The Discovery and conquest of the Americas - Essay Example

?The Discovery and Conquest of the Americas. This essay will consider three primary sources concerned with Herman Cortes’ and the Conquistador’s conquest of parts of the Americas. The first source to be considered consists of letters at the time written by Cortes back to his sponsors, the royal family of Spain. The second source is from another Spanish eye witness, Bernal Diaz, but his words are written some years after the events described. He was someone who had accompanied Cortes, and who is seeking to answer some points raised by other writers on the topic, aiming to give an honest account. Finally Leon-Portillo’s account is written from the opposite point of view, that of the conquered Aztecs, using old documents from these people, giving their rather different point of view and record of events. Thesis The same historical events can be interpreted from many points of view. Justification , What is written, including the style of the text, may depend upon the position of the writer; his expected audience; the effect they are trying to achieve; and the effects the events have upon them, as well as the time which has elapsed since the events took place and the context politically and religiously. Any, or all, of these factors has a definite effect upon what is written. Texts must therefore be considered by readers taking into account these factors. Comparison between the texts. Diaz’s account is written very much in hindsight, at the end of his life. As well as describing what happened , it can also be taken as a biography of Herman Cortes, the leader of the Conquistadors, appointed by the Emperor and Queen of Spain, to conquer new lands, bring back riches, but also to introduce the Christian religion to new peoples. Diaz admired Cortes, but also felt free to state his faults , Cortez having died in 1546, whereas Diaz lived until 1585. He describes his book as being a true account. He would have been aware of other accounts already written and wants to set matters straight. Naturally the conquered people had a rather different point of view, one which Leon-Portillo claims is usually ignored. For this reason he includes accounts from the Aztecs, some written only seven years after the arrival of the Spaniards, and in their own languages. He includes descriptions of terrible slaughter, presumably carried out in the names of the Spanish rulers and for the sake of the Christian religion. This wasn’t war – those celebrating a fiesta were killed from behind for instance ( Leon-Potillo, 1971, page II-321). Cortes’ letters are written to inform the queen of Spain Dona Juana, and her son, the Emperor Charles V, what was going on. They are therefore written in quite formal language, flattering the royals, more so than the other texts considered ( Cortes, 1519, the first letter , page 3), but also from the point of view that the doesn’t know exactly what they already know from other sources. He states his aim as letting them know about the new discoveries, the land, the people, the religious life and local customs. To this he adds the important rider that he also wants to explain how the royals and Spain might benefit from what has been discovered ( Cortes, 1519, pages 3 and 4). His descriptions are rather mixed in that he states that the Spaniards were well received, and then , in the same paragraph, describes how the natives had killed many Spaniards. Also in the letter he informs his sponsors of the actions of others , as of Velazquez, who , in some cases , was acting without permission, so he is covering himself. The letters were written over a period of several years, and so each one covers a considerable period of time, looking back in some instances over two years, but they are the nearest we are likely to find in that time to topical news reporting, even if biased in its outlook. Also included by Cortes are descriptions of how natives were required to accept the Catholic religion. He justifies his actions by saying that the natives were to be seen as were the people of Jericho in the book of Joshua .( Pagden, 1971, page 494) and that therefore there was no sin involved in killing them, because the land had been given to Spain by the pope in 1493. In Leon-Portilla’s book we see clearly that these were not wild savages, but a civilized people with a long history and culture, at least as old as the Roman church, although there was of course the matter of human sacrifice. There is a description of the grandeur of the Aztec capital ( Leon-Portilla, 2010, page II-322). It had both botanical and zoological gardens, something the Spaniards had never seen in their homeland. The capital’s inhabitants had a sophisticated language and a sense of time and history. There was even compulsory education, at least for boys ( Leon-Portillo, 2010, page II-328). Leon-Portillo describes how the Aztecs had actually only arrived relatively recently in the area of the valley of Mexico, where the Spaniards met them, yet they were very well established He describes them though as especially good as both soldiers and as administrators , and with a great and determined will. Because of ancient legends when the two sides met the Aztecs viewed the invaders as gods returning home, hence the initial welcome they gave to the Conquistadors. The Spaniards were more concerned with what they could gain from the encounter, both in terms of riches which they saw all around them, but also as potentially adding to the numbers of Christians. The Aztecs proudly showed off their temple , the center of their culture, but the Spaniards saw this as ‘The huge and cursed temple’ ( Leon-Portilla, 2010, page II-325) so we see very different points of view and motivations. Cortes was of course the appointed leader of the expedition, but Diaz, a young man at the time of the conquest, was an ordinary foot soldier, so from a different strata of Spanish society. He lays more stress therefore on the role of the ordinary people who served under Cortes. He describes the wealth discovered as being greater than any other such collection in the whole world. He cannot imagine anything richer ( Diaz, 2010, page 85. ). His simple faith comes across too, as when he says , “We all believed for certain that our Lord Jesus Christ held his divine hand over all our affairs.“ He does not seem afraid of criticizing his leader , telling how they had to explain to Cortes that he Aztec leader was perhaps not to be trusted ( Diaz, 2010, page 86). Later ( Diaz, 2010, page 101) , he describes Cortes as facetious and a little devious. He is obviously close at hand when Cortes speaks to the natives, so these conversations are as accurate as we might expect after the years which had passed before the book was written, time which gave him perhaps a sense of immunity from criticism. Diaz describes ( 2010, page 18), how the locals agreed to remove their idols, and instead turn to the cross. They were quick to agree, but in fact they delayed and delayed. Why should they change their ways after all. They must have realized by this time that these new comers were just ordinary men, why should their god be considered as being better than the gods of the Aztecs. Diaz ( 2010, page 20) describes how potential human sacrificial victims were released, but he is aware that promises made not to continue with this were probably worthless. He has great insight into what was going on unsaid. He is pragmatic , and sees punishing those who won’t obey as a good thing, as it would protect the invading army if people were scared of disobeying them ( Diaz, 2010, page 21) and it would also show them that their idols were powerless to save them. He is also concerned to show how the conquest was a collaborative matter, not just down to Cortes, but ‘Cortes and all of us’ ( Cited by Lockhart, Preface, 1844). His translator, Lockhart , describes him as “a soldier who, for impartiality and veracity, perhaps never had his equal.” ( Lockhart, , Preface, 1844). Yet each of these writers would have seen their own account as being a valid one. Conclusion It is very clear that these documents in the main record the same events. However the reasons why people act as they do are somewhat different in each text, especially when one considers Leon-Portillo, writing from the Aztec point of view, as compared to the other two writers who were writing from the point of view of themselves as the conquering Spanish.. References Cortes, Herman., Letters from Mexico, translated A. Pagden, Yale University Press, 1971, accessed 9th October 2013, http://www.amazon.com/Letters-from-Mexico/dp/B001OC7C68#reader_0300090943 Diaz del Castillo, Bernal., The True History of the Conquest of New Spain , Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010 , accessed 9th October 2013, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GUIICymcrDYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Leon-Portilla, Miguel., The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, pages vii – xxxi and pages 56-69, Boston, Beacon Press, 1962, updated 1992, accessed 9th October 2013 , http://emsc33.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/ghgonline/units/4/documents/LeonPortilla.pdf Lockhart, J., translator, The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz Del Castillo, 1844, London ,J. Hatchard , 1844, Project Gutenberg, 2010, accessed 9th October 2013. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32474/32474-h/32474-h.htm Read More