Courage & Cowardice in Cortez & Montezuma
Term Paper ID:27257
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Essay Subject:
Describes the Spanish conquest of the Aztec civilization. Examines the actions of both sides in the war & attempts to discern what actions occurred out of courage or out of cowardice... More...
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5 Pages / 1125 Words
1 sources, 8 Citations,
MLA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Describes the Spanish conquest of the Aztec civilization. Examines the actions of both sides in the war & attempts to discern what actions occurred out of courage or out of cowardice
Paper Introduction:
When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the New World, they found a flourishing civilization firmly in place in the form of the Aztecs of Mexico. Within a short time, the Spanish had destroyed this civilization and eradicated much of its culture. In addition to the desire for conquest, gold, and similar purposes, the conquistadors were grossly offended by the idolatry of the Aztecs and by one particular religious practice, that of human sacrifice. As Leon-Portilla notes in his book The Broken Spears, the story of the conquest has been told entirely from the point of view of the conquerors, and he offers in his book the account from the side of the conquered peoples, the first of them written only seven years after the conquest:
These writings make up a brief history of the Conquest as told by the victims, and include passages written by
Text of the Paper:
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much of its culture In TheBroken Spears the story of the conquest has after the conquest These writings make up a struggle viii A reading of this he has gathered from those he has met not The fact that the knowledge to Montezuma The terror experiencedby Montezuma mean or whether theyare natural or supernatural make asacrifice to the gods The fear expressed by to see him face to face for instance he not go into hiding He had lost listless and too uncertain to make a decision Bravery battle Cortes and his men show courage in But the strangers conquered the a few but all of them and to have more fear of the worldaround them his best finery He believes them meet the enemy Theweapons of the Spaniards were fearsome a straight line they no longer ran could not escape by running they threw at Tenochtitlan is told several times fromdifferent points new weapons and yet were able to fight them battlefield and how they continued tofight even in the brave they were The Aztecs rally beconsidered suspect by our standards but they showed ingenuity Aztecs and put on the same battle fears expressed by Montezuma insome accounts cannot be counted as leader Work CitedLeon-Portilla Miguel The Broken Spears place in the form of the Aztecs ofMexico Within idolatry of the Aztecs and by one particular religiouspractice in his book the account fromthe side of the conquered native priests and wise men who managed to survive the the native peoples Cortes sees the soldiersso that he can see they were sent on a specific mission and they mean strange animals and other marvels andneither experience Montezuma indeed believesthat these strange people are believed the Spaniards to be but in the end he had vanquished his heart and thrown him fight and extending through the events a smallminority facing the entire them with their swords and shot and such people tend to see an anthropomorphic marched a great distance to meet Montezuma and he battles begin those on both sides showed courage and When the Aztecs discovered that in front of the guns If they saw are many different battles detailed face of their fears The of the battles show again and up They raced into Tenochtitlan to continue the fight one of them showed any fear orbehaved that they would not be recognized The descriptions of both sides by the Mexican observers Montezuma did not flee the Spaniards andinstead went When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in addition to the desire forconquest been told entirely from thepoint of view brief history of the Conquest as told by account reveals the attitude toward both Cortes andMontezuma and along the way Cortes in effectchallenges the group sent Mexicansrun away may be seen as evidence of is also not a sign of cowardice but ignorance the People living so close to nature are puzzledby anything Montezuma at this time has tobe thinks offleeing and hiding in a cave his strength and his spirit and could do nothing on both sides was judged by valor merely beingin such a distant land and in Otomies of Tecoac they utterly destroyed them They perished in the battle Both the Spaniards and the Aztecs Yet such people also are accustomed to begods but he faces them but the Aztecs learned how to copewith the away in the line of fire They ran to themselves to the ground and lay flat until of view In all of the accounts just thesame The Spaniards were outnumbered and yet undertook face of superior numbers of firepower as to save their city and again they are and alsocontinued to fight no matter what the circumstances dress and adornments hoping to deceive our warriors into cowardice but as an attempt to face Boston Beacon Press a short time the Spanish had destroyed this civilizationand eradicated that of human sacrifice As Leon-Portilla notes in his book peoples the first of them written only sevenyears persecution and death that attended the final Mexican people as courageous in battle something hesays who is brave and who is to carry it out byreturning with their he nor they have any idea what these things gods and his answer to this is to gods When hehears that they want cannot do it He could not run away could into confusion so that now he was weak and that might takeplace in an actual population of the Aztec people Yet again andagain they prevail them with their crossbows Not just andgodlike force behind various events didnot flee but met them arrayed in theability to change tactics and shift perspective to the shots from the arquebuses and cannons always flew in that a cannon was about to be fired and they in the pages of theseaccounts but the primary battle Aztecs fearedthese gods and their againhow both sides showed courage on the and the Spaniards soon learned how like a woman The actions of the Spaniards might They wore cloaks like those of the in these pagesshow both sides to have been brave The to meet them in his role as the New World they found aflourishing civilization firmly in gold and similar purposes the conquistadors were grosslyoffended by the of the conquerors and he offers the victims and include passages written by their courage or cowardice as seen by to meet him to a day of combat with his their cowardice by Cortes but it isnot descriptiongiven him by his men is about that does not fit their judged by the fact that he His advisers tell him to go to the Temple ofCintli The magicians' words had overwhelmed his heart they in battle beginning withthe willingness to addition they are at all times divided their ranks fired the cannons at them attacked were superstitious and ascribed muchto supernatural forces to having to face thatfear The Spaniards just the same When the greater firepower of their enemy the right or left or in zigzags not the shot had passed over them There both sides took tobattle with courage even in the their conquestwithout holding back The descriptions in thefollowing description The Tlatelolcas however refused to give described as brave Their spirits and courage were high not The Spanish soldiers often disguised themselves so thinking they were not Spaniards ahorrible reality and in any case much of its culture In TheBroken Spears the story of the conquest has after the conquest These writings make up a struggle viii A reading of this he has gathered from those he has met not The fact that the knowledge to Montezuma The terror experiencedby Montezuma mean or whether theyare natural or supernatural make asacrifice to the gods The fear expressed by to see him face to face for instance he not go into hiding He had lost listless and too uncertain to make a decision Bravery battle Cortes and his men show courage in But the strangers conquered the a few but all of them and to have more fear of the worldaround them his best finery He believes them meet the enemy Theweapons of the Spaniards were fearsome a straight line they no longer ran could not escape by running they threw at Tenochtitlan is told several times fromdifferent points new weapons and yet were able to fight them battlefield and how they continued tofight even in the brave they were The Aztecs rally beconsidered suspect by our standards but they showed ingenuity Aztecs and put on the same battle fears expressed by Montezuma insome accounts cannot be counted as leader Work CitedLeon-Portilla Miguel The Broken Spears place in the form of the Aztecs ofMexico Within idolatry of the Aztecs and by one particular religiouspractice in his book the account fromthe side of the conquered native priests and wise men who managed to survive the the native peoples Cortes sees the soldiersso that he can see they were sent on a specific mission and they mean strange animals and other marvels andneither experience Montezuma indeed believesthat these strange people are believed the Spaniards to be but in the end he had vanquished his heart and thrown him fight and extending through the events a smallminority facing the entire them with their swords and shot and such people tend to see an anthropomorphic marched a great distance to meet Montezuma and he battles begin those on both sides showed courage and When the Aztecs discovered that in front of the guns If they saw are many different battles detailed face of their fears The of the battles show again and up They raced into Tenochtitlan to continue the fight one of them showed any fear orbehaved that they would not be recognized The descriptions of both sides by the Mexican observers Montezuma did not flee the Spaniards andinstead went
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