When Cortes and his men first arrived on the island of Cozumel in 1519, they were unaware that a complex and advanced civilization was just beyond the shores of Mexico. Although, as stated, the Aztecs were a rather advanced civilization, when compared to the Spaniards that invaded their city, they were lacking in technology. Cortes used this to his advantage, stunning the natives with displays of cavalry and horses, as he
He justifies his submission to the Spanish on the evil omens that foretold the arrival of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. The Spanish plundered the Aztec nation and easily assume they have privilege and superiority over Montezuma’s
Anyone can be overcome by selfishness in order to survive the hardest of times. In Elie Wiesel’s “Night”, the main character Elie faces many hard times that puts both survival and loyalties into perspective. In horrific conditions, the necessity to survive can overpower the strongest of human loyalties. First off, people tend to prioritize their own safety over the safety of others. Secondly, prisoners abandon their communities for a position of authority in order to survive.
During 1519, we landed on the Mexican coast to do our business there; search for some gold and riches. Suddenly, Cortes started to hear about a wealthy civilization known as the Aztec Empire. We, his army of five hundred soldiers including Cortes marched towards Tenochtitlan—the Aztec capital. He proclaimed that all he wanted to do there was to get rid of the Aztecs Indians that
Two conflicting accounts about the meeting between Spanish conquistador Herman Cortes and the Aztec ruler Montezuma II in 1519. During 1519, Cortés led his people and his army to the Mexican territory where he was received in warm hands by the representatives of the Montezuma II. This was an expression that welcomed them and they become his hosts in his emperor, he was patient until he learnt of the fact that Cortés was forming aliens with his enemies and so as he was a ruler with reasonable mind he sought to have a meeting with him. However, Cortés on the other hand was not aware of the discussions of the meetings and so as he feared, he planned and held Montezuma II captive in his own land. This made the people lose faith in Montezuma as they viewed him as god and the act
Miguel Hidalgo When people think of an epic hero, do they think of an epic hero as being only a story-base character or can they be real people? Miguel Hidalgo certainly fits the epic hero exemplar. He has strong enough qualities that can support an answer stating that, real people are able to represent an epic hero. Most people define an epic hero as “brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand
In Niccolo Machiavelli's book, The Prince (1513), he evaluates on how a prince can be a successful leader. Machiavelli’s purpose of this guidebook was to construct his argument to the rising ruler Giuliano de Medici for when he comes to power in Florence. He adopts a casual but authoritative tone in order to convince the prince that Machiavelli’s evaluation on how to be the best prince, is the right thing for the prince to do without coming off as he knows more than the prince or is trying to intimidate him.. Machiavelli’s reference to previous rulers and whether their tactics failed or succeeded helps to benefit his credibility along with his allusion to historic text. He appeals to our logic by simply stating a prince can only do what is within his power to control, and his use of an analogy furthers his argument.
He received intelligence that many tribes feared and resented the ruler Montezuma. Cortes took advantage and made alliances with rival tribes and convinced them to march with him to Tenochtitlan. November 1519, Cortes and his men reached the capital city and were greeted with a procession and gifts from the Emperor. Montezuma believed Cortes to be the return of the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl, who was prophesied to conquer his people and bring about peace. Other historians claim that Montezuma welcomed Cortes to the city from a position of strength and the gifts offered were a demonstration of power.
The author gives insight on how many ways the Spaniards used their power to assist in the downfall of the Aztecs. The reason why the Spaniards became victorious, was because the Spaniards were looked upon as if they were gods because of their outer appearance. The Aztecs broke bread and welcomed the Spaniards with gifts and parties. The Aztecs triggered their relationship with the Spaniards by holding a ritual for the arrival of the god which included a human sacrifice. The Spaniards didn’t agree with the rituals and began to despise the Aztecs.
The Spanish, despite giving the Aztecs permission to hold the celebration, were “seized with an urge to kill the celebrants” and ensued with the trapping and massacre of the Aztec celebrants (The Broken Spears, The Spaniards Attack the Celebrants). The Spanish hunted down and slaughtered every celebrant, even though the Aztecs were not a threat to them and posed no harm. The diametric responses to the inequality between the Aztecs and the Spaniards is clear: the Aztecs are submissive and respectful towards the Spanish, and often resort to hiding out of fear. In contrast, the Spanish are needlessly aggressive, avaricious, and intimidating; they demand gold, destroy the meaningful treasures of the Aztecs, seize Motecuhzoma’s treasures, and violently
Lao Tsu once said "If a little kingdom is lowly towards a great kingdom it will take possession of the great kingdom", on the other end Niccolo Machiavelli argues that a leader not act lowly, but be feared by his people and other rulers. Christine Pizan adds in, that a ruler not be feared or lowly but to be mutually respected. However, each ruler cannot obey either teachings without employing hypocrisy, the act of behaving differently from the own perceived beliefs or moral code. To follow Lao Tsu is to humble oneself, with the intention of gaining more, by listening to Machiavelli one must use deceit to appease and maintain efficacy of a government. To adhere to Pizans teachings is to make use of relationships often with the
They both killed in the name of religion, and both growing empires willing to do anything to gain more power. Cortés was sent on expedition to establish trading deals with the Natives in and around the Yucatan peninsula, under order of Diego Velázquez, who was the Governor of Cuba. Velázquez soon regretted his decision and to stop Cortés from ever leaving
The Aztecs were quite different. Cortes noted that the Aztec believed and worshipped multiple gods and idols. “Three halls are in this grand temple, which contain the principal idols” (Hernan Cortes: From the Second Letter To Charles V, page 3). Cortes even tried to “divert them from their idolatries, and draw them to a knowledge of God” (Hernan Cortes: From the Second Letter To Charles V, page
The Spanish were able to colonize Mexico without much resistance.” After the smallpox epidemic, the Aztecs were even more vulnerable. The Spanish exploration and conquering of Tenochtitlan was to gain power for the Spanish empire, but the city’s people were somewhat considered rebellious, and consequently, Cortes needed to conquer/kill the people first. By taking down the people of the city, Cortes was exposed to the city’s great treasures for his reward of gold; he retrieved all the gold he could, and travelled back to Spain where he was labelled a hero for his acts of
There was not a simple clear and distinct dichotomy between the “good” and the “bad”. As established previously, the Aztecs did not all live in perfect harmony, leading to tensions, and side-taking when Europeans arrived. A number of Indigenous peoples had a part to play in the downfall of the Aztec empire. Furthermore, the importance of gold in these relations was of great significance, and “Cortes bullied… tortured the Aztec lords… to obtain gold” (p.116). León-Portilla chooses to end on the topic of the tributes of “gold that had been lost in the Canal of the Toltecs” which the Captain expects to be returned to him.
