Cortez Self Propulsion And Ego Analysis

Thomas Godlewski

SPW 247

Dr. McCarthy- Gilmore

October 6, 2015

Cortez: Self- Propulsion and Ego Upon the defeat of the Moors, Spain struggled to cultivate an identity. The main structural element that Spain could base this newfound identity was on one thing; their religion. After ceding into the Holy Roman Empire, Spain had become a part the “most Catholic empire” on earth. Spanish identity became associated with the things that defined the church like purity, power and sovereignty. The empire’s goal was to spread the idea of Spanish identity in the New World. Hernando Cortez was one of the most important figures to bear the Spanish flag in the early years of Spanish expansion. As the conqueror of the Aztecs, his name resounds throughout history

His first line addresses the king “Most Noble, Powerful and Catholic Prince, Invincible Emperor, and our Sovereign Lord.” This sets up a multiplicity of things. First and foremost, it is meant to appease the king through addressing the qualities of what had become defined as Spanish identity. Awhile complimenting the king and his qualities, Cortez lays down the foundation for this Spanish identity. Spaniards are powerful, noble, pure, and most importantly, Catholic. The reference to an almost god like figure in the beginning of his chronicle are comparable to the Virgin Mary or even Jesus Christ himself during Catholic worship. Cortez even goes to the extents saying that the king deserves the “…title of Emperor, which it is no less worthy of conferring than Germany itself, which, by the grace of God, you already possess.” From a historical perspective, he is setting the king as the primary divine character on earth. The Holy Roman Emperor who he is directly referencing in this passage had the ultimate divine right to rule in Europe. Charles I, the king Cortez is writing for, is this figure. The Holy Roman Emperor, other than the Pope, was essentially the most holy man on earth as the Holy Roman Empire encompassed the holiest of land in Europe.

The language used by Cortez is without a doubt egocentric. He first build rapport with the king, venerating him with the quintessential factors that made up Spanish identity. This was ultimately a façade though, to generate credibility and favor in Charles before he would go on to speak about his feats. Next, he convoluted various truths to generate himself as a mythical hero, focusing the entirety of his account on himself and his feats. He doesn’t even mention other soldiers that aided in this conquest. Lastly, Cortez venerates the Aztecs as a people that are on the same cultural and societal par as the Spanish, as their physical civilization was explicated as magnificent. By molding the Aztecs this way, Cortez did not only level Spanish prestige with that of the Aztecs, but also created an enemy that was adversarial, exponentially elevates the prestige of Cortez himself. Instead of promulgating Spanish identity, Cortez focuses on proliferating the myth of himself to gain personal