Broken Spears
The author argues that the Spanish were completely at fault for the total destruction of the Aztec Empire. In Broken spears, the author explains how many factors other than Spanish power contributed to the downfall of the Aztecs. Not only did the Spanish have many advantages over the Aztecs, but also they also exploited them and took advantage of the cultural difference. The main key aspects to the Spanish victory, is that the Spanish were viewed as gods at first because of their appearance, the Aztecs welcomed the Spanish with gifts and festivities, which showed the Spanish had total control of people. The Aztecs also held a ritual ceremony for the arrival of the "god" that included a human sacrifice, which was seen by the Spanish as a disgusting act, this trigged Spanish hatred for the Aztecs. When the Spanish saw the resources that the Aztecs had, they quickly started taking advantage of the Aztecs weaknesses. The Spanish had more power; they were better equipped than the Aztecs and more advanced. The Aztecs' leader Montecuhzoma was a weak leader, he was more of a coward, more concerned with his well being and safety than the safety of his people and kingdom so he quickly surrendered under pressure. The Spanish used surrou
I believe that this book presented a very excellent example of what happens when a European power tries to exploit another cultures, and this is not the only time that we will see this happen. This shows that wherever European powers got involved, they cause a great deal of damage to the point of extermination to other cultures as in the case of the Aztec Empire. The actual authors of the stories told in this book are priests, wise men and regular people who survived the killings. The Chinese did not commit the same mistake as the Aztecs, The Chinese strictly controlled all aspects of contact between all European encounters and Chinese people, this is the main reason why the Chinese people were not as badly exploited and exterminated as the Aztecs were. These stories represent the more realistic view of what really happened during the Spanish conquest. The book focuses on how the Spanish slowly exploited the Aztec resources to the point where they started killing people for no reason but to exterminate them. The Spanish showed that they are interested to learn more about the festivities, but they were planning to murder all the celebrants. The Aztecs were angry and wanted revenge, chaos reigned over the entire empire. Soon after, they sealed off all entrances to the palace so that no one can leave, and then they engaged in massive killing of everyone that participated. When the celebrations began, the Spanish showed up in their armors and carried weapons. Leon-Portilla based the stories told in this book upon old writings of actual Aztec people who survived the Spanish massacres. It appears that the Europeans valued their interested over the outcomes of cultural clash. When the Aztec became angry and started to fight back, they were quickly wrecked by the diseases the Spanish brought with them such as small pox and measles. From that point on, there was nothing but battles between the Spanish and the Aztecs; it also resulted in the murder of the Aztec king who was no longer useful after the massacre. There will many Aztec-Like exploitations and destruction.
Common topics in this essay:
Aztecs Spanish,
Toxcatl Aztecs,
Broken Spears,
Aztec Empire,
Aztecs Chinese,
Spanish Aztecs,
Empire Broken,
,
aztec empire,
aztec empire broken,
stories told book,
aztecs spanish,
spanish conquest,
spanish power,
broken spears,
view happened,
chinese people,
told book,
empire broken spears,
empire broken,
festivities spanish,
|
Acceptance Essays
