Aztecs & Spaniards
Gloria Fiero, The Humanistic
Tradition, pp. 459-466
• Study of Mesoamerican societies is limited
by the lack of written sources.
• The earliest accounts of the Aztec and
Inca come from the Spanish conquerors
and missionaries and are distorted by their
prejudices.
• Nevertheless, those accounts plus oral
traditions and archaeological evidence
make it possible to describe those
societies in some detail. ‫دراسة المجتمعات أمريكا‬
.‫الوسطى محدودة بسبب عدم وجود مصادر مكتوبة‬
The Spanish in the Americas
• During Columbus’ voyages,
he encountered people native
to the area.
• He called them “Indians”
‘cause he mistakenly thought
he had reached the “Indies”
territories of China and India.
• Conquistadores: refer to Spanish
adventurers who sought wealth and
fortune in the New World. ‫خالل رحالت‬
• Spanish voyagers
were led by Hernan
Cortes (1485-1547)
• Small force; 600
soldiers, 20 horses,
gunpowder & muskets
• In 1521, Spanish +
Aztec forces fought.
After 75 days, the
Spanish completely
destroyed Tenochtitlan.
Hernan Cortes
Initial Encounters
• Cortes and his men began their mission in
1519.
• Cortes began wandering the area, and
met with representative of the Aztec ruler
Moctezuma.
• The Aztecs gathered information and
provided Cortes with gifts.
• Second group of Aztecs brought more gifts
and asked the Spaniards not attempt to
come to Tenochtitlan.
Initial Encounters
• Cortes began making alliance with
subjects unhappy about paying tribute to
Aztec empire.
• Cortes removed idols from temples and
replaced them with Catholic cross.
Spanish fight Tlaxcalla
• The Spaniards and their allies invaded the state of
Tlaxcala.
• The Tlaxcalans and Spaniards fought each other.
• Unable to defeat the Spaniards who had better
weapons, the Tlaxcalan agreed to ally with
Cortés.
Spanish fight Cholula
• Cortés and his Tlaxcallan allies moved on
to Cholula, a major city under Aztec
control.
• After being granted permission to enter the
city, they massacred 4,000–5,000 people,
including the king.
Attaching Tenochtitlan
• Spaniards blockaded the island and cut it off from supplies for 75
days. Many died.
• the lack of integration made it possible for Cortés to form alliances
with conquered nobles who saw these alliances as a way of
removing the Aztecs.
• Cortes entered Tenochtitlan and massacred 8,000-10,000 nobles.
• Aztecs rebelled and Spaniards fled to Tlaxcala were they remained
for five months.
•
.‫ مات الكثير‬.‫ يوما‬75 ‫االسبان حاصرت الجزيرة وبقطعها من إمدادات لمدة‬
‫عدم وجود تكامل جعلت من الممكن لكورتيس لتشكيل تحالفات مع غزا النبالء‬
.‫الذين رأوا هذه التحالفات كوسيلة إلزالة األزتيك‬
.‫ النبالء‬10،000-8،000 ‫دخلت كورتيس تينوختيتالن وذبح‬
.‫األزتيك تمرد وهرب االسبان لتالكسكاال كانوا ظلت لمدة خمسة أشهر‬
Reasons for the
Spanish Victory
Technology of Gunpowder
and muskets
Religious prophecy (that Quetzalcoatl
would return as a bearded white man)
Rebellious Aztec subjects support of
the Spaniards
Outbreak of smallpox among the
Aztecs
From Cortes Letters
from Mexico
Spanish destroyed Tenochtitlan, little
evidence left to assess.
Cortes wrote several letters to the Holy
Roman Emperor.
Exert of his second letter written in 1520.
Letter important ‘cause it provides
details of Aztecs cultural achievements
Provides details of the Europeans initial
reaction to encountering the Aztecs.
Discussion Question
• What aspects of Aztec life and culture
favorably impressed Cortes? Of what was
he critical?
See answer in detail in the
reading
• Cortes was impressed by the architecture,
buildings, markets, and city planning and
water canals.
• He was very critical of their religious
beliefs (believing in more than one god)
and religious practices (human sacrifice).
،‫ واألسواق‬،‫ والمباني‬،‫وقد أعجب كورتيس من العمارة‬
.‫وتخطيط المدن والقنوات المائية‬
The Aftermath of Conquest
• Gold and silver brought wealth to Spaniards
• Exploitation of the native population:
enslaved for use in miners and field laborers.
• European diseases such as smallpox and
inhuman treatment devastated the natives
1521: Mexica population 25 million
1600, Mexica population one millio ‫جلب الذهب‬
‫والفضة والثروة الالسبان‬
:‫استغالل السكان األصليين‬
Spanish Cruelties
.
•
•
Reports revealed the cruelty of Spanish
imperialism
The illustration of Theodore de Bry, raised
awareness of the crimes and led some Spanish
missionaries to condemn the treatment.
Empires Vanished
• Unlike the civilizations of India, China and
Africa, which have enjoyed a continuous
history from ancient times until the
present.
• None of these empires that once
flourished in ancient America has survived
into modern times.
• Remnants of these populations remain
today among small groups in the US and
Mexico ‫ التي‬،‫خالفا للحضارات الهند والصين وأفريقيا‬
Home work
Read “The Spaniards and the Tlaxcalans”
(453-457).
The Colombian Exchange
• Short term: devastation
• Long term: positive--commerce & culture.
• The Columbian Exchange: interchange
of hundreds of good and products
between Western Europe & the Americas.
1. Europe introduced: horses, cattle pigs,
etc.
2. Traded fruits, vegetables etc
The Columbian Exchange
• Vibrant new culture: mix of Europeans,
natives Americans altered the population.
(technology, food, dance, language).
• Mestizo: a person of mixed racial ancestry
Europeans + Native Americans.