Tenochititlan & Its Fall

Readings for today’s class:

• Victors & Vanquished by Schwartz : “Things Fall Apart” to “The Siege” 156-213
• Library of Congress, The Conquest of Mexico
• Tenochtitlan and Its Fall (Historical Analysis Prep)

Announcements

Midterm Exam guide

• Required skill: making argument with evidence and analysis of primary sources, with profound historical knowledge and historian’s thinking.
• Divided into three parts.
• First part: five responses out of eight questions. 20 minutes. Definition and analysis of historical significance of the key concepts of what we covered in Latin American history sessions so far.
• Second part: three responses out of four questions. 20 minutes. Provide short answer. Make an argument about the given topic, using your historical thinking and knowledge.
• Third part: One essay. 20 minutes. Choice of two quotes from certain documents. Identify the source of the quote, and contextualize it.
• Pay close attentions to the terms listed on the Midterm Guide paper.

Culture Blog Presentation

“Mexico City Earthquake” by Sofia

Based on a New York Times article the recent earthquake, the presentation mostly covered the step-by-step analysis of the article in lights of the recent development of the disaster. Photos from the heavily damaged urban buildings and small houses of Mexico City were shown, with presenter’s explanation about the extent of damage that affected the residents of the city. The Professor helped us to find the article linked on the bottom of the blog post, which shown digital graphic describing where exactly the earthquake started and how its impact reached the city. Apparently the epicenter of the earthquake was not located under the city itself – it was under the mountain ranges which spread eastwards to the city. There was an interesting discussion of how the areas where the ancient city used to be were relatively less affected than the urban center of the Mexico City. Professor reminded us to call back on the Inca stone bricks, which is said to have sustained earthquake damages far much better than the modern building structures. I asked the geographical question, about how the geography of the region affected the damage that was inflicted onto the city, which was answered with the digital graphic mentioned above.

Key questions for today’s class

• What factors account Spanish military victory at Tenochititlan?
• How do the victors looking back commemorate this event? What narrative do they create, and why?

Key Skills

• Primary source analysis – conflicting accounts of the events
• Visual analysis
• Historical commemoration & public art

Group Discussion

Professor Holt divided us into six groups, asking us to engage in discussions on the questions featured in Historical Analysis Prep paper handed to us in the last class. My teammates and I talked about how different the very details the accounts of King Moctezuma’s death depending on which party wrote such accounts. We also discussed what factors might have influenced the Spanish victory over the Mexica, and how the paintings describing the historical accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Mexica, which were painted by a Mexican painter who lived hundreds of years after the conquest, were implying about such events.

• The differences between the Spanish accounts vs. the indigenous accounts – both sides trying to push blame on the other side. Spanish claimed that Moctezuma, who tried to warn his people not to attack the Spaniards, was killed by a stone thrown at him, while the Mexica claimed that the Spaniards killed their king who was kidnapped and subjugated by the Spanish. The very tone of the accounts differed, with Spaniards more detached and calculating, and the indigenous much more personal and emotional.
• Possible factors that might have helped Spanish victory: Professor and the class engaged in prolonged discussion on the impact of Old World diseases, namely smallpox on the indigenous population of Mexico at the time Hernan Cortes and his soldiers stepped in. The factors such as advanced weaponry on the Spanish side and the shaky relationships between the Mexica and other indigenous groups were mentioned in group discussion.

Painting Analysis – The Conquest of Mexico

This session was very brief, and most of the discussions about these paintings were done in group discussion sessions. Professor asked whether these paintings seem like a propaganda material in favor of the Spaniards, glorifying and endorsing the Spanish accounts of the fall of Tenochititlan.

We covered only the first four paintings so far, both in general class discussion and the group discussion session where we talked about the fourth painting, The Death of Moctezuma by the Hands of His Own People. The very framing of the paintings was discussed, in which the Spanish were depicted in much more dominant position, while the indigenous less significant and more subdued and demoralized compared to the mighty-looking Spaniards. The paintings in general indeed seemed to be created in a purpose of commemorating the Spanish conquest, especially endorsing the Spanish part of the account. The very wording of the title of the fourth painting explicitly shows which part of the historical records these paintings drew their inspirations from.

Extra Questions

1. How much did the Spanish try to convert the local population into Christianity at the time of Cortes’ endeavor? Did such efforts play part in the Fall of Tenochititlan?
2. Which local indigenous tribes decided to help Cortes against the Mexica? What was their relationship with the Mexica like?
3. If the The Conquest of Mexico paintings were indeed intended to be a propaganda, then what was the context behind the creation of these paintings? Were there any needs for such propaganda material at the time these paintings emerged?

