What Were The Beliefs Of Native Americans In 1519

In 1519 in ancient Mexico, several Native American tribes lived among their friends and family. They all lived under the direction of their chief, and had never encountered the presence of other ethnic groups beyond Native Americans. Indian beliefs were based off of spiritual guidance from mother earth and their elders. They loved and respected the land and their people. Indians appreciated all the land, animals and people they came into contact with for they believed in treating all people equal. The Aztec chief was told by a “macebual (common man) that towers or small mountains floating on the waves of the sea” ( Miguel Leon-Portilla, 13). These floating things also had people on them that were foreign to the Indians. The Gods they had
been waiting on had finally returned to their sacred land.

Motecuhzoma the chief of the Aztec Indians sent messengers with gifts to the Gulf coast in order to find out who these foreigners were, and to welcome them to their land. They thought they were the Gods; they had long anticipated their arrival. The Aztec traveled on boat to these massive ships, as they tried to conversed with the white men, they could not understand them. The language they spoke was not the same as theirs. They dressed, talked, and looked so different from their people. These strange men were aggressive and wanted to fight the Indians to see who was more powerful. The Aztecs came in peace and were confused by their actions. They wanted to peacefully give them the gifts of gold and emeralds that the chief had sent and be on their way. They were so frightened by the action of the white men that they left the ship and travelled back to their land as fast as they could.

The white men were the Spanish conquistadors lead by Don Hernando Cortes.
He and his men docked the ship and marched on the land towards the Indian tribes. Cortes was on a mission to find gold and let nothing get in his way. He and his men came to battle with guns, swords, cannons, horses and metal armour. This was a very different approach from which the Indians were used to fighting. The Indians did not have animals to ride on, nor did they have metal to make these types of weapons. They wore very little clothes made out of animal skin and their weapons were javelins and bow and arrows. The spaniards came in contact with the Tlaxcala tribe after destroying a few small Indian tribes along the way. The Spaniards inquired about the Cholula and the Aztec Indians and the Tlaxcala did not like the Cholula. Therefore, these two groups decided to become allies and go after Cholula and the Aztec tribes together. They marched forward towards the City of Mexico and fought and destroyed several Indian tribes.
They met up with the Tezcoco tribe and learned from them that they did not like the Aztec Indians either so they formed an alliance with them as well and they all three marched towards Mexico to take over the Aztec Indians. Motecuhzoma the chief of the Aztec Indians heard that the Gods were coming with other tribes to their land and he was afraid, he wanted to run and hide. Instead he sat and waited with great fear and anticipation on their
arrival.
Cortes and his allie Indian friends arrived in Mexico City. The Aztec welcomed them with gifts and fine jewels. After days of getting along and being cordial the spaniards decided that it was time to try and take over the city. They tied up the chief Motecuhzoma and then during their fiesta they brutally attacked the Indians, stabbing them in their gut, beheading them, and cutting off their limbs. The Indians were helpless because they did not have their weapons. The war between the two had begun. The Indians eventually surrendered to the the Spaniards in 1521. The end of the story is so clear and defined, the Aztec Indians succumb to Cortes and his men and they are destroyed by the Spanish-Indian duo. Motecuhzoma and his men were over-taken by this powerful group of men and had no choice but to surrender. This may be the impression that you have right now, this is how I perceived the story when I first came into class and learned about the war between the Aztec Indian and the Spaniards. I thought that the Indians were helpless and weak and did not put up a fight. I have read the story from from the Indians perspective and now realize that the Indians fought very hard and very long to try and protect their land.
The Indians fought so hard the first encounter that they had with Cortes and his men that the Spaniards fled their land and went to rest in the mountains. They returned and “the spaniards tried a second advance but our warriors attacked them from their boats, loosing such a storm of arrows that the spaniards were forced to retreat again” Miguel Leon-Portilla, 94). The Indians were able to retrieve some of the Spaniards cannons and guns. The Aztec tribe had dominated several other Indian tribes in previous battles and had the capability and man power to defeat the Spaniards if they possessed the same amount of weapons as the Spaniards.
As the story is told by the winning side, they only tell their side of the story and the details of how they conquered the Aztec Indians. The story of the Indians is very enlightening and heart felt because they fought until they had no more energy to give. Every man and women went into an unfair battle and gave their heart until they bled.