ipl-logo

Summary Of Restall's Seven Myths Of The Spanish Conquest

433 Words2 Pages

Restall’s work on the Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest are a elaboration on why some preconceived notion of history may not always be true. Chapters one and three of the work focuses on the myths: “The Myth of Exceptional Men” and “The Myth of the White Conquistador” , respectively. The chapters serves as a way to broaden and correct the understand on the conquest of New Spain with the respected myths being challenged. In this paper I will be focusing on define what each of these myths mean. The first myth I will focus on is the “myth of exceptional men”. This myth explains the reasoning that people hold men in history like Columbus or Cortes to such high regards as great. It is an idea that this men single handedly and through bravery and valour trail blazed the Spanish conquest of the Americas. This “great” men however …show more content…

The reality to this is that theses Conquistadors did have assistance from the locale people. I believe the following quote best summarise the falsity of this myth with Cortes, “the final siege and assault on the Mexica capital was carried out with 200,00 native allies, ‘even though they went virtually unacknowledged and certainly unrewarded.’” (Restall, 47). So, this context demonstrate that the Conquistadors were not alone in the conquest of the Aztecs, they happen to be on the right side of a civil war. The lack of recognition of the people also explores how this myth was able to manifest. The Conquistadors were able to present themselves as these great conquerors of the Americas, by ignoring the help of the natives as they wrote down history. They chose to paint themselves as theses epic warriors, when in reality they were assisted by the peoples of the Americas, and were later able to exploit these people; allowing their narrative to be favorable towards “their”

Show More
Related

Spanish Conquest Rhetorical Analysis

316 Words | 2 Pages

In this week’s reading, “Spanish Conquest” by Elizabeth Carmichael and Chloe Sayer discuss the subjugation, ethnocide, and struggle the indigenous population of Mexico endured during the Spanish conquest. The Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortez, enslave and forced the Aztecs to believe that Christianity was the one true religion. Therefore, the indigenous people were forced to convert their faith through the Spanish missionaries to lose their indigenous roots. Later, the authors explain the many difficulties and conflicts Spanish priest underwent to teach the Christian faith to the Aztecs. The Spanish friar first taught the indigenous people Christianity in Nahuatl.

Read More

Malintzin's Choices: Mexico And The Spanish Conquest

110 Words | 1 Pages

In 1519, Hernándo Cortés, a Spanish Conquistador ventured into Tenochtitlan, the capital of Aztec empire, searching for gold and glory. He set out to conquer the empire and to capture the Aztecs in order to achieve his ambitions. Moctezuma, the highly respected leader of the mighty Aztec Empire, came confronting with Hernán Cortés, the leader of a small band of professional European soldiers from a huge island that lay six day’s sail to the east. In “Malintzin’s Choices: An Indian Women in the Conquest of Mexico” and “Mexico and the Spanish Conquest”, Camilla Townsend and Ross Hassig respectively present one histories in their own interpretations of the conquest of Mexico.

Read More

Summary Of The Book 'Fifth Sun'

907 Words | 4 Pages

In the book Fifth Sun by Camilla Townsend we explore the history of the Aztecs, but from the perspective of the Aztecs themselves, opposed to the norm of the story being told from the European perspective. This opened up a lot more of the Aztecs history that got lost in the later tellings of the same story. We see similarities but mostly differences when looking at it from the Aztecs point of view. This unique perspective we get as Townsend is leading us through this story helps us better understand the Aztecs but also in my opinion better understand how the European conquistador fully took advantage of the Aztecs' kindness and their cluelessness about who they were and why they were there. As we review the book I am more focused on the ways/events

Read More

The Broken Spears Summary

573 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Analysis Of The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account Of The Conquest Of Mexico

1506 Words | 7 Pages

In “Chapter Fifteen”, León-Portilla includes post-conquest poems, written by the Aztecs, which are

Read More

How Did Hernan Cortes Conquer Our Community And Empire

208 Words | 1 Pages

First of all The Spanish were discovered the Aztec empire one year before their conquest and reached it . On the other hand, some native Americans in Tabasco tried to stop Hernan Cortes but in the end they gave up . After that Hernan Cortes started to control them and The native Americans supplied the Spanish with foods and what they needed. More over there were groups of people called Totonacs and Tlaxcala’s were against us and the Aztec rule , so Hernan courts exploited them and then they became allies for the Hernan courts army. Hernan courts controlled all of the cities in Aztec empires such as the capital Tenochtitlan , also he burned his ships to stop his army from going back to spain .

Read More

Seven Myths Of The Spanish Conquest Sparknotes

1407 Words | 6 Pages

Matthew Restall, the author of “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest,” outlines some of the myths associated with the Spanish conquest and how they have developed over time. One obvious theme that Restall incorporated throughout the entire book was of course myths during the Spanish Conquest, as the book title states. One thing that Restall does, that goes along with the theme of myths, is he picked seven distinct myths to specifically write about. Not only that but the myths Restall chose to write about were heavily elaborated and explained in the individual chapters. His outlined myths are as follows: the myth of exceptional men (chapter 1), the myth of the King’s Army (chapter 2), the myth of the white conquistador (chapter 3), the myth of

Read More

Why Did The Spanish Explore And Conquer Research Paper

456 Words | 2 Pages

Furthermore, the Spanish wanted to get riches. When exploring, “the search for gold became an obsession with the Spanish.” They would do anything to get their hands on gold, it was all they really cared about, being wealthy. They betrayed and treated Native Americans poorly.