Extra scholarly sources for this class

Fitch, Nancy. “The Conquest of Mexico”. American Historical Association. Accessed on September 26th, 2017. https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/teaching-and-learning-in-the-digital-age/the-history-of-the-americas/the-conquest-of-mexico

Palfrey, Dale Hoft. “The Spanish Conquest (1519-1527)”. Mexconnect. Accessed on September 26th, 2017. https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/teaching-and-learning-in-the-digital-age/the-history-of-the-americas/the-conquest-of-mexico

Announcements

• Movie screening next week. Not required, but all are invited.

LA History and Culture blog post by Chris

“Pope Francis’ Colombian Visit”

Context for the visit:

• Referendum to pardon the FARC rebels did not pass
• Despite the lack of support, the pardon was passed as law anyway
• The suggested pardon was not widely supported due to suffering endured on the part of the rebels

Controversial decision:

• This move was controversial because the government decided to ignore popular support
• Pope Francis decided to support this move for peace
• Colombia government, despite passing the bill, does not uphold their end of the deal
  • Allowances for re-integration into Colombian society

This article mainly reflects the failures of the Colombian government, while not providing much perspective from Colombian citizens. It also provides emphasis on the influence and involvement of Catholicism in South American politics. Included is a link to an interactive webpage detailing the history of the Vatican and South America.

Questions:

• What was the nature of the conflict between Colombia and FARC?
  • FARC was a Marxist organization with involvement in drug trade
  • The Colombian government wanted to re-use the farm space that was being used to grow drugs
  • FARC was kidnapping political figures for ransom
  • Multiple parties increased the violence of their tactics
  • FARC was one of the most well-funded criminal organizations in the world
• This referendum was not passed?
  • The majority vote did not support the referendum, but the Colombian government decided to pass it into law regardless
  • A storm that was present on the day of the referendum potentially suppressed voter turnout, leading many to call for a second referendum
• Why is the Catholic Church making strides in Latin America?
  • Catholicism in Latin America had relatively recent changes reflecting on what the majority of people want
  • After the ’60s, masses were no longer being held in Latin
  • Shifts in the relations between the public and priests occurred
  • The Vatican has also been making moves with social change
  • Compared to evangelical sects, Catholicism is not as conservative as stereotypes claim
    • In accordance with everyday life, the Catholic Church tends to be more liberal
  • Pope Francis has been drawing on his experiences in Latin America
  • The Church has also been involved in mediation in Venezuela
  • Cuba also had some involvement in Colombia alongside the Church
• Comments about “dirty wars”
  • Huge death tolls
  • Not everybody will necessarily be happy with peace

Questions about the Paper

• How do you want us to get the citation info for the primary sources?
  • The info is available for the web sources
  • Ask the writing center or the Purdue OWL for help on citations
  • The photocopy source doesn’t come with info, so a link has been provided
• Do you want us to cite throughout the paper?
  • Yes, and be sure to use footnotes
• When citing journals, is it necessary to include the dates?
  • Yes, including citations builds credibility as an author
  • When using a quote, be sure to contextualize the quote and explain why you used it
    • Usually, you want to paraphrase
• Zotero is very useful for citations
  • It saves you time
  • Be sure to invest in learning how to use it
  • There are videos available online
• Be sure to pick one primary and one secondary source
  • You are allowed to use two secondary sources
  • Be sure to engage in an argument, not just state facts
• How do we cite a letter?
  • Author, title, reprinted in…
• Secondary sources can be refuted, you don’t have to agree with them
• Make sure the paper is short and focused
  • Each paragraph should be organized and have a topic sentence

Primary source analysis

Professor Holt divided us into three groups to focus on the three different perspectives involved in the primary sources that we had read for this class. The three perspectives were Hernán Cortés, Bernal Díaz, and the Florentine Codex. We discussed the similarities and differences between the sources and determined the factors that contributed to the contextualization of the perspectives of these sources.

Hernán Cortés:

The letter was written to Carlos V. Cortés was trying to emphasize the nature and usefulness of the new world. He describes how the natives disfigured their bodies with piercings. He also compared the architecture to the Moors, showing his perspective of other cultures as being grouped together. He criticized the human sacrifices that the natives took part in and declared that these should be removed from their practices immediately, focusing on how the Spanish will change everything. Similar to Columbus’ letter that we have read in class previously, Cortés had a lot of focus on the body.

