Who were more Savage and who were more Civil between the Spanish Conquistadors and the Aztecs?

747 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The impact of the Spanish on the Aztecs

There is a question that has been on many, many minds for years. This question is "Who was more savage and who was more civil between the Spanish Conquistadors and the Aztecs?" This question was created in the Age of Exploration when the Spanish and the Aztecs met and clashed, with the Spanish ultimately winning the war. There are an innumerable amount of reasons for why either of them could be more civil or savage. For me, this decision is extremely hard because I found myself going back and forth. After lots of thought and research, I've made my decision and I believe that the Spanish are more savage and the Aztecs are more civil.

"How did the Spanish and the Aztecs get involved with each other?" You may ask. It all started with the Spanish conquest against the Aztec Empire in 1518. Hernan Cortes, a Spanish explorer, and 600 of his soldiers set sail for Mexico, where he hoped to find great riches and land he could claim for Spain. They invaded Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire and were surprisingly, warmly and graciously welcomed with open arms by the Aztecs and their leader, Montezuma II. The Spanish were treated like royalty because the Aztecs believed they were gods. The Aztecs were completely unaware that the Spanish were there to steal riches because the Aztec Empire was at the peak of its rich and glorious culture. They has the 3 G's, also known as God, gold, and glory. The Spanish took all the treasure they could find. They also planned on destroying the Aztec Temples and turning the Indians who worked for the Aztecs into Roman Catholics like themselves. After courteous initial meetings between the Aztecs and the Spanish, the new relationship deteriorated rapidly. Cortes took Montezuma prisoner in his own c...

... middle of paper ...

...heir gods. Not only did they build great temples, but they also built dikes for flood control and to separate the fresh water from the saline water which helped provide fresh water for their citizens. Overall, the Aztecs were very hard-working, dedicated, and committed people.
This argument has been revisited intermittently even in a British museum in London in 2009. They had an exhibit showing the war between the Spanish and the Aztecs. The evidence for either of them being more civil or more savage is overwhelming. This decision is honestly, possibly one of the hardest I’ve ever made in my life due to all the information. In ways, both were savage, both were civilized, and both were ruthless. With all the research I’ve done and all the information that has been provided to me, I can finally conclude that the Spanish were more savage and the Aztecs were more civil.

Show More
Related

  • Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla

    1495 Words  | 3 Pages

    The religion and culture of the Aztecs played a role in the way the way they thought and fought. They worshiped the war-god Huitzilopochtli. He was identified with the sun and was called "the Giver of life" and "the Preserver of Life" (xxxix). The religion carried some ridiculous rituals such as human sacrifice along with using magicians and wizards to cast spells. In war conditions, human sacrifice played a big role because the Aztecs would not fight to kill,...

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of The Aztecs

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    There were millions of Aztecs and only a few hundred Spaniards. How was it then that the Spaniards, even with their steel and guns, could overrun them? The answer lies in a number the Spanish had even more of: microbes, which no one counted on. Yes, the encounters destroyed the Indians’ homes and made them slaves, but they also brought in disease and unknown illnesses to the New World. Millions had died, and generations disappeared. 50 years after the Spanish conquest 88% of the Mexican population was destroyed and only up to 200 thousand natives survived the ordeal. Also, the second in the list of causes of death had become the commonplace brutal treatment and poor conditions during slavery, and the third was by war

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Aztecs

    391 Words  | 1 Pages

    The history of the Canadians and the Aztecs are really indistinguishable. Both of them were the original inhabitants of their own land. To see the comparison between the Aztecs and Canada’s indigenous people let’s track back in Canadian history. This will also make it a bit easier to see which inhabitants struggled the most. Finally, we will also be able to compare and contrast between the two indigenous people.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Aztec And Spanish Empires

    432 Words  | 1 Pages

    Spain, as one of the most powerful nations in the old world, had a great influence on many events in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Spanish also had an influence on many other empires/nations' fate. One of the empires that suffered a grave fate at the hands of the Spanish was the Aztec empire. The Aztec empire was not the oldest Mesoamerican empire and it was formed from an agreement between three city-states. The Aztec's class system had the emperor on top, then the priests, and everyone else below them. The priests were responsible for keeping the gods happy. The sacrifice of goods and people was a commonplace in the Aztec culture, and it was often the goods/people of other nations that were taken for sacrifices. As one can imagine,

    Read More

  • Dbq Essay On The Aztecs

    1731 Words  | 4 Pages

    They had at least 128 gods, including but not limited to the divine beings of “rain, fire, water, corn, the sky, and the sun.” They were honored in numerous ways: ceremonies and festivals, dances and feasts, and by having humans sacrificed to them. (Background Essay) Read those last few words again. As said in the popular children’s show Sesame Street, “one of these things is not like the other”. The integration of human sacrifice into Aztec culture was not nearly as subtle as written above, though: The most important Aztec deity in their whole religion, Huitzilopochtli, was the sun god. According to Aztec creation myths, Huitzilopochtli required a great deal of power to raise the sun every morning and keep the night from overpowering day for too long. This strength was drawn from regular consumption of human blood and hearts. This in turn caused the Aztecs to strongly believe in needing to give these things to him. According to the Aztecs, sacrificing people to Huitzilopochtli was the ideal way to provide him with these

    Read More

  • Victors and Vanquished

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparison of The Aztecs and The Incas

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Aztec’s and Incas seemed like a very well devoted tribe to one another. Even though they only lived a few thousand miles away from each other and didn’t know about each other they were well known. The artifacts left behind shows that they were very advanced, and the food they ate they knew how to take care of their bodies. The Aztec and Inca’s also knew how to prepare for war also. These two tribes are some of the best warriors known to man.

