Arguably one of the most impactful events that ever occurred in world history was the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. We all know of the hundreds of Spaniards under the command of Cortez and Pizarro that ousted the Aztec and Inca empires. We also know of the horrid details of how the Europeans gained control of the new world and the other parts of the Americas. But in a smaller scope there are several facts and myths associated with the formation of the new world. In the book Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest by Matthew Restall, Restall aims to analyze several myths involved in the Spanish colonization of the new world that people accept to be true. As an ethnohisorian from Penn state, Restall uses a number of published
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Restall aims to present his claims to a broad audience, those who are interested in the general history of the formation of the early Americas and those who have basic knowledge of the factors that contributed to the conquest of the native populations. This essay will analyze the few myths Restall presents and make an account of his claim, and will also create an argument that Restall’s debunking of myths serves to further educate readers and give them a better understanding and insight on particular factors that contributed to the Spanish conquer of the new world, based on Restall’s claims while using various evidence and sources to support the argument relating to the events of the birth of the new world in the Christian age of the 15th Century.
Restall claims that the notion that the Spaniards alone defeated the vast populations of enemy natives is false. In the third chapter of the book, “Myth of the White Conquistador,” This part of the book examines the overlooked role that other populations and groups played in the Spanish Conquest, including Africans, and the very own natives. Restall points out the roles that these groups played and explains that the idea of the only main population that highly impacted the conquest were Spaniards, and that the Spaniards only won because they vastly outnumbered …show more content…
It is often seen that the Spanish conquest was a nimble event and a very complete event as well. There are two main points that Restall provides that contributed to the myth that the Spanish Conquest was a rapid and complete affair. The Spanish reward system, which emphasized the notion of contractual fulfillments and rewards as well as the earliest sense of manifest destiny, that their actions of conquering the Americas was justified by god referred as “the ideology of imperial justification.” The reward system for the Spanish worked to evaluate living situations and conditions after conquest, and the extent of control by the Spanish in a certain region. This system was corrupt when the conquistadors such as Cortez, Pizarro, and even Columbus reported too soon. Aside from the rewards system the Spanish thought as themselves as literal workers for God and to fulfil God’s desires. In this sense, it made the conquest of the new world inevitable with god on Spanish’s side. However, completion for this “work of God” was incomplete and minimal. It was described that the “Spanish control over the larger area that would become modern Mexico was virtually nonexistent.” Even after 1521the end of the
Restall aims to present his claims to a broad audience, those who are interested in the general history of the formation of the early Americas and those who have basic knowledge of the factors that contributed to the conquest of the native populations. This essay will analyze the few myths Restall presents and make an account of his claim, and will also create an argument that Restall’s debunking of myths serves to further educate readers and give them a better understanding and insight on particular factors that contributed to the Spanish conquer of the new world, based on Restall’s claims while using various evidence and sources to support the argument relating to the events of the birth of the new world in the Christian age of the 15th Century.
Restall claims that the notion that the Spaniards alone defeated the vast populations of enemy natives is false. In the third chapter of the book, “Myth of the White Conquistador,” This part of the book examines the overlooked role that other populations and groups played in the Spanish Conquest, including Africans, and the very own natives. Restall points out the roles that these groups played and explains that the idea of the only main population that highly impacted the conquest were Spaniards, and that the Spaniards only won because they vastly outnumbered …show more content…
It is often seen that the Spanish conquest was a nimble event and a very complete event as well. There are two main points that Restall provides that contributed to the myth that the Spanish Conquest was a rapid and complete affair. The Spanish reward system, which emphasized the notion of contractual fulfillments and rewards as well as the earliest sense of manifest destiny, that their actions of conquering the Americas was justified by god referred as “the ideology of imperial justification.” The reward system for the Spanish worked to evaluate living situations and conditions after conquest, and the extent of control by the Spanish in a certain region. This system was corrupt when the conquistadors such as Cortez, Pizarro, and even Columbus reported too soon. Aside from the rewards system the Spanish thought as themselves as literal workers for God and to fulfil God’s desires. In this sense, it made the conquest of the new world inevitable with god on Spanish’s side. However, completion for this “work of God” was incomplete and minimal. It was described that the “Spanish control over the larger area that would become modern Mexico was virtually nonexistent.” Even after 1521the end of the