The perspective involved how Cortés was trying to be persuasive to a monarch. Unlike how when Columbus saw innocence among the natives, Cortés saw savagery. He saw it as the Spanish’s obligation to convert the natives to Catholicism. Also it was noteworthy that Columbus and Cortés were talking about different peoples. Focus on how the new world can provide assets to Spain, he focused on the “gold, God, and glory.”

Bernal Díaz:

Díaz was a soldier that served under Cortés. The source focuses on the interactions between Cortés and the Nahua people. He called his source “The True History of Conquest.” He wrote it to try and right Cortés’ wrongs from what he had said about the conquest of the new world. By the time of publication, the reputation of the new world was already heavily embedded in Europe.

There is still some overlying bias in Díaz’s account, although much less compared to Cortés. He has a much more balanced approach, and includes more details in his account. However, he still makes some cultural assumptions, understanding that the natives are “savages” and sees the need for no further explanation.

Florentine Codex:

The Florentine Codex (named after the fact that it is being archived in Florence) was an indigenous account of the Spanish post-conquest. It was written by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún who was a Franciscan friar. He learned the indigenous languages and recorded a collaborated account, leading to some still present bias tied to mediation.

The Codex displayed the perspective that they saw the Spanish as godly, but the natives were trying to scare the Spanish away. However, the Spanish did not leave, which led to much concern on the natives’ parts, showing a perspective of “we’re nothing to them.” (Ants among giants).

Bernardino still had his bias as a missionary. It is worth understanding what people were willing to tell him. Cortés was detailed as a divine figure in the Codex. There was a lot of emphasis on the interest in the new technologies, such as the iron armor and weapons. There was also some focus on the curliness of the Spaniards’ hair and beards, as well as the different colors.

Think about:
How do the Spaniards return their hospitality? How to the Spaniards fight?

Announcements/Misc.

• Essay: writing center in library for assistance with citations, general help, etc. Upload to Moodle (preferably as a .pdf) by 12:00 noon on Friday
• Wikipedia Article: sign up for one soon. Look through Prof. Holt’s posted list of underdeveloped topics to get ideas going. To start finding your own topics, google “wikiproject [desired theme/subject]”. This should take you to a “Talk:” page about whatever category you searched. Click on a specific topic. It should take you to a page that contains a colorful chart mapping the importance of the topic versus the coverage already on it. It is much easier to explain in person, so ask Prof. Holt or someone else in class to show you how to navigate this – it makes looking for potential projects significantly easier.
• Midterm coming soon

Yeeun’s Blog Post – Inca Kola

An interesting observation of material culture, we looked at how nationalism for              Inca and therefore Peruvian culture manifested itself in this specific soft drink that          has been around since the early 1900s. Invented by an English immigrant family            (the Lindleys) in Lima, this soft drink has consistently defeated Coca Cola in local            popularity and is nowadays almost tied with its competitor. Other points of interest          were how, in advertisements, traditional Andean clothing and art styles were                    celebrated and capitalized upon, but usually when worn by fairer-skinned,                        European models, and how strongly the drink identifies itself as an embodiment of          being Peruvian.

El Requerimiento

A Spanish document both very straightforward and very dense with meaning and            interpretation. At a basic level, it is a message to be read to any natives of the                New World stating that they will convert to the true Faith or face dire                                consequences (enslavement of family members, destruction of way of life, etc.).              We discussed a few major points: the self-appointed authority and power of the              Spaniards and the Pope over this part of the world, the alleviation of culpability on          the part of the Catholics on the consequences of their actions (it’s the                              natives’ decision to refuse conversion, after all; the Spaniards view it as their hand          being forced if they do so refuse), and the rhetoric used throughout, specifically              the choice to be vague when speaking of what “conversion” actually consists of,              and very explicit when speaking of the threats against the indigenous population.            Also of notice should be the fact that the Spanish believe that conversion should            not be forced. This was shaped greatly by the history Christian Iberia had had in            experiencing a religious “other” with the Jewish and Muslim populations. So                    conveniently they considered it an honest conversion to read a document of great          importance and fine instruction in Spanish to a people who do not know Spanish,            and to preface their ultimatum with saying that most of the other people who                    they’ve encountered converted willingly. If they convert, fantastic; if they do not,              they have made their own “educated” decision and have sealed their fate.