Hernan Cortes Essay

What lead to the evaporation of the lost empires that once rule Latin America. The presents of the Spanish and European people lead to the desecration of Aztecs, Inca And Maya people around the 15 century, bringing an end to Mesoamerica’s last great native civilizations. The Aztecs were located in Mexico region, the Maya’s were located in Guatemala, and the Inca’s were in the Andes. When the spanish arrived they saw that the native people did not get along with each other do to different points of view in the belief system (sacrifices). That is one of the ways the spanish and europeans were able to conquer a land so massive in surface area and population.

It is said that the first visit in the Mexico territory was by a European that goes by the name of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, who arrived in Yucatan, Mexico from Cuba with three ships that housed about a 100 men in early 1517. This prompted the Spanish governor Diego Velasquez, to coordinate an expedition lead by Hernan Cortes. Cortez landed at the town of Tabasco, Mexico where he learned the ways of the natives. Defying the authority of Velasquez, Cortes preceded his journey where he ended up finding a city on the southeast coast of Mexico. In the city of Veracruz he trained an army. Cortes and about 400 soldiers marched into Mexico. Thanks to

instability within the empires, Cortes was able to form alliances with the Tlaxcalans, who were then at war with Montezuma. Upon Cortes’s arrival the Aztec believed Cortes was Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was a god they believed would unite the Aztec people once again. So the Aztec greeted cortes and his men graciously. Though the Aztecs had superior numbers there weapons were no match. In all, some 240,000 people were believed to have died in the city’s conquest, which effectively ended the Aztec civilization. After the spanish settled they set up the columbian exchange. The Columbian Exchange is where the spanish were in contact with the Europeans which brought about a transfusion of foods and diseases between Europe and the America’s.

The desecration of the early Maya civilizations is uncertain but some theories are

they exhausted their resources in the environment in which they lived in so much so that it could not longer support their people, another theory is either a very drastic environmental change, or the breaking down of their dynastic power. Each theory of either overpopulation and overuse of the land, endemic warfare and drought–may have played a part in the downfall of the Maya in the southern lowlands. When Spanish invaders arrived, however, most Maya were living in agricultural villages. By the time the Spanish and European invaders got established with the Mayans it was very easy to take over with things like “The Treaty of Tordesillas” which divided South America between Portugal and Spain.

After the Spanish conquest many of the Inca people adapted to fit and serve the needs of conquerors.

The Spanish was indirect with the Incas they made requests/demandes throw the Inca’s chefs, they did not interfere directly with the daily life of the indian tribes that resided within their new territory. The Spanish set up a class system with the Inca’s they demanded work and tax to maintain their separate classes which consum of servants and artisans. But the demand for gold and produced were substantial and unreasonable. The Inca’s today are peasants of Peru and Bolivia speak their native language and try to preserve many elements from their

ancestors.

Today many Latin American countries celebrate their independence from Spain during the months of September, August and a few in July. All Except Brazil they celebrate their independence from Portugal.. The languages of their ancestors are lost because the Spanish took over and implemented Spanish as the primary language. One of the reasons why Spanish varies depending on which Latin American country you are in is by their ancestors for instance in Mexico Spanish is pronounced differently than Spanish in Spain is because the Spanish language was infused with the indigenous tongue which was the Nahuatl. Nahuatl was the language of the Aztec empire. But if you went to Guatemala or other Latin American Countries further South their Spanish would be separate from Mexico’s Spanish and Spain’s Spanish because their ancestors were the Mayan’s and the Inca’s and they infused their native tongue which would be either Qhuche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, and Mam. Thats why they say Spain’s Spanish is formal because its not infused with any indigenous or native tongues. That is why people from Latin America get offended when they are called Spanish because they are not Spanish By choice their Spanish by force. Latin Americans feel they were robbed just like here in Hawaii the Hawaiian were robbed by the Americans of their ancestors and their native culture. The language is just merely one aspect of the disappearance of the native Latin American Culture.