Compare And Contrast The Spanish And Native Americans

In the early 16th century, there was a clash of cultures when the Spanish conquistadors, led by General Cortez, encountered the Aztec civilization, centered in Tenochtitlan. Montezuma II, the emperor of the Aztecs, initially welcomed Cortez as he fulfilled a prophecy of a white skinned god arriving from the east. While initially positive, their interaction descended into violence and conflict. Ultimately, the Native American and Spanish perceptions of one another were marked by fear of the unknown and horror of barbarism and brutality. The Spanish looked down upon the Native Americans and viewed them as inferior, whereas the Native Americans were respectful and deferential.
When the Native Americans were first approached by the Spanish, they

were shocked and scared to find out that these new and unfamiliar people who they initially thought were gods were actually deliverers of brutality and exploitation. The natives were particularly shocked and frightened by the animals that accompanied the conquistadors and the unfamiliar technology that was evident in their weapons and armor. Envoys of Montezuma who first encountered the conquistadors reported, “Their trappings and arms are all made of iron. […] Their deer carry them on their backs wherever they wish to go. These deer, our lord, are as tall as the roof of a house”-15-16. They were also terrified by the cannons the conquistadors travelled with. “A thing like a ball of stone comes out of its entrails: it comes out shooting sparks and raining fire.” 15. The language used by the envoys shows how unfamiliar they were with the Spaniards, describing their horses as deer and the cannonball emerging from the entrails of the weapon. The Native Americans were also disturbed by how different the conquistadors looked. “The strangers’ bodies are completely covered, so that only their faces can be seen. Their skin is white, as if it were made of lime.” The Natives viewed these conquistadors as not being human but foreign and unnatural.
These strange characteristics contributed to their fear of these unfamiliar intruders.

“[The Spanish] ran in among the dancers, forcing their way to the place where the drums were played. They attacked the man who was drumming and cut off his arms. Then they cut off his head, and it rolled across the floor. […] Some attempted to run away, but their intestines dragged as they ran; they seemed to entangle their feet in their own entrails. No matter how hard they tried to save themselves they could find no escape.”-17 The violence displayed by the Spanish led to apprehension and animosity by the Native Americans. The Aztecs had very specific rules of war because war was an article of religion for them. When the Spanish used surprise attacks, the Natives were specifically horrified because they were not used to this type of warfare. The Native Americans were also horrified by how greedy the intruders seemed. They quickly found out that motivations of the Spanish were wealth. One account stated that upon receiving gifts that included gold, “[T]he Spaniards burst into smiles; their eyes shone with pleasure; they were delighted by them. They picked up the gold and fingered it like monkeys[…] The truth is that they longed and lusted for gold.”-51 Additionally, a Native American illustration in The Broken Spears portrays the Spanish melting gold cultural artifacts in the name of greed. The Native American descriptions and artwork demonstrate that the Native Americans perceived the

Spanish as an unusually greedy people.
The Native Americans reacted to their fear of the Spanish by characterizing the Spanish as backwards and inhuman. Native Americans described the Spanish as barbaric: “They were like one who speaks a barbarous tongue: everything they said was in a barbarous tongue.” -51-52 However, though the Native Americans believed the Spanish were inhuman, they were, in general, deferential and respectful to the Spanish, and they showered them with valuable gifts. .The Native Americans quickly became fearful of the invading Spanish but still they only fought defensively and stayed true to their ethics.
The Spanish reaction to the first encounter was similar to the Native Americans’ in that the Spanish were also fearful of the opposite group.

In this case, the Spanish were afraid to discover a far more advanced civilization than they had expected.. When the Spanish reached Tenochtitlan, they encountered a fully grown city that rivaled even the most modern European cities. One Spaniard Recounted, “Thus they have kingdoms, communities, and cities that they govern wisely according to their laws and customs.” The Aztec government was similar to governments that they had admired in Europe and was able to maintain control of a vast and powerful empire. “[T]here are important kingdoms, large numbers of people who live settled lives in a society, great cities, kings, judges and laws, persons who engage in commerce, buying, selling, lending, and the other contracts of the law of nations[.]”-30 They were also surprised by the richness of cultural, social, and economic

structures.
Moreover, just as the Native Ameicans were horrified by the violent acts committed by the Spanish, the Spaniards were appaled by the show of violence and barbarism in Aztec culture. A Native described the actions of Cortez when he witnessed this firsthand. Broken spears: “The envoys made sacrifices in front of the captain. At this, he grew very angry. When they offered him blood in an “eagle dish,” he shouted at the man who offered it and struck him with his sword.”-15 Later the Spanish, when arguing the case for exploitation said, “What shall I say now of the impious religion and wicked sacrifices of such people, who, in venerating the devil as if he were God, believed that the best sacrifice that they could placate him with was to offer him human hearts? […] These are crimes that are considered by the philosophers to be among the most ferocious and abominable perversions, exceeding all human iniquity.”-29 The Spanish described the Aztec religion and culture as criminal and savage and also stated that the Aztec religion directly conflicted with Catholicism.
Finally, like the Native Americans, the Spanish characterized the opposite group as inferior and primitive. Just as the Native Americans’ fear of the Spanish made it difficult for them to empathize with the Spanish, the Spanish found it difficult to empathize with the Native Americans and to see them as humans with rights. However, the Spanish were less respectful to the Native Americans than the Native Americans were to the Spanish. Specifically, the Spanish had an internal conflict as to whether or not they could exploit the Natives under Catholicism. One group, led by Sepulveda believed that the Natives were given to the Spanish by God to be exploited and they were “slaves by nature”-28 Sepulveda compares their civilization to ants. “We see that certain insects, such as the bees and the spiders, produce works that no human skill can imitate.”-28 He thus invalidates their civilization. The other group, led by de Las Casas believed that the natives deserved rights as humans and were created in God’s image. ”Consequently, to these men who are wild and ignorant in their barbarism we owe the right which is theirs, that is, brotherly kindness and Christian love[.]”-32 Even though de Las Casas supported the natives right to live freely, the language he used was still condescending and showed the common view that the Natives were inferior. Sepulveda ended up winning the majority opinion because it was economically beneficial, and the Spanish continued with their exploitation.

Though their characterizations of the other groups were similar in many ways, the Native Americans and Spanish differed in the ways they translated their fears into behaviors. Though the Native Americans approached the Spanish with respect, the Spanish felt it was their right to enslave Aztecs and take their wealth which ushered in a long period of conflict and Western domination in Central America.