Bernardino de Sahagún, a member of the Franciscan religious order, was one of the earliest Spanish missionaries in Mexico, arriving in 1529. He soon developed a keen interest in the culture of the peoples of Mexico, for whom he had deep affection and respect. Having mastered the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztecs and other central Mexican peoples, around 1545 he began to collect oral and pictorial information about Native Mexican culture. The result was his General History of the Things of New Spain, a major source of information about Mexican culture at the time of the Spanish conquest. Many Spaniards considered Sahagún’s work dangerous because they feared his efforts to preserve the memory of native culture threatened their plans to exploit and Christianize the “Indians.” As a result, in 1578 his writings and notes were confiscated by royal decree and sent back to Spain, where they gathered dust in an archive until rediscovered and published in the nineteenth century.The document that I would like you to read comes from the twelfth and last book of the General History. Based on interviews with Aztecs who had lived through the conquest some twenty-five years earlier, Book Twelve, which exists in both Nahuatl and Spanish versions, recounts the conquest of Mexico from the time Cortés arrived on the Mexican coast in April 1519 until the days following the Aztec’s capitulation in August 1521. Although the exact role of Sahagún and his Indian assistants in composing and organizing Book Twelve has been hotly debated by scholars, most agree that it accurately portrays Aztec views and perceptions of the events that unfolded between 1519 and 1521.
The excerpt from the document that I would like you to read (you can read it by clicking here) picks up the story in November 1519. By then the Spaniards had gained as allies the Tlaxcalans, the Aztec’s bitter enemies, and were leaving Cholula, an ancient city that the Spaniards and their allies had sacked and looted because of its leaders’ lack of cooperation. They were on their way to Tenochtitlán, the splendid Aztec capital on Lake Texcoco, for an anticipated meeting with Emperor Moctezuma.
After you have read the document, I would like for you all to consider and discuss the following: What does the source reveal about the motives of the Spaniards and their Indian allies for their attack on the Aztecs? What was Moctezuma’s strategy to deal with the Spaniards? What did it fail? Aside from their firearms, what other military advantages did the Spaniards have over their opponents? On several occasions the Aztecs routed the Spaniards. What explains these Aztec victories? How did the Aztec view of war differ from that of the Spaniards? What does the source reveal about Aztec religious beliefs and values? Your thoughts…
23 comments:
wow...I love how the Aztecs describe the Spaniards horses and armor. And my favorite part was the description of the guns...
Just by reading this is really showed how barbaric and "not normal" we really are.
Well the Aztecs definitely had the home field advantage, but lack of food and disease from the Spaniards really held them back and put them into a disadvantage. Its interesting how they called the horses deer since they never really saw them before. These horses will have an impact on them later i am pretty sure. The Aztecs had a great disadvantage when it came to weaponry and the rest of their military. The Spaniards had Boats in which the Aztecs never really saw to that extent and they had the special training. The Aztecs didn't have a definite military garrison so the men just fought without any special training. Also kind of going back to villages along the Nile, they never had to protect themselves before just like the Aztecs. The Aztecs did have to defend themselves but not against an army like Spain's. They had no idea what to expect and they were bombarded. Spain faced army of much greater skill and weapons so taking out the Aztecs was a piece of cake to them for the most part. Also the disease they were immune to weakened the Mexica army as well. Spain's intentions were for gold, profit, and land. Whatever they could to get what they want. They were greedy and selfish. The aztecs were mainly able to win from having home field advantage, being able to use their knowledge of the land. I thought that the sacrifices were interesting. They hung the heads of the captured which i think they are getting what they deserve in a sense, but i didn't like the hanging of the horses since they really werent fighting for a side they were just there. The Aztecs could have used them for their own advantages just like the Spanish.
All it seems the Spanish wanted was gold. Their weapons were better because they were made of iron not flint that could not pierce Spanich armor. The Spanish seemed to lean on the tactic of brutality and complete destruction of the society in order to get what they want.
the spanish definently managed to make some allies, which worked in their favor since they got gold, which is what they came there for in the first place. besides guns, i guess horses seemed to help the spaniards win, as well as organization. it seems like the spanish got the ideas of organization and riding on horseback for war while using guns from the mongols, that's just what it reminds me of.
All I have to say is wow... That's sad that the "indians" got sick every time the Spanished coughed. This is pretty disturbing.
so sadly i really liked tha article. it was like a story but wow, very very brutal. kinda makes me think about how little we really know. i was surprised by all the people dying. im a tad bit concerned as to why nobody has told anyone about this before. up until now i thought the spaniards helped the aztecs...
extremly disturbing kaleb...
