Because it makes the Conquistadors' conquests of the New World seem more appetising? Because it downplays the indiscriminate conquering of the Americas? Spain commemorates the day Columbus discovered America as its national day, as it ushered in a golden age for Spain, which is true enough. But with the atrocities inflicted by Spain (along with the other European powers) on the natives in the New World, it may have b…
Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
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Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#12Quick glance at literature seems to indicate a consensus on the outsized importance of diseases in demographic changes in the Americas. Just over 100 years before the arrival of Cortés, Europe was going through similar epidemic disaster with the Black Plague also brought through intercontinental contact between people's. Then, the plague was also seen by many as divine intervention.
While it does seem self serving to propagate the message that Europeans were seen as gods it does not seem unusual for people to turn to religious explanations when faced with existential threats.
edit: misspellings
Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#13Because it makes the Conquistadors' conquests of the New World seem more appetising? Because it downplays the indiscriminate conquering of the Americas? Spain commemorates the day Columbus discovered America as its national day, as it ushered in a golden age for Spain, which is true enough. But with the atrocities inflicted by Spain (along with the other European powers) on the natives in the New World, it may have b…
Spaniard here. I don't think I've ever read or heard a sugarcoated version of the conquest. In fact it's usually the opposite. October 12 is indeed the day Columbus set foot on the New World and also our national holiday, but I fail to see how it's different from other holidays such as Thanksgiving.
Spain celebrating the 12th of October as its national day is as if England celebrated Thanksgiving as its own national day.
Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#14Because it makes the Conquistadors' conquests of the New World seem more appetising? Because it downplays the indiscriminate conquering of the Americas? Spain commemorates the day Columbus discovered America as its national day, as it ushered in a golden age for Spain, which is true enough. But with the atrocities inflicted by Spain (along with the other European powers) on the natives in the New World, it may have b…
Spaniard here. I don't think I've ever read or heard a sugarcoated version of the conquest. In fact it's usually the opposite. October 12 is indeed the day Columbus set foot on the New World and also our national holiday, but I fail to see how it's different from other holidays such as Thanksgiving.
Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#15I'm surprised not to find any mention to the diseases brought by the conquistadores. Quick glance at literature seems to indicate a consensus on the outsized importance of diseases in demographic changes in the Americas. Just over 100 years before the arrival of Cortés, Europe was going through similar epidemic disaster with the Black Plague also brought through intercontinental contact between people's. Then, the pl…
Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#16Because it makes the Conquistadors' conquests of the New World seem more appetising? Because it downplays the indiscriminate conquering of the Americas? Spain commemorates the day Columbus discovered America as its national day, as it ushered in a golden age for Spain, which is true enough. But with the atrocities inflicted by Spain (along with the other European powers) on the natives in the New World, it may have b…
Modern scholars put pre-Colombian American population somewhere north of 50M people[0]. This number has been hard to measure as most of these people were presumably wiped out by European and African germs well before settlers arrived to most areas and no/few pre Colombian written records exist. Imagine demoralizing and disorienting effect of losing up to 90%[0] of communities population to mysterious disease. I’ve so…
Syphilis spread in Europe after Columbus returned from the Americas and was devastating even if not to the same extent.
Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#17Because it makes the Conquistadors' conquests of the New World seem more appetising? Because it downplays the indiscriminate conquering of the Americas? Spain commemorates the day Columbus discovered America as its national day, as it ushered in a golden age for Spain, which is true enough. But with the atrocities inflicted by Spain (along with the other European powers) on the natives in the New World, it may have b…
Modern scholars put pre-Colombian American population somewhere north of 50M people[0]. This number has been hard to measure as most of these people were presumably wiped out by European and African germs well before settlers arrived to most areas and no/few pre Colombian written records exist. Imagine demoralizing and disorienting effect of losing up to 90%[0] of communities population to mysterious disease. I’ve so…
Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#18I'm surprised not to find any mention to the diseases brought by the conquistadores. Quick glance at literature seems to indicate a consensus on the outsized importance of diseases in demographic changes in the Americas. Just over 100 years before the arrival of Cortés, Europe was going through similar epidemic disaster with the Black Plague also brought through intercontinental contact between people's. Then, the pl…
Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#19My understanding, after reading the memoir of Bernal diaz Del Castillo[0] (who was an eye witness of the conquest of Mexico), is that it was Montezuma II who purposefully spread rumors saying that the conquistador were returning gods so that people would stop fighting them and start trading with them. It was not superstitious belief from ignorant savages, it was a political move. [0]: which I highly recommend, they a…
The Spanish were probably a poor reporter of the conditions they encountered. Even if they had tried to be completely objective, they would have had a very difficult time explaining what they saw without a lot of context they didn't have. I think most people know this instinctively.
History moves in cycles, with one bunch being praised by one generation only to have them reviled by the following one. Then it will swing back the other way. Astute authors and historians can make some cash by riding the wave when it appears. After hearing such a one-sided story for so long, people are ready to hear the other side. It seems like it is an important thing that needs telling.
What does this have to do with the net? Take a look at the comments. You're the only person that read the first-hand account. Everybody else is riffing off how "right" the story feels, then projecting various present-day political and emotional responses to an event from 500 years ago.
Don't get me wrong, I think that's a great thing....as long as students stay tuned for the next flip around. Then they start realizing that for any one set of events, hundreds or thousands of narratives are possible. That's not a weakness of history, that's its strength. History is not a science where there is only one right and wrong. It's a humanities subject where the more we study, the more we understand about ourselves.
I'm not sure how this works in the age of Wikipedia where so many people want to Google for the right result. Sure is fascinating to watch, though.
Re: Why was it believed that the Aztecs greeted Cortés as a deity?
#20My understanding, after reading the memoir of Bernal diaz Del Castillo[0] (who was an eye witness of the conquest of Mexico), is that it was Montezuma II who purposefully spread rumors saying that the conquistador were returning gods so that people would stop fighting them and start trading with them. It was not superstitious belief from ignorant savages, it was a political move. [0]: which I highly recommend, they a…