Hernan Cortes Research Paper

Words: 608
Pages: 3

In November 1519, led by Hernan Cortes, hundreds of Spaniards followed by thousands of neighboring indigenous people marched into the Mexican capital Tenochtitlan. They were set on conquering the city, but did not until after 3 years of political quarrel. Both Spanish and Indigenous writers have described the events of Cortes’s arrival, including Lopez de Gomara, a Spaniard who wrote General History of the Indies in 1552 through first hand accounts of many returning Spaniards, including Cortes. In addition is The Florentine Codex, which was finally published in 1979. It was written beginning in the 1540s by various indigenous peoples and later translated by Spaniards, and it details the cultures of the native people as well as the Spanish arrival. Lastly, The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, …show more content…
All three contain important details, such as Cortes, the Spanish army, and the indigenous people allied with them. Both excerpts written by Spaniards contain much more credit to Cortes, and look down on the indigenous people. Both accounts of the greeting of Cortes and the king mention how ornate the event was, and how polite each side was to each other. They also include descriptions of the Spanish looking all around the city, full of curiosity and wonder at the city and culture. This is in contrast to the account written by Gomara, which describes the indigenous people as idiotic, inferior, and unknowing of arts or design. Gomara is writing based off of talking with returning Spaniards, who do not even mention the beauty that can be found in Tenochtitlan, because they view the people there as inferior. In the three accounts, there are many differences due to opposing perspectives, pressures on the author, and cultural barriers. The Spanish writers are biased towards their own nationality, and view themselves as righteous and superior compared to the indigenous