Disease most definetly helped the Spaniards take over the Aztecs. ONe cough is all it takes for the disease to take over an empire if they have no immunity over the disease. Their iron armor and shield gave them a better advantage. The horses also helped the Spanish. The combination of horses, steel armor and weapons, and disease gave the Spaniards the advantage over the Aztecs.
i have a question thats sorta off topic, but its also related.
why do they want gold so much?
like yeah its pricey and stuff but what would they do with it once they got it?
like just keep it to say they have gold? or are they eventually gonna spend it?
and i know its a stupid question, but i dont get why they want it so badly that they basically hold people at gunpoint for it..
This story was kind of disgusting. Everyone just died because of the Spaniards coming...whether it was a great epidemic of disease or war. The natives definitely were at a great disadvantage because of weapon technology.
spanish wanted the gold. horses is what helped th spainards and also they formed many allies which helped too
miss braemer, point #1, you'll see tomorrow why exactly the spanish want gold so much when we come to an understanding of their general economic policy...
point #2, the pursuit of wealth can make the wise act crazy, it's just a human fact... there's something about it that can literally change personalities. what do you think the #1 problem in american marraiages is? money diagreements.
The Aztecs definitly had home field advantage. Though, the Spanish had military advancements such as better armor,horses, boats, disease etc.
The Aztec used the element of surpirse in some cases however giving them the upperhand to defeat the Spanish.
In my opioion, the aztecs view of war was more towards spiritual. For example, when the aztecs captured some of the Spanish soilders, they sacrificed them to the gods.
-David Recchia
The Spanish had so many advantages over the Aztecs. Militarily, technologically, and genetically. The locals did not have weapon that were sufficient to fight the Spaniards, and when small pox was brought over the number of warriors dramatically decreased.
This to me just seems like a bullly who wont pick on someone its own size. i mean the Aztecs are advanced for a civilization in general but they dont have GUNS. its completely unfair so i guess that means its good for the spanish. :[
I love the amount of description in this document. It really puts you in the shoes of the Aztecs and showed how the Spaniards were able to conquer the Aztecs, whether it was information of the small pox, or the conquest of the Spaniards and their attacks on Aztec society.
The Spaniards were able to spread disease and create a food shortage among the population. The major difference was the Spaniards' weapon technology, depicted on page 3 at the bottom left of the page when it described their cannons destroying the wall blocking the way of the river.
The Europeans were able to make allies in the Aztec lands which helped them to get gold, which was a major reason for the "explarations". It is horrible that the disease was so devestating to the natives and that it was simply coughing, not even full fledged contact that would trigger it.
The Aztecs sounded really good in their civilized lives until the part where the Spaniards came in with their diseases and weapons and just absolutely killed the Aztecs. The Spaniards wanted their gold and got it. The Spaniards obviously had a better advantage over the Aztecs in everything from military to technology and even immunity to diseases as well.
It seems that all the spanish was gold and they were willing to wipeout anyone who got in their way. The spanish also had the advantage of better weapons and immunities. The Aztecs had no chance.
It's ironic because at first the Aztecs thought the Spanish would be peaceful and they thought they could be friendly by offering the Spanish gold gifts. That just confirmed to the Spanish that the Aztecs were loaded with gold, so it basically made the Spanish want to take down the Aztecs even more.
The Spanish had
-horses, guns, disease, and
local enemies of Aztecs
The Aztecs had
-numbers, and "home-field"
It was really disease and food shortages that weakened the Aztecs dramatically and let the Spanish take over the capital.
This really made me realize how our way of thinking is insane to be thought of as normal based on guns. I rally never even thought that much into it before, it's crazy.
I love how wealth causes a group of people to act irrationally. Just because the Spanish want gold, they come to the Americas and put pressure on a society that isn't in any position to be fighting against them. They're not nearly as advanced in their weaponry even if they do have home field advantage in the first place. The Aztecs are even having to worry about disease which is a pretty new thing to them. They could get sick and die out of the blue. They were really put at a disadvantage against the Spanish.
Before this class, I always thought that the Spaniards were there to help the Aztecs and improve their life. However, the Spaniards did the total opposite. It is disturbing to think that everytime a Spaniard would cough, they would kill so many Aztecs.
Post a Comment