The True History of the Conquest of New Spain (Content Paper) Bernal Díaz del Castillo a Spanish conqueror and chronicler in the Indies, travelled with Cortés expedition party. Bernal Díaz del Castillo was interested in getting his version of the expedition out to the world. Even though it was years before he was able to accomplish this he believed it was important to explain the “rank and file” of the expeditioners and the Aztecs. The excerpt describes the expeditions walk into the great city of Mexico or as it was known at the time, Tenochtitlan.…
In the early fifteen hundred’s a Spanish expedition was sent on a mission to conquer Mexico, and consisted of approximately a dozen ships. Hernán Cortés was one of the most accomplished of the conquistadors in the sixteenth century, and also known throughout the world as the man who defeated the Aztec Empire. By overthrowing the Aztec Empire and their emperor, Moctezuma, Cortes conquered Mexico. Hernán Cortés was eternally known as a man who was rather bold and valiant in his leadership of his soldiers.…
The Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early sixteenth century has been recounted by two primary documents. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain and The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico both share some similarities and differences pertaining to the author's perspective on what truly happened such as the way the Spaniards were welcomed, outlook on culture, and interpretation of the war. This paper will compare both accounts of the encounters between the Spanish and the Aztecs from different points of view. Although the events in both sources took place during a similar time period, the differences vary in the author's tone of voice, the purpose, and the circumstances from where it was told. Based on the collected findings, The True History…
These letters written by Hernan Cortes who was a Spaniard conquistador who first conquest of Cuba and thereafter turn his head to the Mexico to conquest as well. In 1519 he sorted out attack of Mexico. Thereafter, he arrived in Mexico on April 22, 1519. By 1521, he had taken all the control of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan ( Mexico City ).After his conquest of Mexico , Spanish chroniclers offered him to write what he saw in Mexico, thereafter he had to write these letters to show what he see in Mexico.…
The downfall of the Aztec Empire in the 1500s was brought about by a very bloody and ruthless conquest orchestrated by Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés. Central America was devastated by the aggression of the European invaders who were ransacking every town for their valuables and subjugating the populace. Much of what is known about the events that unfolded comes from primary sources written by the Spanish participants or the stories written by the native Nahua people a generation or two after the whole affair, whose sources mainly consist of oral tellings of the circumstance from their ancestors. In Victors and Vanquished, Stuart Schwartz attempts to juxtapose these sometimes contradictory sources and explore the situation from…
Hernando had done many cruel things to the Aztecs. They had shown him love, compassion, and respect. They thought that Cortés was a god. He repaid him by taking their gold. He is a robber and a thief.…
Summary In Miguel Leon-Portilla’s The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, the author shares the Aztec account of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1519. Throughout the book, Portilla discusses the significant events that occurred in the Aztec society. The indigenous groups in Mexico such as the Mexica (Aztec) had a thriving culture and advanced society in ancient Mesoamerica. The people of the Aztec society were educated, studied many subjects of interest such as astrology, and built great architectural pyramids that were breathtaking and beautiful.…
The Aztecs, as they are known, were a group of people who originated as a nomadic tribe in northern Mexico. Although the origins of the Aztecs are uncertain, they "are believed to begun as a northern tribe of hunter-gatherers whose name came from that of their homeland, Aztlan (“White Land”). " The Aztecs were also known as the Tenochca derived from their capital city, Tenochtitlan, and the Mexica. The Aztec empire was built in 1428 under leader Itzcoatl, forming a three-way alliance with the Acolhua people of Texcoco, and the Mexica in Tenochtitlan, and the Tepaneca people of Tlacopan. These three groups were responsible for the defeat and domination of a big part of Mexico.…
Fall of Aztec Empire For many years now, historians have pondered upon the many reasons for the fall of the Aztec Empire. There have been many factors that played into the fall of the Empire, such as the diseases plaguing the population, the Spaniard’s technological advantages, religious rivalries, alliances, and the list goes on. But to focus on two of the major contributors, this essay will focus on the effects of European diseases on Mexico, and the impact alliances between the Spaniards and the Tlaxcala people had on Tenochtitlan. To begin our observations, we will delve into the life of a man named “Hernan Cortés”. Hernan Cortés was a Spanish Conquistador, and one of the driving forces in the fall of the Aztec Empire through the capture of Tenochtitlan and of the then leader Motecuhzoma II.…