The provided source examines the interactions between the Spanish invaders led by Hernan Cortes and the Aztecs during their decline in the period from 1450 to 1750. The perspective is largely from the Spanish, documenting significant figures like Cortes, Montezuma, and La Malinche.
Hernan's perspective was left out. Did he really mean to come into Mesoamerica as an ally or friendly? If so then why did he come in on horses, swords drawn and ready with cannons? The Aztecs thoughts on their downfall was left out.
Did it result in change?
This source did result in a change, Mesoamerica represents the fall of the Aztec empire which was hastened by an unlikely series of events engineered by Hernan Cortés. It resulted in change because the Aztects ruling over Mesoamerica came to a halt and they were no longer the main leaders. In August 1521, the Spanish conquered Tenochtitlan.
Whose Perspective does it reflect?
This source reflects the perspective of the Spanish invading Aztecs during their decline. Hernan Cortes, The Aztecs, Montezuma, La Malinche are all people that the source shows/reflects their perspective.
Whose perspective are ommited/questioned/challenged?
Hernan Cortes is challenging the Aztecs. He and the Spanish are planning in invade Mesoamerica and take it over. He engineered many ways to create the downfall of the Aztecs by using cannons, swords, and horses because the Aztecs had never been exposed to these things, it caught them by surprise and led them to a disadvantage.
The Aztecs were being challenged because their decades of tributes/human sacrifice had made the Aztecs unpopular in the region.
What does it reveal about the values and beliefs of the past?
This source reveals that the Aztecs in the past were very powerful with many allies, however they had have a decline in their military power. The source also reveals that the Aztecs were not familiar with modern day animals or man made cannons/swords. Therefore the Aztecs mistaken the Spanish to be Gods.
Moctezuma claimed to have foreseen Cortes arrival via prophetic dreams. Cortes and Moctezuma meet and Cortes tells him that there is nothing to fear and that they come into Mexico as friends. They then patted backs to show affection towards him.
What are the big ideas?
The big idea within this source is that the Aztects used to rule and control Mesoamerica and had great military power in the past, they were able to invade countries with this manpower and maintained control using their military, however, the military got weaker and less strong. Therefore resulting in the big idea of Cortes taking over and invading Mesoamerica from the Aztects
How does the author communicate ideas?
The author communicates ideas by telling the historical contexts of Mesoamerica, the author goes into deep detail on the Aztecs life prior to Hernan Cortes's arrival with his men. The author then goes on to write about the encounter between Aztec and Spanish, and how it was peaceful at first. Finally the author communicates the Aztec downfall by describing what had happened during that time period by using metaphors such as "as if everyone had eaten stupefying mushrooms, as if they had seen something" this metaphor is meant to represent the terror that dominated the people.
Who wrote it? Why?
The primary source was documented by Aztec people (the script between Aztecs first meeting with the Spanish (Hernan Cortes) This primary source was written so that people can learn the history behind Mesoamerica before it became Mexico. They can see how a country came to be and the struggles/threats Mesoamerica had to go through to get to where it is today.
What does it look like?
The source consists of 5 boxes of information. There is historical context, there are two images that depict images of that period (La Malinche, Hernan Cortes, Montezuma pointing during conversation) The script of Aztecs account on meeting the Spanish consists of friendly demeanor and no violence towards one another. There is also a box on the fall of Aztecs which goes in depth of their downfall.
Which questions can this source help me answer? Which can it not?
This source can help me answer questions like how did the Aztecs meet the Hernan Cortes? What was the conversation like? Did a battle break out between the two groups due to that conversation? However the source did not answer the following question: Why had the Aztecs never been exposed to modern day tools/things? Did they start to use animals, and modern day tools once they seen Hernan Cortes with those same tools/animals?
