More handpicked essays just for you.
Conquest of mexico and peru
Hernan cortes: is he a hero or a villain
The effect of the Spanish conquest on the Aztecs
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Conquest of mexico and peru
Ashwath Puchakatla 8-4
Hernán Cortés: Heroes or Villain
Hernán Cortés, a hidalgo (a lesser noble) who conquered one of the greatest Mesoamerican Empires ever: the Aztecs, is the subject of a great question: Was he a villain, or a hero. To many, he is a greedy traitor who committed genocide in the name of gold. But to a few, Cortés is a God-loving man who was loyal to the King of Spain to the end. In my opinion, Cortes was a hero, who may have committed horrendous acts, but was overall more humane than his fellow conquistadors.
By being a cruel man who always wanted his way like a spoiled brat, using people, and destroying one of the greatest civilizations in the world: the Mexicas, also known as the Aztecs.An example of his cruelty is when he threatened to kill any of his men who did not want to continue the expidition, before proceeding to sink their ships. Cortés is also known for using people, specifically the Aztec Empire’s emperor, Moctezuma the Second. He used Moctezuma’s life as a hostage to steal gold, similar to Pizarro, the conqueror of the Incan Empire of modern day Peru. Lastly, he destroyed a great civilization. By committing genocide, and spreading pestilence, Cortés destroyed not only
…show more content…
He stood by his men, he was trustworthy, and was technically a liberator. Cortés stood by his men in countless situations, like during the Battle Tenochtitlan, when he could easily flee with some gold when all hope was lost, but he instead stood by his men and fought. Cortés was also trustworthier than his fellow conquistadors; he actually kept his promises with the now freed vassal tribes of the Aztecs, unlike the Europeans in the future in the northern part of North America. Overall, Cortés was a liberator, a savior to the vassal tribes of the Aztecs. Subject to tributes, these tribes were unhappy under the rule of the Aztecs. Cortés, instead of just conquering and killing the tribes off, he actually viewed them as
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Dead falls Romaldo Cortez, Brother of Gregorio Cortez, thanks to Sheriff Morris. The day is June 12th of 1901 and Sheriff Morris shows up to Gregorio Cortez’s home. Sheriff Morris along side with Boone Choate (who was supposed to be an expert in the Mexican language) were both in search of a horse thief, start asking questions immediately when they see Gregorio Cortez and Romaldo Cortez. Choate asked Cortez “, did you trade a house with Andres Villarreal?” Cortez answered solidly “No”. Cortez had traded a mare not a horse. As soon as Sheriff Morris heard his response, he told Choate to tell Cortez and his brother that they were going to be arrested. Gregorio asked why but Sheriff Morris misunderstood and shot Romaldo to death. In defense, Cortez shot Sherriff Morris for his brother. Cortez knew that he was going to get into trouble so he decided to flee. (Garcia) Many question if he’s a hero for defending his brother the way he defended him. Many think he is just a rebel for killing a sheriff for no good reason, but Cortez had a reason. Cortez is a hero for the reason that he was brave enough to confront injustices from defending his brother, never giving up, and persisted as long as he could, demonstrating that he had the courage most individuals do not.
From the moment Hernan Cortes landed in Mexico and began his campaign against the Aztec empire, the people of the new world were doomed to be conquered by both technological and biological means. Smallpox, a disease that had never been experienced in America before the arrival of the Europeans devastated large scale native populations. The abandonment of the famous lost city of Machu Picchu stands as a famous example of the devastation of native populations.
In 1539 Hernando de Soto and five hundred adventurers began on a journey of exploration that would take 4 years and would travel through 10 states in the southeast United States. His goal was to discover a source of wealth, preferably gold, and around his mines establish a settlement. During his travels through La Florida he encountered numerous groups of native peoples, making friends of some and enemies of others. His expedition was not the first in La Florida; however, it was the most extensive. In its aftermath, thousands of Indians would die by disease that the Spaniards brought from the Old World. De Soto would initially be remembered as a great explorer but, would be later viewed as a destroyer of native culture. However, in truth de Soto was neither a hero or a villain but rather an adventurer.
