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History
Mr Woodgate
|Aztec Essay| |#2|
“How can we save our homes, my people
The Aztecs are deserting the city
The city is in flames and all is darkness and destruction
Weep my people
Know that with these disasters
We have lost the Mexican nation
The water has turned bitter
Our food is bitter
These are the acts of the Giver of Life”
- From the Informantes Anónimos de Tlatelolco, compiled in 1521.
The claim that the Conquistadors left an indelible scar upon the
Aztecs is an extremely valid one, when the definitions of the words
‘indelible’ and ‘scar’ are examined. A scar is ‘a mark on a surface
caused by damage’. Indelible means ‘impossible to remove, therefore
remaining forever’. Thus, an indelible scar is a mark left upon
something that will and can never be removed; this statement is
beyond dispute in terms of the Aztecs. This can be seen through the
above statement from the Informantes Anónimos de Tlatelolco alone.
The fact that the Aztecs lost their civilisation, the Mexican Nation,
and that their city was destroyed. The main impacts that the conquest
of the Aztecs had upon them are foremost, the deaths of thousands of
people due to slaughter and introduced diseases. Also the destruction
of the Aztecs’ extravagant architectural structures and the
destruction of their culture and religion, that is the attempt on the
Conquistadors’ behalf to convert the Aztecs to Christianity. What
must be observed is that the Conquest not only had negative impacts
on the Aztecs and other civilisations of South America, but through
the introduction of crops and animals, they were benefited. The
Spaniards also gained benefits from the Conquest, through the plants
and animals found and the gold and other precious resources that they
found in South America.
The most substantial effect the Conquistadors had upon the Aztecs
was, of course, the destruction of their culture, predominantly
through the decimation of the majority of the Aztec population. A
substantial population declination was observed during the conquest,
by many authors. (see appendix 1). There are two main reasons the
population declined due to the conquest. Both are instigated by the
Conquistadors, they are the direct slaughter of Aztecs by the
Conquistadors, and deaths due to the diseases introduced by the
Conquistadors.
There were many diseases that were introduced to the Aztecs by
the European people; the diseases were the cause of many deaths. The
diseases include, Pleurisy, Bloody flux, Smallpox, Typhus,
Pestilence, Measles, Pneumonia, Influenza and Syphilis. Combined,
these diseases were the cause of millions of indigenous casualties.
(For statistics on amounts of deaths see appendix 2).
The Conquistadors also took part in the slaughter of thousands
of Aztec people, so that they were able to capture their civilisation
for their own benefits. The following statement is testimony to the
slaughter of the Aztec people, especially in the conquest of their
religion. It is set at the Aztec Festival of Spring.
“They began to sing again but without warning they were all put
to death.
The dancers and the singers were completely unarmed. They brought
only their embroidered cloaks, their turquoises, their lip plugs,
their necklaces, their clusters of heron feathers, their trinkets
made of deer hooves. Those who played the drums, the old men, had
brought their gourds of snuff and their timbrels.
Jock Webb, 8A
History
Mr Woodgate
The Spanish attacked the musicians first, slashing at their
hands and faces until they had killed all of them. The singers - and
even the spectators - were also killed. This slaughter in the Sacred
Patio went on for three hours. Then the Spaniards burst into the
rooms of the temple to kill the others: those who were carrying
water, or bringing fodder for the horses, or grinding meal, or
sweeping the floor…” The information comes from accounts collected by
Father Sahagun regarding the event. It is one example of many
regarding the un-provoked slaughter of Aztec people. It explicitly
describes the severity of the killings. It is only one example of the
carnage; there were many more situations like these.
“Our commander here said smilingly, to Motecusuma: I cannot imagine
that such a powerful and wise monarch as you are should not have
yourself discovered by this time that these idols are not divinities
but evil spirits, called devils. In order that you may be convinced
of this and that your people may satisfy themselves of this truth,
allow me to erect a cross on the summit of this temple; and, in the
chapel where stand your Huitzilopochtili and Tetzcatlipuca, give us a
small space that I may place there the image of the holy Virgin; then
you will see that terror will seize these idols by which you have
been so long deluded.” – Bernal Diaz.
