Later After The Defeat Of The Aztecs example essay topic
450 words
"Conventional history is written by winners; teaching us that discovery of the Americas is one of mankind's finest hours (... ) However the inhabitants of the Americas saw it differently" (p. 3). To the civilizations attacked saw this as destruction. They had already created a type of society with farming, hunting, gathering. In 1492 they were one fifth of the world's population, but after the European invasions the Natives never more reached their autonomy. Cortez voyage to conquer the Aztec's was a waste of time and money, because of so much damage and destruction that both the Europeans and the Aztecs had. The force of Cortez's trip to the Aztec region was much larger than before (previously seen). "11 ships, 600 Spaniards, 200 native Cubans, African slaves, horses... ". (p. 17). First Cortez destroys his ships so his men will fight, as there will be no tomorrow; either they win or die. After Cortez showed that he was not really a god, lots of fights happened losing hundreds of Spanish soldiers and leaving the Aztecs with diseases. Eighty percent of tenochtitlan died defending the capital. Eventually the whole civilization gets destroys with no use to the Spanish.
Since the Mayans were so smart in so many aspects that made it harder to the Spanish to conquer. The Mayans were the first to meet the Spanish, but the last to be conquered. Their science and art was better than Europe at that time. With out any type of telescope they developed astronomy by using the mathematical theory. The Mayan success was not easily seen by Europeans because technology is associated with the type of technology know between them (Europeans). The Mayas did not have a white god effect on them.
In 1517 Francisco Hernandez is waxed when he tries to defeat the Mayans. Only later after the defeat of the Aztecs is that the Mayans are massacred. The Spaniards were lucky in the conquest of the Inca Empire. Inca ruler was well organized and strong.
Had he lived through the smallpox, had his sons not fought over succession, the Spanish would not have won at the time they did. Sons, Was ker and Atawallpa fight over succession. Pizzaro builds a city and conquers local territory during confusion created by disease. Meanwhile Atawallpa sends official to Pizzaro. Instead of overestimating the Spaniards as Montezuma did, Atawallpa underestimated them because they did not have the white god effect. So in 1532 Pizzaro moves inland, and Atawallpa could have killed them, he didn't and later is conquered.
