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Courage & Cowardice in Cortez & Montezuma
Term Paper ID:27257
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Describes the Spanish conquest of the Aztec civilization. Examines the actions of both sides in the war & attempts to discern what actions occurred out of courage or out of cowardice... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Describes the Spanish conquest of the Aztec civilization. Examines the actions of both sides in the war & attempts to discern what actions occurred out of courage or out of cowardice
Paper Introduction:
When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the New World, they found a flourishing civilization firmly in place in the form of the Aztecs of Mexico. Within a short time, the Spanish had destroyed this civilization and eradicated much of its culture. In addition to the desire for conquest, gold, and similar purposes, the conquistadors were grossly offended by the idolatry of the Aztecs and by one particular religious practice, that of human sacrifice. As Leon-Portilla notes in his book The Broken Spears, the story of the conquest has been told entirely from the point of view of the conquerors, and he offers in his book the account from the side of the conquered peoples, the first of them written only seven years after the conquest:
These writings make up a brief history of the Conquest as told by the victims, and include passages written by
Text of the Paper:
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They raced into Tenochtitlan to continue the fight and the Spaniards soon learned how brave they were (1 ).The Aztecs rally to save their city, and again they are described as brave: "Their spirits and courage were high; not one of them showed any fear orbehaved like a woman" (111). Bravery on both sides was judged by valor in battle, beginning withthe willingness to fight and extending through the events that might takeplace in an actual battle. People living so close to nature are puzzledby anything that does not fit their experience. Theweapons of the Spaniards were fearsome, but the Aztecs learned how to copewith the greater firepower of their enemy: When the Aztecs discovered that the shots from the arquebuses and cannons always flew in a straight line, they no longer ran away in the line of fire. The actions of the Spaniards might beconsidered suspect by our standards, but they showed ingenuity and alsocontinued to fight no matter what the circumstances: The Spanish soldiers often disguised themselves so that they would not be recognized. The fact that the Mexicansrun away may be seen as evidence of their cowardice by Cortes, but it isnot--they were sent on a specific mission and they mean to carry it out byreturning with their knowledge to Montezuma (28). The descriptions of both sides by the Mexican observers in these pagesshow both sides to have been brave. The descriptions of the battles show again and againhow both sides showed courage on the battlefield and how they continued tofight even in the face of superior numbers of firepower, as in thefollowing description: The Tlatelolcas, however, refused to give up. In all of the accounts, both sides took tobattle with courage even in the face of their fears. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the New World, they found aflourishing civilization firmly in place in the form of the Aztecs ofMexico. The Spaniards marched a great distance to meet Montezuma, and he didnot flee but met them, arrayed in his best finery. Boston: Beacon Press, 1962. He believes them to begods, but he faces them just the same. Montezuma indeed believesthat these strange people are gods, and his answer to this is to make asacrifice to the gods. He had lost his strength and his spirit, and could do nothing. When hehears that they want to see him face to face, for instance, he thinks offleeing and hiding in a cave. Cortes and his men show courage in merely beingin such a distant land, and in addition, they are at all times a smallminority facing the entire population of the Aztec people. The Aztecs fearedthese gods and their new weapons and yet were able to fight them just thesame. The fears expressed by Montezuma insome accounts cannot be counted as cowardice but as an attempt to face ahorrible reality, and in any case Montezuma did not flee the Spaniards andinstead went to meet them in his role as leader. Yet, such people also are accustomed to having to face thatfear. The terror experiencedby Montezuma is also not a sign of cowardice but ignorance--the descriptiongiven him by his men is about strange animals and other marvels, andneither he nor they have any idea what these things mean or whether theyare natural or supernatural. Yet, again andagain they prevail: But the strangers conquered the Otomies of Tecoac; they utterly destroyed them. Cortes sees the Mexican people as courageous in battle, something hesays he has gathered from those he has met along the way. The Spaniards were outnumbered and yet undertook their conquestwithout holding back. When the battles begin, those on both sides showed courage and theability to change tactics and shift perspective to meet the enemy. The fear expressed by Montezuma at this time has tobe judged by the fact that he believed the Spaniards to be gods. Work CitedLeon-Portilla, Miguel. Cortes in effectchallenges the group sent to meet him to a day of combat with his soldiersso that he can see who is brave and who is not. There are many different battles detailed in the pages of theseaccounts, but the primary battle at Tenochtitlan is told several times fromdifferent points of view. As Leon-Portilla notes in his book TheBroken Spears, the story of the conquest has been told entirely from thepoint of view of the conquerors, and he offers in his book the account fromthe side of the conquered peoples, the first of them written only sevenyears after the conquest: These writings make up a brief history of the Conquest as told by the victims, and include passages written by native priests and wise men who managed to survive the persecution and death that attended the final struggle (viii).A reading of this account reveals the attitude toward both Cortes andMontezuma and their courage or cowardice, as seen by the native peoples. Not just a few, but all of them, perished in the battle (38). The Broken Spears. They ran to the right or left or in zigzags, not in front of the guns. They wore cloaks like those of the Aztecs and put on the same battle dress and adornments, hoping to deceive our warriors into thinking they were not Spaniards (112). The magicians' words had overwhelmed his heart; they had vanquished his heart and thrown him into confusion, so that now he was weak and listless and too uncertain to make a decision (36). In addition to the desire forconquest, gold, and similar purposes, the conquistadors were grosslyoffended by the idolatry of the Aztecs and by one particular religiouspractice, that of human sacrifice. They divided their ranks, fired the cannons at them, attacked them with their swords and shot them with their crossbows. If they saw that a cannon was about to be fired and they could not escape by running, they threw themselves to the ground and lay flat until the shot had passed over them (96-97). Both the Spaniards and the Aztecs were superstitious and ascribed muchto supernatural forces, and such people tend to see an anthropomorphic andgodlike force behind various events and to have more fear of the worldaround them. His advisers tell him to go to the Temple ofCintli, but in the end, he cannot do it: He could not run away, could not go into hiding. Within a short time, the Spanish had destroyed this civilizationand eradicated much of its culture.
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