Analyze the two paintings
Look closely at the two paintings. They depict the same hsitorical event.
1. Create a venn diagram and identify the similarities and differences.
2. Whose perspective are the paintings told from?
1. Create a venn diagram and identify the similarities and differences.
2. Whose perspective are the paintings told from?
Route of Henan Cortez
This map illustrates the route that Cortez took when he conquered Mexico.
Tenochtitlan
The Aztec capital
THE
CONQUEST OF MEXICO
"The Conquest of Mexico: An Overview"
by Nancy Fitch
Beforeyou read:
The Spanish-
Hernan Cortez-
Aztecs-
Moctezuma-
Tenochtitlan-
Quetzalcoatl
-
Before the arrival of the Spaniards, many omens
predicted an impending disaster. Thus, when the Mexica leader, Emperor Moctezuma
II, learned of the arrival of strangers,
the omens predicting destruction loomed large in his imagination. Moctezuma was
a ruthless leader. Moctezuma engaged in constant warfare in order to obtain
victims for human sacrifice and to perform agricultural labor and urban
construction. At the same time, while he and his ancestors had constructed a
large empire in Mesoamerica, they had never achieved the kind of consensus
necessary to rule such a diverse population. Instead, they relied on terror,
which, in turn, led to numerous revolts. When the Spaniards arrived on the coast
of Mexico, many Amerindians viewed them as liberators and joined them against
the Mexicas.
What
kind of leader was Moctezuma?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
Both the Aztecs and Spanish tried to understand each other, fitting new things into
categories that were familiar. The Mexicas had never seen horses before and
initially described them as deer. The Spaniards described
the people they found in this strange land, but confused unfamiliar animals with
lions and tigers. They also described indigenous temples as mosques.
Did
the Spanish and Aztecs have difficulty understanding each
other?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
At first, Moctezuma did not attack the Spaniards and sent men with gifts to Cortez. Cortés was not
impressed with the gifts of quetzal feathers, among other items, and insisted
on gold. He then fired his cannon
to demonstrate his power to Moctezuma’s men. At this point, it appears that
Moctezuma may have believed that Cortés was Quetzalcoatl, a god who had
vowed to return. In any case, he was afraid. To please his
god, he sent more messengers along with victims for sacrifice.
What was the reaction of Cortez towards Moctezuma’s
gifts?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
In the meantime, Cortés founded a new city, Veracruz, and sunk his ships, forcing
his men to stay on the continent and fight their way to the
Mexica capital at Tenochtitlan. He fought many battles, lost some soldiers, but
overwhelmingly defeated his indigenous opponents because of his superior
weaponry. He made many allies, although he was frequently deceived by them, and
he gradually learned not to trust them.
What
was the military strategy of Cortez?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
C.
(supporting
details)
As Cortez marched toward the Aztec capital he massacred many Aztec towns. Learning
of the many attacks, Moctezuma tried to bribe
the Spaniards with gold, hoping
they will take it and go back to wherever they were from. But the gold only made
Cortés more eager to capture the Mexica capital. In one last, desperate attempt,
Moctezuma sends sorcerers to cast a spell on
the Spaniards.
What
did Moctezuma do when he heard of the Spanish
attacks?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
C.
(supporting
details)
Eventually, Cortés reached Tenochtitlan
on November 8, 1519, where he finally met Moctezuma. Sources from both
sides indicate that the first meeting was a friendly encounter between two
leaders who respected each other. They gave each other gifts, showed affection
for one another, and Cortés promised Moctezuma that “we are his friends.” Cortés
gradually placed Moctezuma under housearrest and began to
prepare for his subsequent
rule. Once in control,
Cortés demanded the Mexica gold, which they melted
down. For several months, the Spaniards moved freely in the city, as Cortés
ruled through Moctezuma.
What
happened once Cortex reached Tenochtitlan?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
C.
