MB+-APPARTS+Method+Responses

Hernán Cortés Conquers Mexico:

A) Hernán Cortés

P/T) October 30th, 1520. To the King of Spain in Madrid.

P/K) Protestant Reformation, as well as strengtheming of Catholocism. Europeans' Manifest Destiny, Spain's recent unification, Colombus's success in Indies, Spain's advantage in firepower and general technology, The Aztecs' dominance in Mexico, as well as population, The Aztecs' great mining skills, Spain's need for greater wealth and power, Mexico's abundance of gold, Aztecs extremely advanced and intellegent, Cortés was seen as a god by the Aztecs.

A) King of Spain

R) The letter was written to the King of Spain as an account of his arrival at the Aztec capitol. Cortés tries to describe the savage nature of the Aztecs, but also says that they are a very hospitable nation to Europeans. APart from describing the grandeur of the city, Cortés focuses onhis efforts to bring Catholocism to the New World. It's abvious that the King would love to hear that his //conquistadors// tore down the Aztecs' false idols and erected statues of saints in their temples.

T) Cortés is trying to make the King of Spain realize the wealth and prosperity of the Aztec capitol, as well as their culture is general. I don't think it was his intention to portray the Aztecs as stupid or unintelligent people, but he definately dissaproved of their religion. The //conquistador// is kissing ass a little bit by accounting of the destruction of Aztec idols and spread of Catholocism in the King's name. It seems obvious that on of Cortés's motives for writing was the continued financial support from the Royal Crown. In order to get the King to invest even more in the exploration of Mexico, Cortés needed to make it seem like a wise way to spend millions of dollars.

S) This source is very significant -albeit very biased- becuase it describes in detail the relationship between Cortés and the ruler Muteczuma, as well as the physical description of the Aztec capitol. It is important to note that at first, the Aztec "King" basically worshipped Cortés, and gave him total control over Mexico. The Aztec chiefs actually helped the Spaniards tear their temples down, effectivly disowning their own culture. Whatever the Spaniards wanted, they got, and whatever they ordered was done without question. Additionally, the sophistication of the Aztecs was touched upon in this letter, which is important to note. The Aztecs were in no way in need of a change of lifestyle; they had prospered for thousands of years, and controlled a huge amount of territory at the time of Cortés's arrival. They were brilliant architects and miners, and their capitol was bigger and more elaborate than any city in Europe. Left to their own devices, they might be the dominant culture today in North America.

2: Aztec Chroniclers Describe Spanish Conquest-

A) an Aztec witness of Bernardine de Sahagun

P) Tenochtitlan, 1519

P) Religious ceremonies of the Aztecs, the pride and strength of their warriors, reverence of Spanish as gods, the hospitality shown to the Spainiards, the Spanish pride in Catholocism, greed of Spanish, spiritual manifest destiny.

A) Historians, perhaps learned people of Spain and Mexico

R) This source was made because Sahagun neeeded first hand accounts of the first meeting between the Spanish and Aztecs. Sahagun himself was not present during this time, so he had an Aztec tell him how the Spaniards and Aztecs reacted to each other.

T) The main points of this source are 1) the hospitality of the Aztecs coupled with the Spaniards' greed, and 2) The Spaniards' intoleration of Aztec religion and traditions. This Aztec goes into a ton of detail concering the massacre of Mexico's best warriors during a time of festivities and joy. The Spaniards' own pride in Christianity drove them to brutally murder every Aztec due to their "savage" traditions.

S) This account of the Europeans' first encounter with the Aztecs differes greatly from the Spanish account. This source depicts (probably more truthfully) the inhuman treatment of Aztecs by the Spanish, and abuse of Mexico's hospitality. The Aztecs themselves lost respect fortheir leader Motecuhzoma because he bowed to the mysterious white men who demanded too much. This source exposes the Spanish account as biased and basically propaganda.

The accounts of the first encounter between the Aztecs and Spanish differ greatly depending on who is telling the story. From a Spanish point of view, the Mexicans were very peaceful and hospitable, but were just savages who committed the blasphemies of worshipping false idols and human sacrafices. According to the Spanish, the Aztecs dismanteled their religion voluntarily, and enjoyed being ordered around by the //conquistadors//. From a more realistic Aztec point of view, however, it is apparent that the Spanish treated the Aztecs like total crap. Motecuhzoma himself was guarded like a prisoner in his own city. While most of the Aztecs were offended by the Spaniard's views on religion, but Motecuhzoma sided with the explorers. Most importantly, the second source depicts the massacre of innocent Aztecs at the hands of bloodthirsty Spaniards. The Mexicans' "evil" religion pissed the Spainiards off so much that they killed each and every participant in the fiesta of Huitzilopochtli, which was never accounted for by the Spanish.