Read More

Hernán Cortes Defeat Of The Spanish Conquest

523 Words | 3 Pages

Beginning in the February of 1519, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire had many chapters that led to the eventual conquering and colonization of Mexico. Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador who claimed Mexico for Spain faced several threats which he overcame along the way. The most notable among these being the defeat of Pánfilo de Narváez at the Battle of Cempoala. Commissioned by Cuban Governor Velázquez, Narváez was also a Spanish conquistador, who was sent to kill or capture Cortés. Hernán Cortés’ defeat of the Cuban forces was a very significant victory, because it aided in the defeat of Tenochtitlan, and the eventual conquering of Mexico.

Read More

Dbq Native American Conquistadors

806 Words | 4 Pages

The conquistadors had many factors that had helped them conquer the large Native American civilizations that had already inhabited the Americas, but the greatest factors working in their favor were disease, technological advances, and tactics they used against the Native Americans. When the Europeans arrived to the Americas, they were set on their conquest to explore and to hopefully gain more wealth from conquering the Native American civilizations. The overall arrival of the Europeans would change the course of history and lead to devastating effects for the Native Americans. One of the first things that the Native Americans were affected by was the diseases that the conquistadors brought over from Europe.

Read More

Explain The Downfall And Downfall Of Thyе Aztec Discourse

1724 Words | 7 Pages

Many surrounding factions, tribеs and nations grеw angеrеd by thе opprеssion and intrusion of thе еmpirе. Thеsе tribеs wеrе attackеd, killеd, and sacrificеd at thе whims of thе Aztеc impеrial machinе. “The Tlaxcallans were traditional enemies of the Aztecs there was bitter enmity between them. Cortes defeated the Tlaxcallans and then recruited them as allies against the Aztecs.” (Diaz del Castillo, 76) With nativе rеinforcеmеnt, thе Spanish conquistadorеs substantially incrеasеd in numbеrs and amassеd a sizablе forcе еvеn largе еnough to attack

Read More

Hispanic Myths And Legends Research Paper

1030 Words | 5 Pages

There are multiple ways which Hispanic myths and legends are constructed and one way that they are told. These stories told to teach lessons to the people who belong to the Latin culture. The myths and legends are timeless and constructed from multiple storytellers. The Hispanic myths and legends have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. The myths and legends of the Hispanic people have to do with the beginnings and stories of things in life, creatures, people, and names.

Read More

Spanish Influence On Native Americans

1231 Words | 5 Pages

So with the tactic, Guile and surprise, which was used with great effect against the Americans, the natives had to find a solution to this Spanish strategy. So, the Aztecs soon became aware of the ways that the Europeans fought, and this almost led to their victory. This, near destruction of the Spanish was not only from the pure initiative of the Aztecs and predictability of the Spanish but also from the massive numbers, especially the Incans, had over the Spanish “ If twenty-five thousand indians perished for every spaniard, his men would still be destroyed” - Cortes (page 171, 1969, the conquistadors, George Rainbird). All the Aztec and Incan warriors were familiar with the land, giving them the advantage of the land “ Which ever figure is correct, it’s terraces and it’s single stairway of 114 steps made it a natural fortress” (page 171, 1969, The Conquistadors, george rainbird).

Read More

Black Conquistadors Analysis

993 Words | 4 Pages

When thinking of the Spanish Conquest, two groups often come to mind: the Spaniards and the Native Americans. The roles of each of these groups and their encounters have been so heavily studied that often the role of Africans is undermined. As Matthew Restall states in his article Black Conquistadors, the justifications for African contribution are often “inadequately substantiated if not marginalized [as the] Africans were a ubiquitous and pivotal part of the Spanish conquest campaigns in the Americas […]” (Restall 172). Early on in his article, Restall characterizes three categories of Africans present during the Conquest – mass slaves, unarmed servants of the Spanish, and armed auxillaries (Restall 175).

Read More

Mexico City Water Crisis Essay

576 Words | 3 Pages

The videos from this unit mention a lot of other countries that are going through similar situations due to the high number of populations. It really grabbed my attention to see that Mexico City is one of those cites as well. In the video “Crisis in Mexico’s MEGACITY” by the Daily Conversation YouTube channel, I was able to learn why Mexico is being hurt economically and environmentally due to the high number of population. Mexico is a really unique city for several things, but mainly because it’s one of the largest cities, with 21.2 million residents. Also, because it’s the largest city without access to a body of water.

Read More

More about Summary Of Restall's Seven Myths Of The Spanish Conquest

Related Topics

Open Document