(supporting
details)
While Cortez was away fighting other villages, there was an Aztec revolt in
Tenochtitlan. Cortez returned to
Tenochtitlan as soon as he heard the news. . Somehow, Moctezuma had been killed, which the Mexicas learned when they found
his body. And, while the Spaniards had driven the Mexicas from a temple, which they burned, the Mexicas
tried to starve the Spaniards and prevent them from leaving their quarters.
Eventually, with help from Narváez’s soldiers, Cortés tried to rescue his men,
but lost two-thirds of them and most of his horses when he escaped from the city
on the night of June 30, 1520, known in Spanish as La Noche Triste or
the Night of Sorrows. It would take the Spaniards months to rebuild their army with Indian allies before they were able
to reconquer Tenochtitlan for the final time.
How
did the Spanish defeat
Tenochtitlan?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
Name:
Date:
Cortés in Tenochtitlán (Primary
Source)
Read
the following description of Tenochtitlán by Hernando Cortés. Use this
description to help you answer the questions below. Discuss your answers with
the class.
"This great city of Tenochtitlán is built on the salt lake, and
no matter by what road you travel there are two leagues from the main body of
the city to the mainland. There are four artificial causeways leading to it, and
each is as wide as two cavalry lances. The city itself is as big as Seville or
Córdoba. The main streets are very wide and very straight; some of these are on
the land, but the rest and all the smaller ones are half on land, half canals
where they paddle their canoes. All the streets have openings in places so that
the water may pass from one canal to another. Over all these openings, and some
of them are very wide, there are bridges. . . . There are, in all districts of
this great city, many temples or houses for their idols. They are all very
beautiful buildings. . . . Amongst these temples there is one, the principal
one, whose great size and magnificence no human tongue could describe, for it is
so large that within the precincts, which are surrounded by very high wall, a
town of some five hundred inhabitants could easily be built. All round inside
this wall there are very elegant quarters with very large rooms and corridors
where their priests live. There are as many as forty towers, all of which are so
high that in the case of the largest there are fifty steps leading up to the
main part of it and the most important of these towers is higher than that of
the cathedral of Seville. . . ."
1.What are some of the objects and structures that Cortés sees in
Tenochtitlán?
2.What does this primary source tell you about the city? What does
Cortés' account tell you about the Aztec people?
3. What technology does Cortés mention in his account that shows
the Aztecs were able to adapt to this environment?
CONQUEST OF MEXICO
"The Conquest of Mexico: An Overview"
by Nancy Fitch
Beforeyou read:
The Spanish-
Hernan Cortez-
Aztecs-
Moctezuma-
Tenochtitlan-
Quetzalcoatl
-
Before the arrival of the Spaniards, many omens
predicted an impending disaster. Thus, when the Mexica leader, Emperor Moctezuma
II, learned of the arrival of strangers,
the omens predicting destruction loomed large in his imagination. Moctezuma was
a ruthless leader. Moctezuma engaged in constant warfare in order to obtain
victims for human sacrifice and to perform agricultural labor and urban
construction. At the same time, while he and his ancestors had constructed a
large empire in Mesoamerica, they had never achieved the kind of consensus
necessary to rule such a diverse population. Instead, they relied on terror,
which, in turn, led to numerous revolts. When the Spaniards arrived on the coast
of Mexico, many Amerindians viewed them as liberators and joined them against
the Mexicas.
What
kind of leader was Moctezuma?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
Both the Aztecs and Spanish tried to understand each other, fitting new things into
categories that were familiar. The Mexicas had never seen horses before and
initially described them as deer. The Spaniards described
the people they found in this strange land, but confused unfamiliar animals with
lions and tigers. They also described indigenous temples as mosques.
Did
the Spanish and Aztecs have difficulty understanding each
other?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
At first, Moctezuma did not attack the Spaniards and sent men with gifts to Cortez. Cortés was not
impressed with the gifts of quetzal feathers, among other items, and insisted
on gold. He then fired his cannon
to demonstrate his power to Moctezuma’s men. At this point, it appears that
Moctezuma may have believed that Cortés was Quetzalcoatl, a god who had
vowed to return. In any case, he was afraid. To please his
god, he sent more messengers along with victims for sacrifice.
