Global History: The Modern Era

The Modern Era is depicted as a time of the development of great empires, globalization, and transformations of the many peoples involved. This momentous period in history is highlighted by many positive and lasting effects on the world we live in today, specifically with the establishment of the European, Asian, and Russian empires. It was also a time of great disease, despair and intolerance for many societies. The effect of empire building and the establishment of global linkage on the Native Americans, the African Americans, and many others were not as favorable. The Modern Era forever changed or eliminated many significant peoples around the world. The primary sources found in Ways of the World, A Brief Global History provide visual depictions of the unsurmountable destruction faced by the Aztec and Incan populations during the Modern Era.
By the 17th century, Europeans were at the forefront of the world stage. They gained access to new lands, established impressive Empires, and sparked a global exchange network referred to as the

Columbian Exchange. “The Spanish, Portuguese, British, and French alike did not simply conquer and govern established societies, but rather generated wholly new societies, born of the decimation of Native American populations and the introduction of European and African peoples, cultures, plants, and animals (Strayer, 626).” This growing European presence had great implications on the Native American population of the Aztecs and Incans.
The greatest effect of the European arrival on the natives came in the form of germs, such as smallpox, where many natives died of European diseases to which they did not possess immunity. The image Disease and Death among the Aztecs (Strayer, 624), illustrates the impact of small pox on the Native Americans. This time in native history is properly titled the “Great Dying.” Some viewed it as the work of a powerful God that made room for the European explorers and their accompanying conquests. Others, as evident in the visual depiction Disaster Foretold (Strayer, 661), where Aztec ruler Moctezuma viewed a flame in the sky as an omen of death, suggests that the native peoples had an understanding of their impending demise and that they were not completely taken by surprise. The Native population did not recover until the late 17th century and even then not fully (Strayer, 624). Of those that survived, some natives were assimilated into the new empire, while others were forced into labor in agriculture or mines.
Another venue of destruction of the Native Americans came through military conquests, led by the Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortés.

Cortés initially showed common courtesies and made visual attempts at alliances with the Aztec peoples. The image Moctezuma and Cortés (Strayer, 663) illustrates a peaceful encounter with the exchange of gifts between the two great leaders. This brief treaty would soon come to a bloody end with loss felt on both sides. The Massacre of the Nobles and The Spanish Retreat from Tenochtitlán (Strayer, 664, 665), give vivid depictions of the massacre at a native religious ceremony and the retaliatory uprising of the Aztecs at Lake Texcoco. Following was a short-lived reprieve from Spanish rule, but eventually disease and starvation gave way to military defeat. Of those that survived, some natives were assimilated into the new empire; while others were forced to labor in agriculture or

mines.
In addition to widespread sickness, death, and military conquests, the Aztec and Incan women faced hardships associated with gender. Women found themselves acquired by European rulers and then given as gifts to soldiers (Strayer, 626). They were treated as material objects rather than human beings, much like the later use of African American slaves in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Women were victims of sexual violence, abuse, and rape (Strayer, 627). Many women found relief and advantage through marrying Spanish men. The images Doña Marina translating for Cortés (Strayer, 622) and Moctezuma and Cortés (Strayer, 663), show the Native Doña Marina translating for Hernan Cortés. Doña Marina was born in the Mayan and Aztec cultures, sold into slavery by her parents, and later given as a gift to Cortés, where she became his vital interpreter and mistress (Strayer, 622). Doña Marina was able to benefit from adversity to become a highly respected political figure and a successful landowner.
The Native American population experienced great torments during the Early Modern Era where they were essentially stepping stones in the building of European empires. These native peoples suffered military warfare, anguish through disease, and forms of slavery at the hands of their European conquerors. The Aztec and Incan peoples, though greatly diminished, will forever be remembered in World History as an important foundation of today’s modern societies.