The book I chose to do the book review on is “Conquistadors and Pueblos” by Olga Hall-Quest. The reason I chose this book as my review is because I was very interested in how the Aztecs and the Spaniards handled each other. I am also in the military and Spain’s once powerful army intrigued me. The first chapter of the book was definitely one of my favorites. The origin of name of our beautiful state is briefly explained. The name Florida comes from “Pascua de Flores” which means the Flowers of Easter. Ponce de Leon, the conquistador who named Florida, went there during Easter to give it the name (Hall-Quest 15). You also learn about how selfish, greedy and cruel Hernando Cortes is. With only having 600 soldiers he was determined to conquer thousands of Indians, even if it meant taking out his own men (Hall-Quest 19). Chapter 4 describes how the pueblos were made and the …show more content…
The way the Spaniards handled on trying to herd the buffalo amused me and made me chuckle a bit. They called the animal clumsy but little did they know they would be the ones looking clumsy. The men that would try to herd them were called vaqueros but it seems like they weren’t herding too much. The buffalo were far too strong for them they would break through the structure the vaqueros would build. The battle of Acoma was the main theme of chapter six. What started the war was the Indians betraying the Spaniards and attacking them. What was supposed to happen was the Spaniards were going to give supplies to the Indians while the Indians would give food and crops. Instead the Indians took the gifts and lied about having the crops and then attacked them. Governor Onate had to take action and prepared to attack but wanted to offer peace under certain conditions. The Indians did not accept the peace offering and were attacked. Over six hundred Indians were killed and many died by burning and hanging themselves (Hall-Quest
Bernardo de Galvez deserves recognition for shaping florida to be the way it is today. This Spanish born sailor sailed from his homeland to the eastern seaboard of the new world in 1777. Bernardo fought the british and claim Florida for spain which ended up becoming the 27th state. He also connected florida with other states which caused people to move there and gave florida allies before it was a state.
I’m not your perfect Mexican daughter by Erika L. Sanchez was a book that discussed conflicting topics. This book was a young adult fiction novel with 354 pages. It was about Julia Reyes and her life after her “perfect” sister died and her journey in finding out how imperfect she actually was. Consequently many opinions can be made for this story. In this book I liked how honest the story is.
In the late 1400's, conquistadors started their first voyages to the “New World”. They sought gold, resources, and to convert any indigenous peoples they came across. The Spanish, the conquistadors were heroes for spreading Catholicism and returning new resources. Yet, from the point of view of the natives and Bartholome de Las Casas, they were villains. The conquistadors massacred the natives; enslaving those who escaped.
The same hostilities were found in New Mexico, Naranjo a priest led a revolt against the Spanish colonists. The natives secretly planned an attack against the Spanish, to their misfortune the secret of their attack was out and impulsively carried out an attack. Spanish priests, women and children were killed, the governor was their next target but he escaped with his life. Under the orders of Naranjo the natives burned the Spanish churches and everything that pertained to Christianity, even seizing cultivated lands of the Spanish back as their own. The natives were tired of the Spanish rule over them and sought to drive out the inhabitants and their faith to restore their religion and way of life once more.
Juan de Solorzano y Pereyra says that the Indians practiced savage customs or they attempted to commit treason against the Spanish people. Bartolome de Las Casas says that the Indians were gentle sheep and the Spaniards rushed in like a bunch of starving wolves, tigers and lions ready to devour. The Spaniards slew the Indians as if their lives did not matter what so ever. All of this happened throughout Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Mexico (Hispaniola). Juan Gines de Sepulveda Sepulveda said that the Indians are a savage and cruel race and that the Spanish are a superior race that is why the Indians should be treated as if they are inferior.