What was the reaction of Cortez towards Moctezuma’s
gifts?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
In the meantime, Cortés founded a new city, Veracruz, and sunk his ships, forcing
his men to stay on the continent and fight their way to the
Mexica capital at Tenochtitlan. He fought many battles, lost some soldiers, but
overwhelmingly defeated his indigenous opponents because of his superior
weaponry. He made many allies, although he was frequently deceived by them, and
he gradually learned not to trust them.
What
was the military strategy of Cortez?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
C.
(supporting
details)
As Cortez marched toward the Aztec capital he massacred many Aztec towns. Learning
of the many attacks, Moctezuma tried to bribe
the Spaniards with gold, hoping
they will take it and go back to wherever they were from. But the gold only made
Cortés more eager to capture the Mexica capital. In one last, desperate attempt,
Moctezuma sends sorcerers to cast a spell on
the Spaniards.
What
did Moctezuma do when he heard of the Spanish
attacks?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
C.
(supporting
details)
Eventually, Cortés reached Tenochtitlan
on November 8, 1519, where he finally met Moctezuma. Sources from both
sides indicate that the first meeting was a friendly encounter between two
leaders who respected each other. They gave each other gifts, showed affection
for one another, and Cortés promised Moctezuma that “we are his friends.” Cortés
gradually placed Moctezuma under housearrest and began to
prepare for his subsequent
rule. Once in control,
Cortés demanded the Mexica gold, which they melted
down. For several months, the Spaniards moved freely in the city, as Cortés
ruled through Moctezuma.
What
happened once Cortex reached Tenochtitlan?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
C.
(supporting
details)
While Cortez was away fighting other villages, there was an Aztec revolt in
Tenochtitlan. Cortez returned to
Tenochtitlan as soon as he heard the news. . Somehow, Moctezuma had been killed, which the Mexicas learned when they found
his body. And, while the Spaniards had driven the Mexicas from a temple, which they burned, the Mexicas
tried to starve the Spaniards and prevent them from leaving their quarters.
Eventually, with help from Narváez’s soldiers, Cortés tried to rescue his men,
but lost two-thirds of them and most of his horses when he escaped from the city
on the night of June 30, 1520, known in Spanish as La Noche Triste or
the Night of Sorrows. It would take the Spaniards months to rebuild their army with Indian allies before they were able
to reconquer Tenochtitlan for the final time.
How
did the Spanish defeat
Tenochtitlan?
A.
(supporting
details)
B.
(supporting
details)
Name:
Date:
Cortés in Tenochtitlán (Primary
Source)
Read
the following description of Tenochtitlán by Hernando Cortés. Use this
description to help you answer the questions below. Discuss your answers with
the class.
"This great city of Tenochtitlán is built on the salt lake, and
no matter by what road you travel there are two leagues from the main body of
the city to the mainland. There are four artificial causeways leading to it, and
each is as wide as two cavalry lances. The city itself is as big as Seville or
Córdoba. The main streets are very wide and very straight; some of these are on
the land, but the rest and all the smaller ones are half on land, half canals
where they paddle their canoes. All the streets have openings in places so that
the water may pass from one canal to another. Over all these openings, and some
of them are very wide, there are bridges. . . . There are, in all districts of
this great city, many temples or houses for their idols. They are all very
beautiful buildings. . . . Amongst these temples there is one, the principal
one, whose great size and magnificence no human tongue could describe, for it is
so large that within the precincts, which are surrounded by very high wall, a
town of some five hundred inhabitants could easily be built. All round inside
this wall there are very elegant quarters with very large rooms and corridors
where their priests live. There are as many as forty towers, all of which are so
high that in the case of the largest there are fifty steps leading up to the
main part of it and the most important of these towers is higher than that of
the cathedral of Seville. . . ."
1.What are some of the objects and structures that Cortés sees in
Tenochtitlán?
2.What does this primary source tell you about the city? What does
Cortés' account tell you about the Aztec people?
3. What technology does Cortés mention in his account that shows
the Aztecs were able to adapt to this environment?