Latin American History Essay Research Paper History

Latin American History Essay, Research Paper

History is the search for truth, not fact. Within one single event in history a number of truths can be taken from it, as each interpreter of the event will have their own views and biases that will be reflected in each given truth. For the purpose of this paper, two articles have been reviewed, both in regards to Hernan Cortes arrival in Latin America, and the coincidences, events, interpretations and misinterpretations that lead to the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs. The first article is titled, Quetzalcoatl s Revenge: Primordium and Application in Aztec Religion, and is written by David Carrasco. The second article is written by Francis J. Brooks and is titled, Motecuzoma Xocoyotl, Hernan Cortes, and Bernal Diaz del Castillo: The Construct of an Arrest. The main points and standpoint of these two authors will be outlined in this paper. The two articles will be compared and contrasted to show the different interpretations of the two authors.

It is the contention of this paper, that the conquest of the Americas by the Spanish was inevitable, as the Eurocentric attitudes of the time, would not allow any inferior life to exist without the aide of the civilized Europeans. The authors of the two articles give other reasons for the conquest to take place as it did and when it did.

David Carrasco starts his article and argument with a description of the arrival of Cortes in the Aztec capital.

When Hernan Cortes led his now famous entrada into the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1519 and saw so many cities on dry land, a wonder to behold he was welcomed, states one source, as an illustrious predecessor by the Aztec sovereign Moctezuma who thought that this was Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl who had arrived (p. 296).

Carrasco goes on to trace the origins of the legend of Quetzalcoatl, and finds that it leads back to the city of Tollan and the Toltec Empire. The city of Tollan was appreciated by the Aztecs as the pristine city, a wondrous age and place, where the principals of cosmo-magical parallelism were formally discovered and established (p.302). The Toltec were great thinkers and accomplished many marvelous feats. They invented the art of medicine, they were astronomers and understood the movement of the stars and the heavens, and they originated the year count. They were also great artisans as they were skilled feather workers, gluing, dying and arranging into beautiful designs. The Toltecs also discovered minerals such as turquoise and the emerald jade.

Harmony and abundance permeate the description of the Toltec relationship to the earth as well. Not only were the people creative, but nature surrounded them with plentitude. Their fields yielded enormous calabashes and the ears of maize were as large as grind stones they could hardly be embraced in one arm (p.306).

It seemed as though the gods had a special place for in their hearts for the city of Tollan as the Toltecs were blessed with many good fortunes.

They never wanted. There was nothing lacking in their houses, they were never hungry. This ancient Findhorn was dappled with cotton fields miraculously coloured red, yellow, rose coloured violet, green, azure coyote coloured so they grew, they did not dye them. And the air above was filled with all the birds of precious feathers the blue continga, the quetxal, the reseate spoonbill which sang right sweetly. This abundance was reflected in the size of the Toltecs, who were tall, they were larger than the people today. These giants of Tollan lived at the centre of a larger society ruled by Quetzalcoatl (p.306).

With such a reputation, the Toltecs were looked on very favourably, and the Mexicas looked to follow in their footsteps, so they claimed that they were in fact direct descendants from the mighty Toltec Empire. This added prestige, honour and power to the Mexica civilization. In Tollan, Quetzalcoatl was all that mattered. He sent out royal commands from a mountain of authority and was the font of creativity; he was what directed Tollan to greatness. Quetzalcoatl s power is epitomized in the statement, Truly with him it began, truly from him it flowed out, from Quetzalcoatl all art and knowledge (p.306). In Carrasco s article, he insists that the Mexicas (or Aztecs) were caught up in a desire to follow in the legacy of the Toltecs. In that desire was the search for the return of Quetzalcoatl, a long departed man-god who had lead the Toltecs to power and then had disappeared with a promise to return and lead his people once more. The anticipated return of Quetzalcoatl coincided with the arrival of the Spaniards and Cortes, the Meixca king; Moctezuma interpreted Cortes as the return of Quetzalcoatl

A review of primary sources reveals that this ancient priest-king was born in the year ce acatl, departed his kingdom in the year ce acatl and was expected to return in the year ce acatl. It is one of the amazing coincidences of history that the Aztec year ce acatl fell on the Christian year 1519, the year that Cortes appeared in Mexico (p.297).

The year ce acatl translates as one reed . In this case, it refers to one year in the fifty-two-year cycle representing an Aztec century. When the year ce acatl did fall and Cortes arrived, a review of Mexica nostalgia reveals that Moctezuma was not just welcoming a great ancestor, but rather the ancestor par