-People excluded the roles of native allies and the African Americans in the recording of the conquest…
Conquest of New Spain When trying to recall a historical event, we try to find the most accurate and most reliable source that is available. It is important to make sure that the source is accurate because if it is not, the information that we share could be false. When recalling the events that happened when the Spanish and the Aztecs had an encounter, we look at many different sources such as excerpts, background information, and even the actual translated version of the book that Bernal Díaz del Castillo wrote himself. After reading all of these sources, I found that the book written by Bernal Díaz del Castillo titled “The True History of the Conquest of New Spain” is more reliable because it provides a good amount of information that comes…
Cabeza, a veteran conquistador is part of a failed journey that was meant to find areas on the Gulf of Mexico to settle and to find mythical structures, these are the reason why he survived to tell the tale. Cabeza being a veteran conquistador has built a knowledge in survival. Cabeza also knows several languages, allowing him to communicate with ease. Cabeza also has knowledge in the medical field, making him a valuable asset. Overall, Cabeza was able to survive because he had survival skills, he knew several languages, and he had medical skills.…
The Moorish occupation and La Reconquista prepared Spain for its imperial role in America. The occupation turned Spain and city of Cordova into the Western world’s premier center for the study of science and philosophy. The fighting engendered a hardened warrior ethos in…
Christopher Columbus - 1492 Sails to the New World. Amerigo Vespucci - 1502 American continents named after him. Vasco de Balboa - 1513 Discovers the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean. Hernando Cortez - 1521 Defeats Aztec Empire.…
The most delicious drink was found by Christopher Columbus, but it became popular because of a Spanish Conquistador named, Hernandez Cortez. What is this drink, you ask? No, it is not coffee. It is hot chocolate. In this paper, I will tell you how hot chocolate came to be today and why you need to thank Hernandez Cortez. I will also tell you how it’s different from history.…
When discussing the importance of Spanish alliances, it is important to discuss Matthew Restall’s interpretation of “the myth of the white conquistador”. A common myth in regards to the Spanish Conquest is that the Aztecs were conquered by a small group of white Spanish men. Within Restall’s book titled “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest”, he debunks the myth of the white conquistadors. Restall’s argues that “there is no doubt that the Spanish were consistently outnumbered by native enemies on the battlefield. But what has so often been ignored or forgotten is the fact that Spaniards tended also to be outnumbered by their own native allies. Furthermore, the invisible warriors of this myth took an additional form, that of the Africans, free and enslave, who accompanied Spanish…
In the documentary film by John J. Valadez and Cristina Ibarra, “The Last Conquistador”, sculptor John Houser contemplates in creating the earth’s towering bronze horseman monument for the city of El Paso, Texas. Houser visualizes an astonishing sculpture in remembrance of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate that will merit the contribution Hispanic people made to creating the American West. However, during the progress, things go downhill. Furious Native Americans, protest for project to be stopped because of Oñates bloody history with Native American tribes.…
Mathew Restall’s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is a well-written book that serves an important purpose. That purpose being: the debunking of generally accepted falsehoods about the Spanish Conquest beginning in the 15th century. Restall’s book is separated into seven chapters that specifically address general myths most historians and students perceive as basic --- universal truths. Restall uses the term “myth” to describe the inaccurate/fictitious depiction of history “commonly taken to be true, partially or absolutely.” These “myths” are the progenitors of unintentionally self-centered perceptions of events historically recorded in subjectivity. The Self-absorption, relating to the…
_Myths of the Spanish Conquest_ is broken into seven chapters, each dedicated to a different myth or mis-conception regarding the Spanish conquest. In debunking these myths, Matthew Restall works with three themes regarding the conquest. First, that the European discovery of the Americas was one of the greatest events in human history. Second, that the conquest was the achievement of "a few great men," which he subsequently describes as "a handful of adventurers." These two themes lead to a third theme, or question. "If history's greatest event - the European discovery and conquest of the Americas - was achieved by a mere "handful of adventurers," how did they do it?"…
The first is more political and economical rather than cultural - money and power. Most of empires, states and civilizations have allways tried to invade others, or at least spread their influence to get economical and policital profit. With the western culture the best historical examples are probably conquest of The New World, Africa, Australia, and so on. They didn't go there mainly to dominate the native cultures, but to gain money from local resourses and political power.…
P = Purpose(s) of reading material – I believe the purpose of this reading material was to give us a better understanding of what life was like for the Native Americans before the conquistadors arrived. This is described in the later part of the first chapter in Restall & Fernandez-Armesto’s The Conquistadors: A Very Short Introduction. I think the authors would also like us to see that not everything in the conquistador’s letters was necessarily and completely true. They embellished facts to make themselves look good.…
In the movie The Last Conquistador, there is a controversy going on between John Houser, a sculpture who successfully attempted to create and mount the tallest bronze equestrian statue in the world, and people who funded the building of the statue and Native Americans living in Texas. The Native Americans don’t want the statue of a long-forgotten Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate, branded a terrorist and a genocidal architect by some, to be built. The Native Americans think that Juan de Oñate is anything to celebrate. He killed thousands of the Native Americans’ ancestors and took their lands. While the Native Americans have their points, Houser and his helpers are trying to help out the city of El Paso, Texas. El Paso Texas is one of the poorest cities in the United States. With Houser Building this statue, Revenue from tourists would help the city out. I honestly think that in this situation, everyone needs to understand where everyone else is coming from. The statue was not meant to be demeaning to the Native Americans in anyway and it is a beautiful piece of art that is very well sculpted. But then again, Houser should have done his research and understood how bad of a man Oñate was and realized that putting that statue up where eighty percent of the people living there are of Native American decent wasn’t a good idea. Even though the Oñate statue is beautiful, I believe it should have never gone up in the first place.…
• The Almoravids and Almohads of North Africa invaded Spain in the 11th century to enforce strict Muslim rule.…
In 1519 Hernán Cortés led a couple hundred other Spaniards inland to the impressive Empire of the Mexica ruled by the Great Montezuma. Many historians today tell how quickly and almost effortlessly these Spaniards conquered the Empire. They paint an image of ignorant, helpless Indians practically giving up their land out of fear of this group because certainly the Spaniards must be gods since they have powerful weapons and strange animals. We know neither Cortés nor any of his men were gods, of course, but what was it that allowed Cortés to prevail over the inhabitants of the land?…