This demonstrates the attempts on the Conquistadors’ behalf to
eradicate the Aztec religion, with the ultimate intention of
converting them from their original religion to Christianity. This
Diaz statement is almost patronising when it refers to the Aztec
religion, it clearly shows Diaz’ resentment of the Aztec religion.
The Aztec religion was closely related to its religious architectural
structures, such as temples and shrines, due to what they contained
and represented. The Conquistadors’ resentment of the religion was so
powerful that it was motivation for them to destroy these structures,
which was a substantial blow to the Aztec religion, and a major
contributor to the eventual destruction of the religion.
Another contributor to the eventual destruction of the Aztec culture
was the destruction of their architectural structures such as homes,
palaces, temples and shrines. As is previously said, certain
religious structures had a close connection to the Aztec religion and
so their destruction was a driving force behind the eradication of
the religion, which was a key part of Aztec society. In fact, one of
the main Cathedrals situated in Mexico City currently, sits in the
former location of the Aztec Sun Temple, this is a perfect indicator
as to how the Spanish attempted to convert the Aztecs, it was
‘destroy the former and rebuild the new’. Obviously the destruction
of Aztec peoples’ homes was also a driving force behind their
conquest, as if you have no place to live and therefore no place to
go, you will probably be forced from one location to another. This is
what the siutaiton was with many Aztec people.
Another impact of the Conquest was a positive one for both the
Spanish and the Aztecs; this was the exchange of goods such as food
and animals between the two societies, which represented different
continents, those being Europe and Middle America. This exchange is
referred to as the Columbian Exchange. (See appendix 3). Appendix
three refers to the gains in terms of food and animals that was
enjoyed by both cultures, the most significant of which being the
staple food crops, such as wheat (although Aztecs and other Indians
generally refused to consume white grain bread) and rice from the
Conquistadors of Europe, and beans, manioc, maize and potato from the
Aztecs of America. Not only were these highly important and necessary
Jock Webb, 8A
History
Mr Woodgate
items gained, but also luxuries such as cocoa from America and Sugar
from Europe.
Another important aspect of the Columbian Exchange was the
exchange of animals and livestock, predominantly originating from
Europe. These animals include sheep, cattle, goats, camels, pigs,
horses and mules. Many of these were used as beasts of burden and
many as livestock to support groups as food and a source of income.
There was one other animal introduced from Europe that was a stowaway
on ships, it was the Black Rat. It served as a major hindrance, being
a carrier of the Bubonic Plague and eating people from their
dwellings.
The Columbian exchange is an example of an aspect of the conquest
that was generally beneficial to both nations.
“(Spaniards) have a strange disease of the heart, for which gold is
the only cure." – Hernando Cortes.
Another aspect of the Colonial conquest of the Aztecs is a purely
beneficial aspect for the Conquistadors, and did not have an impact
on the Aztec people, as he Aztec civilisation had been almost
decimated by the time the Conquistadors began to search and mine for
gold. Precious metals, gold in particular, were a major attraction of
America to the Conquistadors. It is not surprising why, considering
that the Spanish were the most influential and economically stable
country for many years to come due to their profits made from their
endeavours in America.
When the evidence is assessed, it can be agreed beyond dispute, that
the colonial conquest of the Aztecs left an indelible scar upon their
culture. The scar covered areas such as life itself, due to the
slaughter that they were subject to by the Spanish, their religion,
which was ridiculed and eventually eradicated by the Spanish and many
of their architectural structures, which were destroyed. There were
also beneficial aspects of the conquest, such as the introduction of
plants and animals in the Columbian exchange, which was valuable to
both cultures and the access gained to land, people and gold that
was advantageous to the Conquistadors. Therefore, it can be concluded
that the colonial conquest of the Aztec civilisation had a profound
impact on both the Aztecs and the Spanish people executing the
conquest.
Jock Webb, 8A