At first, it seemed like the Spanish had total control of the city, but trouble soon broke out. In May 1520, Cortes briefly left the city. Ignorantly, his men, for some odd reason, attacked the Aztec. "Those Idiots!" I bet Cortes would have exclaimed as he came back to find his men being besieged in Moctezuma's palace. Cortes, being quite the intelligent thinker, thought that calming them would be the best way out of the situation.
...ion was to aid the lower class of sharecroppers and all walks of people in Mexico to gain equality for all. By evading the Mexican and American government, he was able to gaining support and love from the peasants. Pancho Villa was one of the first revolutionary to stand up for the poor and fight for his beliefs. He proudly laid out a path for many to follow and continue the struggle against the oppressive Mexican regime. Pancho Villa won countless battles, which empowered the poor and gave them hope. Pancho Villa’s many victories proved to be a necessity for the Mexican revolution. Many of the battles won were essential in the sense that it to applied pressure to the Mexican government. Without that pressure the revolutionaries would not have been victorious in their battles, proving Pancho Villa’s important role in the Mexican revolution.
Although many usually put a negative image on La Malinche many forget to pay attention to the fact that La Malinche and Our lady of Guadalupe both have an almost an equally important role in Mexico’s identity. Our Lady of Guadalupe worked alongside the infamous Malinche to form Mexico’s identity because they both had similar qualities. Many have seen La Malinche as traitor to Mexican culture when in reality she is the reason the Mexican race exist because in truth Mexicans are indigenous blood and white Spanish blood. One could wonder why la Malinche is not praised as much our lady of Guadalupe, the answer is simple; our lady of Guadalupe was not responsible for the fall of the Aztec empire. Although this may be debatable since Hernan Cortes did use a similar image of Our Lady of Guadalupe during the Spanish Conquest of Spain. Which is also why they work hand in hand, because la Malinche and our lady of Guadalupe both had a similar effect on Mexican identity but in a way that they were polar opposite
Francisco Pizarro: Spanish explorer who discovered and conquered the Inca Empire, nowadays Peru. Hernán Cortés: Spanish explorer who discovered and conquered the Aztec Empire, nowadays central Mexico.
To begin with, Hernan Cortés conquered the Aztec empire. “Unbeknownst to Cortés, his arrival coincided with an important Aztec prophecy.” (Szalay, Jessie 2017) The Aztecs believed that Hernan Cortés was the Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, and that he had returned to the land of the living so when Hernan arrived, he was welcomed in an honorable way. The army caused the native population to be intimidated because they didn’t hadn’t acquired firearms or advanced weapons
The Aztec empire was seemingly unshakable until 1519, when the Spanish arrived in Mexico under the leadership of Hernan Cortez. Cortez and his small armed force (initially five hundred men) would pose a new and unexpected threat to the Aztec empire. This threat was compounded as Cortez inadvertently landed on the shores of the Aztec empire on the very day that Aztec diviners prophesised the return of Quetzacoatl, the hero-king of the Toltecs. Cortex was initially misidentified as Quezacoatl by the local people, which greatly enhanced the speed of his
In general, the historical explanations of how and why the Spaniards were so militarily successful against the Aztec, Inca and Maya find their base in the racist belief that European culture was superior to the indigenous cultures. For example, Prescott uses a “big man history” to explain the fall of the Aztecs, placing particular emphasis on the interactions of Cortés and Moctezuma, and how each individual helped determine the fate of his people. Cortés is portrayed as a cunning leader who outsmarted the irrational and religious Moctezuma. His narrative paints the Aztecs as superstitious, and almost unintelligent, and displays the clearly racist view that European culture was superior to that of the Aztecs. The principle factors that are generally
He has come back! He will come here, to the place of his throne and canopy, for that is what he promised when he departed!” (Broken Spears, 23). Of course, seeing the arrival of the Spaniards as the reappearance of a god meant that Montezuma and his people would be submissive and willing to do anything to appease the god in order to receive their blessing. Sadly, their kindness in the form of gold and other treasures was cruelly rejected by the Spaniards, who not only take what they offer, but they also brutally slaughter many of the Aztecs in their quest of conquering the Aztec empire. Interestingly throughout all of the conflict the Aztecs have with the Spaniards, it appears that they are largely fearful of the Spaniards and only want to make peace with them since they believe they are to be linked to their religion: we will be judged and punished. And however it may be, and whenever it may be, we can do nothing but wait.” (Broken Spears, 55). The Aztecs only fought back due to the necessity of keeping their empire intact and as revenge for the death of Montezuma. This contrasts sharply with the typical cruel image that the Aztecs are given, and is quite ironic because the Aztecs are the ones being conquered in this case. Near the end of the book, a
