ipl-logo

What Are The Two Letters To Charles V On The Conquest Of The Aztec

561 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The rise of THe AzTEc EmPiRE

Letters from Hernando Cortes to Charles V
In the “Two letters to Charles V: On the Conquest of the Aztecs” written by Hernando Cortes in 1521 to the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Cortes describes the events that happened during his course in the New World, or as we call it today, the Americas. He also provides results from the conquest of the Aztec Empire of Mexico and he explains the reasoning behind the conditions of how it happened. In the second letter, Cortes includes a detailed description of “the great city of Tenochtitlan” comparing its size to cities in Spain such as Seville or Cordoba so that the king could have a better understanding of the territory. Surprisingly, the people that lived in this city were very advanced and similar to those of Spain as Cortes stated “[I]n the service and manners of its people, their fashion of living was almost the same as in Spain, with just as much harmony and order…”, showing that the Aztecs and other native Indians living at the time were not as savage and uncivilized as we usually think of them nowadays. …show more content…

Cortes in his second letter says “[A]nd considering that these people were barbarous, so cut off from the knowledge of God and other civilized peoples, it is admirable to see what they have attained in every respect” giving to explain that they were considered barbarous creatures far away from the knowledge and understanding of the catholic religion. In the eyes of Cortes, this was something that could not be forgiven because it wasn’t what God, or the king of Spain would want in any human being. He defended with loyalty and fury the commandments and beliefs of his religion and his majesty, Charles

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

Summary Of Buddy Levy's 'Conquistador'

1181 Words | 5 Pages

Conquistador, written by Buddy Levy about the famous ventures of Hernan Cortes, places the reader in the 16th century, or the era c.1450-c. 1750 ce. During this time, the idea of exploration was spreading quickly, as kingdoms and empires in Europe sought to expand their territory. Portugal, with Spain following after, led the way for exploration as they headed south. Spain, however, ventured west, driven by a patriotic attitude of expanding past their borders. Levy tells the story of Hernan Cortes, originally setting sail from Spain, as he sailed from Cuba to the shores of Mexico in 1519, eager about the discovery of new lands.

Read More

Hernan Cortes Research Paper

453 Words | 2 Pages

Preston Lipscomb 5/22/17 Hernan Cortes Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conqueror. He was born in 1485 in Medellin, Spain. He died on December 2, 1547. He invaded Mexico in 1519, and he conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521. His parents’ names were Martin Cortez and Catalina Pizarro Altamirano.

Read More

Reign Of Aztec Dbq

1844 Words | 8 Pages

Thi Vo Pre-Ap world history Mr.le 2nd p Hippo document Document 1 H- The map was illustrate from 1427 the reign of itzcoatl to 1520,reign of motecuhzoma I-this map intended to the future people to show the history of Aztec between 1427 to 1520 P-The Anztec was conquest all the land from itzcoatl start in 1427 to throughout the mid-south America P-The purpose of this map was to show what territory did Aztecs conquer the land from time to time. O-the warrior of aztec has conquered the land throughout 93 years,started from itzcoatl until to the reign of Motecuhzoma.

Read More

World History Dbq

835 Words | 4 Pages

Question 1. A. For large populations: When the settlers came to the new world they encountered many large civilizations abundant with people. Hernando de Soto witnessed 50 settlements when he explored the strip of the Mississippi. Soto described the region as having clusters of small cities, earthen walls and several thousand Indian warriors. (Pg. 45)

Read More

Christopher Columbus And Cortes Research Paper

924 Words | 4 Pages

After Cortes expressed his views on there only being one God and they should not sacrifice humans, many sided with him. “They fully believed that after so long an absence from their native land, they might have fallen into some errors.” (Cortes, Second Letter to Charles V, par. 13) Cortes and Columbus also encountered several cultures of the Natives. Cortes experienced their markets where they sold deerskin. Columbus noticed the cultures involving the Natives being completely naked, even the women.