The Broken Spears, by Miguel Leon-Portilla, is an all-inclusive and compelling account of the Spanish conquest, told by the Aztecs also known as the conquered. Leon Portilla’s choice of events depicted in this book collides together giving the reader a broad view of the Spanish conquest. This book gives a history of emotional and spiritual human experiences, allowing the readers to comprehend, and relate to the Aztecs as they went through terror and faced their fears. This book provides an extensive amount of details concerning lack of leadership, bias and technological hardship that led to the Aztec defeat. After reading this book the reader will start to understand how and why the Aztecs suffered .
The advantages that the Spanish had over the Native Americans were extensive; including their weaponry and manpower but especially their vigilance towards the enemy “... for even if the Mexicans sued for peace again, he dared not trust them” (The Conquistadors, Hammond Innes, 1969). This was because the Spanish had a goal of domination and conquest, while the Aztec and the Incas were often ignorant and initially had no great fears of the Europeans. With the power of muskets, cannons, warships and more advanced technology, the Europeans were able to conquer and overwhelmed the Natives. While also leaving them in awe after creating great sounds with their firearms, they used the intimidation and fury of battle to scare the Indians. A large percentage
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.
Song of the Hummingbird by Graciela Limon is about the fall of the Aztecs at the hands of Cortes and Spanish conquerors from the point of view most people never learn about--the Aztecs. The story takes place in 1582, when an indigenous woman, Huitzitzilin, also known as “Hummingbird”, recounts her story about the coming of Cortes and the Spanish to a young Spanish monk, Father Benita Lara. Father Benita Lara realizes that Huitzitzilin’s views on the events don’t aline with what was taught in Spain and he becomes intrigued by her version of what happened. Song of the Hummingbird emphasises several important topics: clash of cultures, strength, betrayal and acceptance, and the truth behind history. I enjoyed reading this book because it allows
The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, by Miguel León-Portilla is a singular account of the conquest of the Aztecs in the early 16th century, from the Indigenous perspective. As J. Jorge Klor De Alva writes in the “Forward”: “victors ordinarily write history” (p.xi), and the Spanish point of view, based on the conquistadors’ account of their encounter with the natives of South America is generally the common understanding of the conquest. León-Portilla recounts the conquest in a chronological order, which allows greater clarity for the non-specialist reader. The Broken Spears is split into sixteen chapters, each preceded by an “Introduction”, which summarize the chapter’s contents, the sources used, and any discrepancies
A review of Thunder On the River The Civil War in Northeast Florida by Daniel L. Schafer Growing up in the northern state of Illinois, a student was always taught in school that the Civil War was about slavery and president Abraham Lincoln. Reading this book gives the reader a point of view that is not normally explained in northern states. Daniel L. Schafer the Author of the Book Thunder on the river, explains in great detail with firsthand accounts of how the Civil War started, who was involved and what happened, before during and after the war. In the Preface of the book, Schafer explains how he was able to write the book; he was asked to edit the draft of Richard A. Martin 's two volume history of Jacksonville more than twenty five years
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.
Q1: A. According to Las Casas, the Spaniards had one influence that encouraged such acts of cruelty and that was greed. The Spaniards wanted gold. As much gold as they could get their hands on. Las Casas stated that by becoming rich so fast, the Spaniards hoped that this would lead to a “rise to a high estate disproportionate to their merits” (3).
Would you ever step out of your comfort zone and live in a remote village with aggressive Indians? Most people wouldn't, but that's exactly what Napoleon Chagnon did. The Fierce People is his accounts of the experience’s he had while living with the Yąnomamö Indians in Southern Venezuela. His trip lasted nineteen months, and he had the opportunity to learn the in's and out's of their culture.
Marco Pérez Dr. Rony Garrido The short novel, Aura, by Carlos Fuentes creates a mythical reality to reference Mexican history. He uses Aura, Felipe Montero, and Consuelo as a reflection of the past and the present, where for example, Consuelo represents the past and Felipe the present. In this paper I will explain how the love story of Felipe, Aura, and Consuelo represent Mexican history. In addition this paper will explain how myth breaks down into different elements, such as religion, legends, traditions, and beliefs, all of which are manifested in the different characters and their actions within this novel.