Hernan Cortes Trial

1598 Words4 Pages

Lawyer: Firstly, Your Honour and members of the Jury, I thank you for your time. My name is Evelynne Lee and I am a lawyer for the Defence.I am here today to prove that the intentions of Hernan Cortez were good and honorable and is innocent of the crime of genocide against indigenous civilisations. It is my belief that the Defendant is not responsible and innocent of the charges on the basis that the intentions of Cortes were good and honourable. To prove my statement about Cortes, I intend to call witnesses and give exhibits to prove that his motives were good and honourable to not destroy indigenous civiisations.-30seconds Lawyer: the word genocide, is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group. I believe that at that time, in the 15th and 16th centuries, many people were exploring other lands and civilisations, so that they did not know it was a crime to do this. In order to show this, I would like to call my first witness, López de Legazpi. You are Lopez de Lagazpi, born in circa. 1502, Basque-Spanish navigator and governor?-50secs …show more content…

Cortés went to Tenochtitlan in mid-August 1519, along with 600 soldiers, 15 horsemen, 15 cannons, and hundreds of indigenous carriers and warriors. On the way to Tenochtitlan, Cortés made alliances with indigenous peoples such as the Totonacs of Cempoala and the Nahuas of Tlaxcala. The Otomis initially, and then the Tlaxcalans fought the Spanish a series of three battles from 2 Sept. to 5 Sept. 1519, After Cortés continued to release prisoners with messages of peace, Xicotencatl the Elder, and Maxixcatzin, persuaded the Tlaxcalan warleader, Xicotencatl the Younger, that it would be better to ally with the newcomers than to kill them. On November 8, 1519, they were peacefully received by Moctezuma

Show More
Related

  • Cortes And The Florentine Codex Analysis

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is amazing how two people can witness the same event and come away with two distinctively different interpretations of said event. However, the letter from Cortes and the Florentine Codex do exactly this. They both describe the same event, but from different perspectives. Hernan Cortes was a Spanish Conquistador who caused the fall of the Aztec Empire by conquering Tenochtitlan which is now known as the present day Mexico City. He took their leader, Moctezuma, captive that led to a massive riot which ended with a lot of death. Although, the Florentine Codex covers the same event, it has a totally different tone and view of things. While both the letter from Cortes and the Florentine codex discuss the same incident, no one see’s everything

    Read More

  • Bernal Díaz del Castillo, The True History of the Conquest of New Spain

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    The passage from Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s The True History of the Conquest of New Spain is a clear example of a narrative source. Díaz is presenting his personal account of Hernan Cortes’s expedition into Tenochtitlan. An interesting aspect of this narrative is that it was written almost 50 years after the events described occurred . Bernal Díaz del Castillo was only 24 years old when on November 8, 1519 he and the rest of Hernán Cortés’s expedition first entered the city of Tenochtitlán . He did not finish his account, titled The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, which many suspect was intended as a slight to Francisco López de Gómara’s accounts of the expeditions , until 1567 . This was not his first travel to the New World, in fact, it was his fourth . Díaz del Castillo was 19 years old the first time he traveled to the Americas, this time was to Panama . Díaz later became a governor in Guatemala, mostly as a reward for his actions as a conquistador . The event that is commonly seen as spurring the not-well-educated Bernal Díaz del Castillo to write of his experiences with Cortés was the publication of Francisco López de Gómara’s Coleccion de historiadores primitivos de las Indias Occidentales, which Díaz saw as seriously flawed and underappreciating the work of the conquistadors . The book this passage comes from languished on shelves until it was published in 1632, posthumously .

    Read More

  • Hernan Cortes - Reasons for Success

    1842 Words  | 4 Pages

    Why was Cortes with 508 soldiers able to conquer the Aztec Empire with millions of people?

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Columbus And Cortes

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    On October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on unknown territory, however, in his perspective of Earth he thought he made a new route to Asia. He travels throughout the lands, soon, he discovers new forms of inhabitant plants, as well as, indigenous people that were native to those lands. Years later he soon unravels that it was all unaccustomed terrain. The monarchy of Spain also discovers Columbus’s new discoveries, then, they send more explorers to conquer the lands. In 1520, Hernan Cortes goes with the order from Spanish royalty to go to the newly discovered lands to conquer them, also, help expand the Spanish empire. Overall, Columbus and Cortes both reported the new lands they recently discovered back to Spain, however, their descriptions

    Read More

  • Bosnian Genocide Research Paper

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Genocide is the act of killing a lot of people, depending on their race, ethnicity, and religion. There are 8 stages of genocide, which include extermination and denial. The victims of the Bosnian genocide consists of elders, women, men, children, and even babies. The Bosnian genocide is a war between Bosnian Serbians and Bosnian Muslims to which the republic can control Bosnia. Many Serbains deny the fact that his genocide even happened, even though there is scientific proof that this genocide happened.