Read More

Richard Frethorne's An Indentured Servants, Slaves

857 Words | 4 Pages

Straight off he claims, “From the fact that the Indians are barbarians it does not necessarily follow that they are incapable of government and have to be ruled by others, except that they have to be taught about the catholic faith and to be admitted to the holy sacraments. They are not ignorant, inhuman, or bestial.” (pg.3 paragraph 1) De La Casa acknowledged that, while their practices were less evolved than the Spanish, it did not mean they were any less human or developed than the Spanish, and only need a guiding hand to the Catholic faith. He described how the Spanish treated the natives like dogs, forcing them to mine for precious minerals, and compared the Conquistadors to Romans. He wrote an argument defending the natives, explaining they were not any less intelligent then the Spanish and “…they are so skilled in every mechanical art…”

Read More

Compare And Contrast Inca And Aztecs

1807 Words | 8 Pages

Compare and contrast the conquests of Mexico (Aztecs) with that of the Inca. What led up to the conquest? The goals of the Conquistadores. The results. Inca Empire Political: Most powerful figure in the Inca Empire was the Sapa Inca. For one to ascend to the lever of Inca, one must be descended from the original Inca tribe.

Read More

Pueblo Revolt 1696

501 Words | 3 Pages

There was a lot of language that he used that made him look like he thought he has superior to the people of the Native tribes. We also learned a lot about how the Natives reacted to Catholicism but with this source we see how the Spanish responded to that. They were just as insulted that the Pueblos did not condone their religious views as the Pueblos were of the thought that they had to be converted. This is something that we have seen all throughout history and to see this in New Mexico too is sadly not too surprising.

Read More

Letter Of Christopher Columbus To Luis De Sant Angel Analysis

619 Words | 3 Pages

In The Requerimiento by Juan López de Palacios Rubios, natives in the new world were told, “We ask that … you acknowledge the Christian church as the ruler and superior of the whole world, and as superiors that you agree to let the Christian priests preach to you … (The Priests) shall not compel you to become Christians unless you yourself wish to be converted. But if you do not do this … we shall forcefully enter into your country and make war against you.” The Spanish conquistadors allowed natives to choose whether or not they wanted to convert to Christianity, However if they did not, then the Spanish turned them into slaves. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo openly stated that a reason for Spanish exploration was, “To serve God and his majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness.” The Spanish viewed non-Christians as unintelligent people because they believed in a different God.

Read More

Cortes Treatment Of Natives Essay

610 Words | 3 Pages

All the Spaniards had done was killing of innocent lives for personal greed and acquiring as much goods as they could for their Majesty, doing so for the money was their justifications for killing the natives. Then we have Cortes, who instead of killing off the Natives of Tenochtitlan, he opened their eyes to the horrors of their religious ways and gave them the revelation of Christianity. Cortes didn’t mention any genocide of the natives, he spoke about the geography and religious views of the natives. He stated, “I will simply say that the manner of living among the people is very similar to that of Spain, and considering that this is a barbarous nation shut off from a knowledge of true God or communication with enlightened nations, one may well marvel at the orderliness and good government which is everywhere mentioned” (SB, 8). Cortes is only praising the natives and their life style because he feels the people have everything figured out in terms of being dominant and true government but, lacked in religion which he left them

Read More

Native Americans In 1492 Essay

883 Words | 4 Pages

In 1550, Emporer Charles V summoned a debate to determine how Spain would deal with the Native Americans. Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de Las Casas engaged in discourse about this topic: Sepúlveda denigrated the Natives while de Las Casas defended them. Sepúlveda felt that the Native Americans were basically barbaric sub-humans, and that the Europeans were greatly superior to them. He felt that Christianity was far more altruistic than the Natives’ religions. However, Las Casas felt that the Natives should be treated equally, since he believed Jesus died for the Natives just like he died for the Europeans.

Read More

Hernan Cortes Hero

975 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

Compare Christopher Columbus And Bartolome De Las Casas

861 Words | 4 Pages

He believed that the way the Indians were treated by Christians was wrong, unjust, and contrary to their beliefs. “This unjust thing, this cruelty without precedent, being seen by the Indians perpetrated upon so many guiltless innocents…” (p. 32). De Las Casas expressed his disapproval of the Spaniards treatment of the Indians. He believed it was wrong of them to act in such a way to the innocent and naïve

Read More

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

1506 Words | 7 Pages

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.

Read More

More about What Are The Two Letters To Charles V On The Conquest Of The Aztec

Related Topics

Open Document