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Cortes vs Aztecs:Defending CortesExhibit A – (Primary Source) - Hernan Cortés: from Second Letter to Charles V, 1520454660070485000“I said everything to them I could to change the Aztecs from polytheism to monotheism and help them to know the God our Lord. I did not allow them to sacrifice human beings to their gods as they had done for years because it is wrong and terrible in the eyes of God. Because of me, from that time, they stopped sacrificing, and during the whole time in that city, they were never seen to kill or sacrifice a human being.”14573251873250041148005270500Exhibit B –(Primary Source) The main source of food for the Aztec gods was prisoners of war, who were marched up the steps of the pyramids to the temples, taken by four priests, put backward over the stone altar, and split open from one side of the chest to the other with a knife held by a fifth priest. The victim's heart – usually described as still beating – was then taken out and burned as an offering. The body was rolled down the pyramid steps, which were built deliberately steep to do this.Not all the victims were prisoners of war. Many slaves were also sacrificed. In addition, certain youths and women were chosen to pretend to be specific gods and goddesses. These were treated with great care and tenderness throughout the year before their execution. The Aztecs wrote this story about a woman who played the role of the goddess Uixtociuatl:She came. They laid her down on the stone. They stretched her out upon her back. They laid hold of her; they pulled and stretched out her arms and legs. And the killer stood there; he stood up. Then, he cut open her chest.And when he opened her chest, the blood gushed up high.And when this was done, then he raised her heart as an offering to the god and placed it in the green jar, which was called the green stone jar.3190875-1905000Exhibit C – William H. Prescott: (Secondary Source)By the time Cortez arrived in Mexico the Aztecs were sacrificing thousands of humans per festival. Historian William H Prescott estimates?as high as 50,000 sacrifices per year!Exhibit D – William H. Prescott:(Secondary Source) From the beginning, the Aztecs were a very brutal and murderous nation. They oppressed surrounding tribes, had feasts dedicated to wearing skin human victims, and ate the bodies of tens of thousands of humans that they sacrificed yearly. The conquest of Cortes is one of the most just wars in history because Cortez put a stop to all of this violence.At the final battle between Cortez and the Aztecs at their capital of Tenochtitlan, Cortez’ army consisted of less than 1% Spaniards. Two hundred thousand natives from oppressed tribes willingly came to destroy the Aztecs. Cortez was a liberator - he was their liberator.19050115366900333375014986000 Condemning CortesExhibit E – (Secondary Source) The Spaniards Reveal Their Greed360045076200000When the Spaniards were in the palace in?Tenochtitlan (the Aztec capital) they questioned?Montezuma (the Aztec leader) closely and then demanded gold. When they arrived at the treasure house called?Teucalco, the riches of gold and feathers were brought out to them. The Spaniards immediately gathered all the gold into a great mound and set fire to everything else, regardless of its value. Then they melted down the gold into blocks. As for the precious green stones, they took only the best of them.Exhibit F - (Primary Source)“Broken Spears” – Poem Describing the Aztec Account of the Spanish Conquest:317182523050400Broken spears lie in the roads;We have torn our hair in our griefThe houses are roofless now, and their wallsAre red with blood.Worms are in the streets and plazas,And the walks are spattered with violence The water has turned red, as if it were dyedAnd when we drink it,It has the taste of saltWe have pounded our hands in despairAgainst the walls,For our city is lost and deadThe shields of our warriors were its defense.But they could not save it.We have chewed dry twigs and salt grasses:We have filled our mouths with dust. We have eaten lizards, rats and wormsWhen we had meat, we ate it almost raw.Exhibit G –(Secondary Source)Massacre at Cholula?Cortés next arrived at the city of Cholula. It was the second largest city of Mexico and a religious center of the Aztec Empire. When Cortés found out that the people at Cholula planned to kill him in his sleep, he killed around 3,000 nobles, priests, and warriors. He also burned down a portion of the city.?Meeting Montezuma II?When Cortés arrived at Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519 he was welcomed by the Aztec Emperor Montezuma II. Although Montezuma did not trust Cortés, he thought that Cortés might be the god Quetzalcoatl in human form. Montezuma gave Cortés and his men gifts of gold. He thought that these gifts would keep Cortés from taking over the city, but they just made Cortés want more.?Montezuma II is Killed?Cortés kidnapped Montezuma within his own city. Eventually, he found out that his men had killed King Montezuma. He decided to flee the city. On the night of June 30, 1520 Cortés and his men escaped from the city. Many of them died. The night is called La Noche Triste, or "The Sad Night".?Conquering the Aztecs?Cortés soon returned to Tenochtitlan with a large army. He attacked the city and eventually conquered the city and with it the Aztec Empire.?Governor of Mexico?After conquering the Aztecs, Cortés renamed the city of Tenochtitlan to Mexico City. The city became the Spanish capital of the territory which was called New Spain. Cortés was named governor of the land by King Charles I of Spain.?280035011176000011112500Exhibit H - (Secondary Source)America’s History Makers Textbook – Chapter 2The Spanish’s only chance to conquer Mexico, Cortes decided, was to kill the chief and create confusion. His plan worked. When the Aztecs saw their new chief killed on the field of battle, they stopped fighting for a moment, giving the Spanish the upper hand. After destroying Tenochtitlan, Cortes then began melting down all the Aztec gold and sending it back to Spain. He also ordered crosses hung over all the Aztec temples, insisting that Aztecs be converted to Christianity or suffer the consequences. Aztecs who resisted were killed immediately. Several times the Aztecs tried to defeat the Spanish, but Cortes was always one step ahead of them. By 1521, Cortes had finally convinced the Aztecs they could never defeat him. He had conquered Mexico with a few hundred soldiers, leaving over 200,000 Aztecs dead by the end.Exhibit I -(Secondary Source)Disease played a huge part in the fall of the Aztec empire.?One of Cortes' men contracted (became infected with) the disease. ?When they returned, the Aztec army quickly overwhelmed the Spanish, killing many and causing the rest to retreat. ?The soldier was killed, and, likely when his body was looted, an Aztec caught the disease.Quickly, smallpox spread among the population. ?The people had no resistance and no idea how to treat it. ?In many cases, everyone in a house died. ?With no time to bury so many people, houses were simply demolished over the bodies.During the siege of Tenochtitlán in 1520, the population was not only low on food but dying of smallpox. 25% of the empire is said to have been lost to the disease alone. ?293370013652500Exhibit J -(Secondary Source)One of Cortés’ lasting legacies was the?encomienda?system. The encomienda system basically gave a piece of land and any number of natives to a Spaniard, often a conquistador. The encomienda system was basically legalized slavery and made the encomenderos very wealthy and powerful. They abused the natives on their land and treated them with violence. ................
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