Reflection Paper

Tyler Taylor
HUM2020
2/9/14

Comparison & Contrast Paper
“The stay in Mexico , Hernan Cortés : from Second Letter to Charles V , 1520”

In the document and the passage “The stay in Mexico” had a few differences and also a few similarities. The document “Hernan Cortes: from the Second Letter” states Cortes sent the letter (second letter) to Charles V that described everything about the cities of the Aztec culture. Cortes tried to suck up to the majesty but was at a lost of words. He began by describing the landscape of the area that is now called Mexico. In the book he mentions that the city was shaped in a circle form with Montezuma’s palace right dead in the middle. Both the book and the article gave details of the different mountains and lakes that surrounded the outside of the city.

According to both readings Cortes also went into specifics on the actual layout of the city mentioning how the water flows through openings in the street and as well as the bridges. While on the other hand “The stay in Mexico” failed to mention how the native people tried to resist they could easily leave the city and rebels to suffer from famine caused by the inability to reach the mainland. Finally he talked about the public squares and how they where so abundant in the city. He was so intrigued by the design and configuration of the Aztec city that remembered all the types of food and goods that where sold in the city and there designated spot on the square.

Furthermore, Cortes finds and goes into depth on many different temples within the city. Although there are many small temples that each are devoted to a single god, there is one large temple that Cortes found most spectacular. Based on the “Second Letter” the temple he was referring to could house a town of about five hundred families and at the same time is also completed with at least forty full towers. Once again both readings mentioned the fact that there where several religious statues of idols attached to the walls and that the towers were the funereal places of peers. He goes into depth on how religious idols of most importance are placed on platforms and cast down purty on the chapels in front of in which they stand. Due to my understanding it was in religion that Cortes first saw the major differences in culture

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