    Read More

  • Contrasting the Cherokees and the Aztecs

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Cherokees and the Aztecs were very different people in many ways not only in location but also in ways of living. The Cherokees were southwestern woodland farmers. The Aztecs were also farmers in mesoamerica like the Mayans.

    Read More

  • The History and Culture of the Aztec Empire

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Aztec Empire was the most powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time. They dominated the valley of Mexico in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Aztecs were an advanced and successful civilization that built beautiful, sophisticated cities, temples, and pyramids. They also created a culture full of creativity with mythological and religious traditions. Aztecs lead a structured and evocative life that let their society to become a very superior civilization. The Aztec’s communication skills were very well developed for their time; through religious beliefs, government involvement, and family life they lived a full and productive life. Until in 1519 when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico, and defeated the Aztecs.

    Read More

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

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Spanish defeat of the Aztecs has been extensively criticized for many years. Religion was a motive for discovery, enabled the Spanish to enter the heart of the empire, and was used as justification for torture of the natives. The centrality of religion as a force in Spanish conquest is undeniable. Virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed and the Spanish victory has had lasting effects for both natives and Europeans up to and including the present-day.

    Read More

  • Native Americans - Aztecs and Indians

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Spaniards didn’t destroy the Aztec civilization all by their self another factor which helped the Spanish were the disease that they brought over to the Americas from Europe and Africa. The introduction of diseases like syphilis, measles, smallpox, malaria, mumps and yellow fever are just some sickness that plagued the Budhu 2 Aztecs. Also the introduction of different species of animals and plants caused a ecological imbalance (Plagues and Peoples 176-199). All these are some reasons to why the Aztec civilization was destroyed. With the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico rumors started to reach

    Read More

  • Maya And Aztecs Compare And Contrast Essay

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    They were militaristic people, always ready to wage war on neighboring regions to earn and demand respect. The emperor, being a powerful king, was the one who would declare war. When Aztecs went to war it was to capture prisoners and pay tribute to their gods. Many young Aztec boys believed becoming a warrior was a glorified position and would enlist with great pride. Aztec warriors lived by the sword, and died for it. Capturing a prisoner was part of the initiation of becoming a warrior. The more prisoners the warriors caught, the more they were rewarded with land, and social rank. Similarly, Maya warriors could also move upward in rank and class through service in the military. The difference between the Aztec and the Maya military was that the Aztec military was led by their powerful emperor, whereas each Maya city-state had their own military which was led by a military leader, the halach uinic. The military leader not only controlled the city-states government but also had religious control over them. Maya city-states would fight one other for destruction of rival states, for dominance and to capture prisoners for sacrificing. The capturing of high-ranking officials were considered a priority and sacrificed immediately as supreme offerings to the gods, whereas commoners were forced into slavery, publicly humiliated, and weren 't sacrificed until one was needed. The Aztecs and the Mayas both

    Read More

  • Aztecs

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to their own history, the Aztecs, who called themselves the Tenochca or Mexica, started as a small nomadic tribe originating from a place called Aztlan. Aztlan existed somewhere in the southern part of California or the north west of Mexico. At this time they were Nahuatl speaking. During the twelfth century they started a period of wandering and in the thirteenth century they came across Mexico's central valley. There they decided to settle.

    Read More

  • The Aztec Human Sacrifices

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    .... Even though human sacrifices were a common occurrence at the time, the Aztecs ritual and persistence to please the god made the civilization to be known as Central America’s bloodiest civilization in the fourteenth century.

    Read More

  • Mesoamerican Empires

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Olmecs are the earliest known Mesoamerican civilization. Around 1200 B.C. the Olmecs originated as a primitive people living and farming on the shores of Mexico (Stanton 91). Soon, however, they began to build cities such as San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Monte Alban. These “cities” were religious centers where people gathered to worship, and were not populated (Stanton 91). The first of these centers, San Lorenzo, was built c. 1150 B.C., on a flat topped, man-made mountain. It was mysteriously abandoned 200 years later (Stanton 92-93). La Venta, built between 1000 and 600 B.C., sat on an island in a swamp (Stanton 93). Later, around 500 B.C., Monte Alban, which was used as a religious center even after the Olmecs faded, was built on an immense mountain (Stanton 93). The cities were made up of temples and plazas, and decorated by monumental stone heads, which weighed up to 50 tons (Stanton 93)! These heads probably represented their early kings and had distinct helmets (Kingfisher 32). It is incredible how the Olmec people transported the stone from the distant mountains to La Venta, near the shore, without the aid of work animals or carts. It appears that the Olmecs did this grueling work for their gods willingly, as there is no evidence of forced labor (Stanton 93). The Olmecs probably worshipped the jaguar, as it appears so often in their artwork. There are also many e...

    Read More

More about Who were more Savage and who were more Civil between the Spanish Conquistadors and the Aztecs?

Open Document