The Broken Spears Summary

How would you feel if you welcome an outsider into your home but, they end up betraying your trust, that’s what happened to the Aztecs and their empire in the Spanish conquest of 1521. Hernan Cortes, a Spanish conquistador sent by King Charles V, arrives in Central America in 1519 and starts to hearing things about the Aztecs, a very wealthy civilization. Once the Spanish find the city Tenochtitlan (capital city of the Aztec Empire), with the help of the Tlaxcalans (enemies of the Aztecs), they are welcomed by the Aztec leader Montezuma II because he thinks that Cortes is the white skinned god Quetzalcoatl who is to arrive from the east, according to Aztec legend. Then Cortes orders his men to destroy religious statues and idols belonging to the Aztecs, so Cortes has Montezuma II arrested and taken hostage to hopefully prevent an attack from the Aztecs. While other conquistadors killed Aztec priests whilst in one of their religious celebrations.

Emily Huckabee HIS 122-601 Fall, 2016 Miguel Leόn-Portilla, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico Mexican anthropologist and historian Miguel Leόn-Portilla gives his readers an alternative view of the destruction of the Aztec empire in his 1962 novel. His book is one of many written on the fall of the Aztecs. As an author, his book stands out from others because it tells the story from a different perspective, that of the ones being defeated. Portilla, being an expert on the Aztecs, begins by giving a synopsis of the Aztec Indians way of life and how Hernando Cortez, a Spanish conquistador, eventually overcame their empire in the search for gold.

Hernan Cortes, a Spanish conquistador, had come to the land owned by the Aztec in the year of 1519. The Spanish coming to the land resulted in the take over of land from the Aztecs by the Spanish. Moctezuma, the emperor of the Aztec people, was also killed during the war between the Spanish and the Aztecs. The first reason that triggered the war was the beliefs of the Aztecs. They made the mistake of welcoming Cortes into their land, and to him as a god.

However it didn’t last long. In 1523 Cortés was named governor and captain general of New Spain. In 1528, amid Spanish fears that he was becoming too powerful, he was forced to return to Spain where the king reinstated him as captain general, but not to the position of civil governor. On his return to Mexico, his powers were significantly limited and his activities monitored. Some might argue that Hernan Cortes was a villain instead of a hero because he invaded the Aztecs and took Montezuma hostage.

Latin America Essay 1 In 1521, Hernan Cortes captured the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, ending the reign of the Aztecs in what is now modern day Mexico. However, does the riches, land, and power gained by the Spanish justify the killing and looting? This vanquishment, as well as the ethical predicament it creates, considerably affected Latin America and Europe. Before we get into the ethical portion of Cortes' conquest, we must first explore the conquest itself.

Oleg Kubay Professor Ortega History 23 22 September 2014 Warfare: Aztec & Spanish The fall of the Aztec empire was one of the major events that lead to the Spanish colonization of America. There were many factors contributing to the fall of the Aztec Empire like sacrificing their own people, which significantly lowered them in ranks making them a weaker colony. Also being the first people to sacrifice other people in the name of religion made them a threat to the Spaniards and Tlaxcala and many others. The Aztec and Spanish Warfare lead to the fall o f

The battle had left the aztecs feeling lost and abandoned by their gods, even after all the sacrifice they had brought to them. Due to the hostile battle between the spanish soldiers and Aztec warriors, their freedom was quickly being taken away, thus introducing slavery to the aztec people. Before the conquest the plentiful group was free of the forever sentence of imprisonment by manual labour. The Aztecs, even if put into slavery, had

The Aztecs were a very religious group who were disciplined and independent. They were powerful warriors that conquered and raided neighbouring cities. The Aztec were educated and formed defense alliances, but this could not help the Aztec’s society as they were all killed off by the Spanish. This conflict and defeat of the Aztecs was unavoidable. It was unavoidable because of the Spanish’s obsession with gold, god, glory.

In the wake of his death a new leader was chosen by the people, Cuitlahuac, whose primary goal was to overthrow the Spanish power. Cortez no longer had control of Tenochtitlan or its inhabitants. The reality became pertinent to Cortez, although having the support of the Tlaxcala’s, the pure numeric superiority of the Aztecs was threatening and that fleeing or death seemed the only plausible end results. With this coming to a head on June 30th, 1520 “La Noche Triste” the night of sadness. Upon Cortez and his army inclusive of Tlaxcala allies trying to leave the city of Tenochtitlan, came upon vicious fighting and opposition from the Aztecs, resulting in the death of 450 Spaniards and thousands of Tlaxcala’s upon trying to flee Tenochtitlan.

Using war equipment that the Aztec had never seen before and different battle techniques, Cortes and his men were able to quickly and effectively conquer Tenochtitlan. During battle against the Aztecs, animals from Spain that served in many battles called horses (about twelve), as well as swords and crossbows (a much more advanced version of the Aztec war club and spear-thrower) were labelled as advanced technology as they were quicker, deadlier, and consequently more efficient. These many advantages against the Aztecs and their traditional weapons; and therefore the Spaniards won many battles alongside their allies, and succeeded greatly by using guns that were far more powerful than the Aztecs' weapons. Unfair as it is, this gave the Spanish explorer a supremacy in conquering one of the most elaborate European cities at the time. “The Aztecs were unable to rebel against the Spaniards because most of them were sick or dead from smallpox.

Robert MacNeish Dr. A. Poska History 361-01 9/25/2015 On the differing views on the Conquest of Mexico Writings which illustrate the Spanish view of the Conquest and existing Native accounts often differ sharply. These differences in perceptions stem from a number of many different factors. For example, the differing religious beliefs, the manner and ideas of warfare, and the individual and cultural perception of the people, are all key factors that influenced and shaped how the Spanish and Natives viewed the Conquest of Mexico. By understanding these differences, we can understand why each culture saw the Conquest differently.

Cuitlahuac Soon died from Chickenpox. Then Cuauhtémoc took throne, how is Cuitlahuac’s nephew. The Spaniards brought Chickenpox, Measles, Mumps, and a few other dieses from Europe. It is estimated that almost 80 percent of the Aztec population was killed by dieses, this is because the Aztecs having no immunity to these dieses what so ever.

The ease and dexterity in which Cortes’ Colonists conquered the battle-tested Aztecs goes against any modern doctrine of warfare. Octavio Paz, acclaimed Mexican historian and author of The Labyrinth of Solitude, explains that the Aztec’s encounter with the Spaniards ultimately led to their eventual “suicide” (Paz 93). In this instance, “suicide” means any act or behavior which predisposes oneself to vulnerability or harm. Paz outlines the series of events and cultural views of the Aztecs to paint a landscaping picture of the reasons why a small band of Spanish soldiers were able to subjugate one of greatest Mesoamerican societies of all time. One must start at the crux of the Aztec identity, their culture.

The Spanish conquest on the Mayans was a significant event during the 1500’s. The Spanish conquest brought their military equipment’s that was no match for the Mayan Indians. As the conquest continued to expand throughout Central America there was little unity among other tribes beside the Mayan empire. The reason for this is because they believe that the Spanish were much inferior to their own beliefs and ancestry.

The Spanish exploration and colonisation made both a positive and negative impact on Latin America. The arrival of the Spanish explorers to the new world made a big change and they are the reason Latin America looks the way it does today. However these people were ruthless and were the tyrants of the new world. One of Spain’s major foreign policy objectives since the advent of democracy has been to increase its influence in Latin America. Spain has had interest in this area due to historical ties and a common linguistic, cultural and religious heritage (Countrystudies.us, 2017).