The accounts of the Spanish conquest of Mexico are often Spanish and almost always "patently self-serving" (Hassig 3). They glorify the ideals of the groups that the authors represent and emphasize the improbability of the Spanish victories. They largely ignore the Native points of view of the conquest‚ due to both a smaller number of Native accounts and due to their own motives. However‚ Hassig presents a balanced narrative of the Spanish conquest of Mexico and considers the Native perspectives
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The Spanish Conquest of South America The Age of Exploration was an important time period in history without which the modern map would not be as we see it today. During this era‚ Europeans had a sudden urge to explore‚ discover‚ a feeling they had never had before. With the advancement in technology‚ the Europeans‚ as well as the Asians were able to explore the uncharted seas and discover the unknown land. During this time‚ many discoveries were made‚ but the one most remembered is the discovery
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With the Spanish conquest in Latin America came many accounts from both Spanish and indigenous writers. These primary sources are not only useful because of their content‚ but also because of their omissions. That is to say that the discrepancies found among writers of different class‚ race‚ or political position‚ are expressive of their individual biases. Analyzing what these variations are and why they exist allows for a deeper understanding of the history of this colonial period. Especially in
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Restall‚ _Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest_ New York‚ Oxford University Press‚ 2003 3 pages‚ 889 words _Myths of the Spanish Conquest_ is broken into seven chapters‚ each dedicated to a different myth or mis-conception regarding the Spanish conquest. In debunking these myths‚ Matthew Restall works with three themes regarding the conquest. First‚ that the European discovery of the Americas was one of the greatest events in human history. Second‚ that the conquest was the achievement of "a few
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Moctezuma and his warrior empire took food‚ luxury goods‚ exotic raw materials and war captives. The prisoners of war were saved for sacrifices to the gods. Embarking on a journey of his own in search of gold‚ General Hernando Cortes lead his group of Spanish troops into the path of the powerful Moctezuma monarchy. After meeting face to face‚ both men seemingly viewed the other with mutual respect after a friendly exchange of greetings. Trust was not to be gained quite as easily as each leader kept their
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Legend’ of the Spanish conquest in the America’s stems from the backlash against the Spanish in the late 1500’s early 1600’s. Following the disaster of the Spanish Armada crushing Spain as a maritime power and the alliance of Portugal with England‚ it was convenient to use the reputation of cruelty and ruthlessness to motivate people to fight against them and to justify colonization methods. While the vilification of Spain as an entity in Europe has existed for centuries‚ with the Spanish Inquisition
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February 20‚ 2012 HIST 125 Comparison of the Spanish Conquest After the Spanish Conquest‚ many written document have become used as sources that help recount major events from the past. Therefore‚ it becomes that job of historians to analyze sources and determine their accuracy and relevancy. “The Conquest of New Spain” written by Bernal Díaz and “The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico” are two sources whose themes can be compared and contrasted in order to determine their
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No ports‚ shallow water‚ hostile natives. No wonder the Spanish nearly failed to settle Texas. In 1682‚ the Spanish first arrived in Texas‚ hoping to successfully colonize it. They built their first mission‚ and continued to settle and colonize Texas. The main reasons Texas almost failed as a Spanish colony is because of rough geography‚ unstable population‚ very poor government and uncontrollable hostile natives. One of the most important factors of Spain nearly failing to settle Texas is geography
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They Incas vs. the Spanish was a local event between nations from two different hemispheres. The Incas were from the eastern hemisphere and the Spanish were from the western hemisphere. The two hemispheres were very different. The eastern hemisphere has landed gong from north to south unlike the western hemisphere where land goes from west to east. Land going west to east was okay because the day was the same all the way along and the terrain was similar throughout the land‚ but for the eastern hemisphere
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Book Review: Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Mathew Restall’s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest is a well-written book that serves an important purpose. That purpose being: the debunking of generally accepted falsehoods about the Spanish Conquest beginning in the 15th century. Restall’s book is separated into seven chapters that specifically address general myths most historians and students perceive as basic --- universal truths. Restall uses the term “myth” to describe the inaccurate/fictitious
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