He was originally from Spain, but came to the New World seeking wealth and glory. He was among a group of explorers called “Conquistadores” who were in search of riches and land to claim in the name of King Charles of Spain. One of the first tribes he encountered were the Tabascan Indians. Even though they were outnumbered eighty to one, the Spaniards won the battle because of their superior tactics and resources, including horses and cannons, which terrified the Tabascans. After the battle, the Tabascans joined forces with Cortes. As Cortes approached Tenochtitlan, Montezuma, the chief speaker of the Aztecs, was fearful. He was consumed by his fear of the gods and increased the number of sacrifices to an all time high. He remembered the legend of Quetzelcoatl, one of the creator gods, who had been driven from Mexico by demons but was supposed to return in 1519. Montezuma sent his advisors with gifts of gold and silver to Cortes, thinking Cortes was Quetzelcoatl, but the gifts were never enough for Cortes. He decided to march on and conquer the city of Tenochtitlan. As Cortes traveled from the Gulf of Mexico to Tenochtitlan, he encountered the Totonac Indians who were tired of Aztec rule and their cruel traditions. They joined forces with Cortes against the Aztecs. Next, Cortes encountered the Tlaxcalans and after a brief but bloody battle, they too joined forces with Cortes after they realized that Cortes opposed the
Cortés came not to the New World to conquer by force, but by manipulation. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, in the "Conquest of New Spain," describes how Cortés and his soldiers manipulated the Aztec people and their king Montezuma from the time they traveled from Iztapalaopa to the time when Montezuma took Cortés to the top of the great Cue and showed him the whole of Mexico and its countryside, and the three causeways which led into Mexico. Castillo's purpose for recording the mission was to keep an account of the wealth of Montezuma and Mexico, the traditions, and the economic potential that could benefit Cortés' upcoming conquest. However, through these recordings, we are able to see and understand Cortés' strategy in making Mexico "New Spain." He came as a wolf in a sheep's clothing and manipulated Montezuma through his apparent innocence.
The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire. While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script, a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines that come together to make the event happen. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec is no different. Three major themes are seen in this struggle. One of them is the incredible advantage that the Spaniards technology gave them over the Aztecs. A second major theme is the greed that fueled the conquests in the New World. The last major theme was the effect of the political divisions and rivalries within Montezuma’s Central American Kingdom. As this historical event progressed each one of these themes began to intertwine until they became an almost unstoppable force.
Cortes was able to conquer the Aztecs for several very different reasons. In combination these reasons allowed him to have the upper hand in the conquest of Mexico. Arguably these reasons can be sorted into six different categories. The various causes for Cortes' success will be assessed in a climax pattern. To begin with the Aztecs had a harsh tribute system that was not popular among the people of Mexico. This cruel tribute system allowed Cortes to act as a liberator. Furthermore, with the Spanish brought several diseases into Mexico in witch they were immune to but the Aztecs were not. The spread of diseases such as small pox reduced the Aztec population and furthered Cortes' success unintentionally Also Marina was a tribal girl given as a gift to Cortes, she proved invaluable in translating local dialects in combination with Geronimo de Aguilar. Also an important aspect of his success was due to Montezuma's belief that Cortes was Quetzakoatl. A predominant reason for the Spanish success was due to their weaponry especially their armour and firepower. Perhaps the most important reason of all was that of Cortes' Indian allies such as the Tlaxcalans who made up the majority of his combined army. All these reasons worked together to allow Cortes, originally with 508 men to conquer the Aztec Empire of millions of people.