The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz Del Castillo - Book Report/Review Example

Latin America Cultural and religious traditions formed a very fundamental aspect of the native Indians in the centuries before they were conquered by the Spanish in the larger parts of Latin America. The effect of the conquest is that the lives of the natives were totally altered. The conquest devastated the natives in a greater way, and nothing would remain the same again, not even their cultural or religious traditions, which held an esteemed place in their lives (Terraciano, 125). The European conquerors did not consider the cultural and religious traditions of the natives to be any meaningful. In fact, they just wondered how people who neither knew God nor any civilization were able to live such a harmonious life (American People, 20). Nevertheless, individuals can approach cultural, political and religious traditions in very different ways, particularly during the Spanish reign in the sixteenth century. In the case of the encounters, conquest and then canalization in the new world, Bartolome de las Casas and Bernal Diaz del Castillo's belief systems differed in the treatment of Indigenous people in The Americas. Additionally, ‘Even in the Rain’, embodies these three approaches, comparing issues natives have faced and are currently facing in the New World. Bartolome de las Casas stood for the better treatment of the Native Americans, and he went into great lengths to advocate for the termination of the enslavement of the natives (Casas, 7). He did not just advocate for it, but he demonstrated it himself through returning the Indian serfs that he had been awarded by the governor together with a land granted to him. Bernal Diaz del Castillo's belief systems was however very different, because he believed that it is the Spaniard soldiers who suffered during the conquest of the Aztec, as opposed to the natives (Diaz del Castillo, 303). Castillo did not value the natives very much, since he even considered them cannibals and idolaters, despite the fact that he admired the artistic and intelligence nature of the Aztec’s, who had managed to build beautiful towns and sustain a harmonious socio-political system. While Bartolome de las Casas believes that the Spaniard conquest of the Aztec and the greater Mexico was both intrusive and disruptive of the native’s lives, Castillo does not seem to share the same sentiments. Castillo’s belief system is also rampant in the new world, where the natives have not been valued fully. In the new world, the natives are treated just the same as they were treated during the European conquest, as manifested under the film ‘Even in the Rain’. In the film, Hatuey (Daniel) is presented as the hero fighting for the proper treatment of the natives. Though just a young man, he had been engaged in protests to defend against the privatization of a water supply in Bolivia, which would see the natives suffer the burden of a 30% increase in their water bills (Movielistmania, n.p.). Even though the film makers who went to make a film regarding the maltreatment of the native Indians during the European conquest could still witness the manner in which the natives were currently being oppressed, they also took part in oppressing them, through paying very little. Costa, the film director, is heard telling his producer that the natives participating in the film as extras are happy to be paid two dollars a day (Movielistmania, n.p.). The undervaluing of the worth of the native extras in the shooting of the film, coupled with the disruption of the lifeline through the privatization of the water supply in their region represents the same exploitation their ancestors faced in the hands of the European conquerors. The natives had a firm economic and social lifeline, where agriculture, hunting and fishing formed their basic source of livelihoods, while their artistic prowess served for the beatification of their towns through a high skill arts production (American People, 32). However, the natives and the Africans were highly exploited by the Europeans after the conquest of the Americas, with the natives and the Africans being used for hard labor such as the production of raw materials for shipping across the Atlantic, in exchange for finished goods from Europe (Terraciano, 126). The natives who were living in the valley of Mexico had build a culture of their own that united and strengthened the union of three different partners, which came to be known as the Aztec. Texcoco, Tepaneca and Tlacopan were three towns in the valley of Mexico where the natives lived in union and prosperity, until the period 1629-21, when the Spaniards disrupted the harmonious living of these people, having realized how they had lived successfully and also managed to build beautiful towns (American People, 21). The common denominator in the way the Spaniards disrupted the way of life of the natives is they disregarded of the cultures and religions of the natives. Nevertheless, the natives were highly disrupted in their cultural and religious traditions, as well as in their political systems after the arrival of the Spaniards. The political reorganizations done by the Europeans saw the natives and most especially the sedentary people endure great suffering, most especially related to the loss of high population during the conquest (Terraciano, 127). The natives were forced into the civilization of the Europeans, through their introduction into new modes of dressing, religion and cultural practices. The elite natives were favored and allowed to acquire property through the Spanish courts, to get richer than their illiterate counterparts. It is this disruption that Bartolome de las Casas opposed. He held that it was not right to disrupt and completely overhaul the cultural traditions and political organization of the natives through enslavement, to force them into the European civilization (Casas, 12). However, Castillo’s belief is on the contrary, by holding that it is through the political and cultural disruption of the natives that civilization was brought into the New Spain. Works Cited American People, 21-39. Print. Casas, Bartolomé. The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. 7-12. Print. Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz Del Castillo, Vol. 2. London: J Hartchard & Sons. Print. Movielistmania. “También la lluvia (Even the Rain) Movie Review: Self Importance Masquerading as Greatness,” January, 2011. Available at: http://movielistmania.blogspot.com/2011/01/tambien-la-lluvia-even-rain-movie.html Terraciano, Kevin. Chapter 8 “Indigenous people in colonial American society”, 125-145. Print. Read More