In fact, despite the letter from Fra Motolina, the encomienda system may have been slowed down, but it was not eradicated. The actual plight of the Indian populations was not improved, and the manner in which the Spaniards continued to view the populations and their conditions, based typically on economic class and what those in question could offer, remained quite imperialistic.
In 1560, the Council of Huejotzingo wrote to King Phillip II in the flowery diplomatic language traditionally used between Aztec nations. In this letter, the population made sure that Phillip knew they had given Cortes and his men everything they needed, but were now confused because they were nothing but slaves. They end their plea with the phrase, "He [Cortez] told us many times he would help us and would inform you of all the ways in which we helped and served you… But perhaps, before you he forgot us, How then shall we speak?"
From a historiographical perspective, we are fortunate to have this letter preserved. The letter from the Council of Huejotzingo to King Philip II in 1560 was a masterpiece of rhetoric. Scholars have commented on the Aztec language being florid and it being impolite to be direct and to the point, and this letter shows that the Council is beseeching the King to reduce taxes/tributes because of the previous help this province gave to Conquistador Cortes. Huejotzingo was an independent province prior to the arrival of the Spanish and it did not pay tribute to the Aztec Empire....
Spanish Conquests of Inca and Aztec Empires The Spaniard's conquest of Inca and Aztec Empires are two of the most important chapters regarding the history of colonization in Americas. After Christopher Columbus had discovered America in 1492, he was able to convince the European traders to see America as a land of great opportunity. Even though there were other European countries like France, England and Italy who were setting up colonies
60). Why did the Spaniards bring so many slaves into Mexico? Because many of the native Indians had suffered and died from many diseases brought over by the Spaniards (the Indians did not have resistance to those new diseases), there was a need for cheap labor, and the Black slaves served that purpose. The slaves were sold in many areas of Mexico, but the author explains that the four main
Diaz del Castillo has an undoubted ideological bias in stressing how that the small band of Spanish soldiers, barely numbering in the several hundreds, could never have defeated the mighty Mexican army, but his account gives the reader pause. Diaz del Castillo's account, even if one allows for a certain amount of exaggeration here and there, to have a ring of authenticity, as he portrays his own people as
Other religions that are practiced include evangelical religions (including Pentecostals, neopentecostals, and Pentecostal Roots) make up 1.71% of the population; other Protestant evangelical groups, 2.79%; members of Jehovah's Witness make up 1.25%, "historical Protestants" such as Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Del Nazerenos, Mennonites, and others, comprise .71%; Seventh-day Adventists, 0.58%; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), .25%, Jews, .05%, and other religions, .31% (with 3.52% of respondents indicating
Inca and Spaniard: A Battle of Two Cultures It is rare to find one people placidly submitting to the will of another. Rarer still, is to meet with a people who gleefully welcome their conquerors, embrace their culture, way-of-life, and worldview. Yet, it is all too common to discover that those conquerors believe, or want to believe, that they have been welcomed with open arms. How many times in the course
Conquest of the Americas When twelve barefoot Franciscans led by Martin de Valencia began marching two hundred and seventy miles from the coastal road of Vera Cruz to Mexico City, they carried a cross, not bladed weapons of war. They had come to fight a spiritual war. Their desire was to conquer Mexico and the heathen natives. Their apostolic mandate was to convert the pagans worshipping hideous idols and performing
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