The impact of hierarchy on the social structures and religion of both the Spanish and the Mexica empire before and after contact led to the Spanish conquest of the Mexica empire. Hierarchies were fundamental aspects of both the Spanish and Mexica empires, and permeated through all aspects of society, including religion. When the two groups interacted for the first time, they established a hierarchical relationship with the Spanish being superior to the Mexica. This allowed for the Spanish conquest of the Mexica empire.
The Mexica saw the Spanish as supernatural beings, since they looked so different and had advanced, different technology and weapons. The Spanish considered themselves inherently better than the Mexica for a variety of reasons, …show more content…
In fact, in the first town that they stopped in, “Cortes ordered us to break the Idols to pieces and roll them down the steps (Diaz 53)” and they established a church with an alter and cross. The entire narrative is interlaced with overtones of religion. The Spanish want to spread their religion, which they view as superior, and they force the towns that they conquered to convert to Christianity. Cortes even appeals to the Spanish royals, hoping that it pleased them that they were “introduced into and instructed in the holy Catholic Faith (Cortes 83).” One of the major motivations, or justifications, of the Spanish conquering the New World was to spread their own religion, which they viewed as superior. Therefore, the first interactions between the Spanish and Mexica was actually friendly, with the exchange of gifts and Cortes imploring the natives to adopt the Christian religion. It was when faced with opposition that the Spaniards began battling and fighting the natives. The Spanish believed that their religion was superior to that of the Mexica for a vast number of reasons. They viewed the natives as idol worshippers that practiced human sacrifice and they needed the Christian religion to cleanse and civilize them. Soon after the establishment of Vera Cruz, Cortes sent Alvarado and other men to visit the natives around …show more content…
The natives themselves elevated the Spanish to a supernatural, almost godly status, and by doing so, lowered their own status. This also plays into the great chain of being (cite lecture). In the great chain of being, in which God is the highest and human beings, though superior to animals and other creatures, are below him. For the Europeans, this chain of being was ingrained into the society, since they understood the world as a hierarchy, and assumed that every organism had a fixed place in the world. The Mexica admitted that they are “not their match; they are nothing (Montezuma
The Mexica saw the Spanish as supernatural beings, since they looked so different and had advanced, different technology and weapons. The Spanish considered themselves inherently better than the Mexica for a variety of reasons, …show more content…
In fact, in the first town that they stopped in, “Cortes ordered us to break the Idols to pieces and roll them down the steps (Diaz 53)” and they established a church with an alter and cross. The entire narrative is interlaced with overtones of religion. The Spanish want to spread their religion, which they view as superior, and they force the towns that they conquered to convert to Christianity. Cortes even appeals to the Spanish royals, hoping that it pleased them that they were “introduced into and instructed in the holy Catholic Faith (Cortes 83).” One of the major motivations, or justifications, of the Spanish conquering the New World was to spread their own religion, which they viewed as superior. Therefore, the first interactions between the Spanish and Mexica was actually friendly, with the exchange of gifts and Cortes imploring the natives to adopt the Christian religion. It was when faced with opposition that the Spaniards began battling and fighting the natives. The Spanish believed that their religion was superior to that of the Mexica for a vast number of reasons. They viewed the natives as idol worshippers that practiced human sacrifice and they needed the Christian religion to cleanse and civilize them. Soon after the establishment of Vera Cruz, Cortes sent Alvarado and other men to visit the natives around …show more content…
The natives themselves elevated the Spanish to a supernatural, almost godly status, and by doing so, lowered their own status. This also plays into the great chain of being (cite lecture). In the great chain of being, in which God is the highest and human beings, though superior to animals and other creatures, are below him. For the Europeans, this chain of being was ingrained into the society, since they understood the world as a hierarchy, and assumed that every organism had a fixed place in the world. The Mexica admitted that they are “not their match; they are nothing (Montezuma