knowledge and strength which helped them mostly conquer the Americas. Finally, the spread of disease can both be agreed upon in both Guns, Germs, and Steel and Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. Restall says that the diseases began to be brought to Mexico in the year of 1518 and spread to South America by the end of the 1530’s . Disease in this time is almost inescapable and targeted both the conquistadors and the indigenous alike. It is one of the most powerful killers