    Read More

  • The Role of Religion in "The Conquest of New Spain"

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the Spaniards arrived on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in 1519, they encountered the advanced society of the Aztecs. With Tenochititlan at its capital, the Aztec empire was vast. The Aztecs had substantial wealth from trading and extensive payments of tribute from conquered peoples. Bernal Diaz in his The Conquest of New Spain comments, "We were dazzled at the richness of the country that we passed through" (282). The Spaniards encountered a powerful, advanced people in the New World, making Cortes and his crew of approximately 600 seemingly ensured of defeat. The Aztec religion lends much to Spanish success in conquest.

    Read More

  • Differences Between The Holocaust And Native American Genocide

    1334 Words  | 3 Pages

    The word “genocide” is a general term. It is vague and could be used to group together and refer to a number of very unique events in history. Defined as the systematic murder of a specific group of people, genocides have occurred since ancient times. America’s most famous genocide, and the longest genocide in history, was the Native American Genocide. Considered to have begun the day the Mayflower hit the shore of Massachusetts, and ended in 1924 when the Indian Citizenship Act was past, the Native American Genocide lasted for over four centuries. In the 15th century, over 10 million Native Americans lived on the land that is part of the modern day United States. By 1900, that number was a mere 300,000. Most Americans, however, hardly know

    Read More

  • Hernan Cortes and the Spanish Colonization of Mexico

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    This historical study will define the important role of Hernan Cortes in the colonization of Mexico in the age of the Spanish conquistador. Cortes was an important figure in Mexican history because of his discovery of Mexico at the Yucatan peninsula in 1519. During this time, Cortes became a historical figure that represented the “conquistador” system of conquest throughout the Mayan and Aztec Empires during the early part of the 15th century. The fall of these indigenous civilizations marked the beginning of Spanish colonization of Central America. Cortes was a significant figure because of the primarily military style of coercion and conquest that sought to annihilate the indigenous peoples of Mexico, and to claim Spanish territory. These conquests contributed significantly to the blend of indigenous and Spanish traditions of Mexico’s national history. Cortes represents the first phase of colonization for the Spanish empire in terms of the violent and aggressive nature of the Spanish Conquistador in the discovery of Mexico. The image of the Spanish conquistador as an often violent and ruthless colonizer is defined the invasion and destruction of the Aztec empire in Mexican history. In essence, a

    Read More

  • Bosnia-Herzegovina genocide

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    Genocide, the systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group. From 1992-1995 that was happening in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, conflict between the three main ethnic groups, the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims, resulted in genocide committed by the Serbs against the Muslims in Bosnia.

    Read More

  • Indian Removal Act Vs Holocaust

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the end, genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. During the Indian Removal Act thousands of Native Americans were forced out of their home because they weren’t American and most died from diseases. Millions of people were killed during the Jewish Holocaust because they were Jews. Both of these events are alike and different in many ways. These incidents are considered genocide because people were killed because of their race or

    Read More

  • Meso America

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hernan Cortes along with the Spanish army of five hundred, and thousands of Indian warriors declared war with the Aztecs. Moctezuma believed that the person coming towards his land was Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl who was forced into exile, but promised to return. Topiltzin was born in the year ce acatl, departed during ce acatl. Coincedently Cortes came in the year of ce acatl, unfortunately for Moctezuma having his guards down and his arms open during the start of the war.

    Read More

  • Hernan Cortes Case

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    After evaluating the murder of Moctezuma II, the following conclusions are deducted. The jury ruled that Hernan Cortes was innocent in the charges of premeditated murder out of jealousy of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II. Hernan Cortes was innocent because there was the lack of murder. Without hard evidence connecting him and the Spanish army to the murder. Without the presentation of hard evidence and the extreme ambiguity as to what happened on the day of death of Moctezuma II and the Aztec rebellion it is unfair to consider Hernan Cortes guilty. The prosecutor in his opening statement asserted that it was Hernan Cortes greed for power that resulted to the tragic death of Moctezuma II. The prosecutor referred the power as Moctezuma

    Read More

  • Conquistador And The Fall Of The Aztecs Summary

    277 Words  | 1 Pages

    Eventually, Cortes found himself in Mexico, where he encounters the Aztec Empire. His first encounter with Aztecs was all based on a lie in which the Aztecs believed he was an ambassador

    Read More

  • Hernando Cortes: Conquered The Aztecs Empire In Mexico

    175 Words  | 1 Pages

    Cortes ignored orders and traveled to Mexico with about 500 men and 11 ships in 1519 having his sights on overthrowing ruler Montezuma II in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs thought and drove the Spanish away but then in 1521 Cortes conquered the city and killed many natives.

    Read More

  • The Conquest of Tenochtitlan: A Tale of Power and Alliances

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1519, Hernan Cortes, a conquistador and the Chief Magistrate of Santiago, Cuba, a land already settled by the Spanish, landed on the coast of Mexico with 450 soldiers to lead an expedition in hopes of riches. There were previous reports of a great empire and gold in the area. On his way to the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan, Cortes fought and defeated other Mexican tribes, who then became the Spaniards’ allies. Many of the tribes that Cortes came in contact with were ruled by the Aztecs and resented the power they had over them. Those tribes saw working with the Spanish as an opportunity to defeat the Aztecs and to gain power for themselves.

    Read More

More about Hernan Cortes Trial

Open Document