In the opening story (page 215), we learned that Moctezuma gave gifts to the Spaniards when they arrived to Tenochtitlan.
Why do you think he did this?
What was his motivating purpose?
How does a leaders worldview affect his/her choices and decisions?
Hernán Cortés
grew up in Spain
adventurous
ambitious
at age 19, he went to the "New World"
embodied the Spanish worldview
As a youth, he was described as restless, haughty, mischievous and given to quarrelling.
Judging from this description of Cortés,
what do you think his attitude was to those in authority?
Cortés came to the island of Hispaniola in 1504. He was given a plot of land to farm, but he explained he came to get gold not to work as a farmer.
Over time:
joined expedition to conquer Cuba using The Conquistadors' Formula
Once landed in new region, the Spaniards would meet the local people peacefully to discover the area's most powerful group.
The leader of the expedition would invite the leader to meet, and exchange gifts. The Spanish would then take control of the leader and threaten his life if he did not obey.
If there was fighting, it would be done in on open ground, making use of their military weapons, armour and horses.
The leader of the expedition would then become the next leader of the new colony and the second-in-command would lead the next expedition.
The Indigenous peoples would then be forced into slavery.
The Richest Men Who Ever Crossed the Seas
Growing restless, Cortés wanted to explore the Yucatan Peninsula. As second in command to Governor Valázquez, Cortés received financial support to explore this new region that was said to be "more advanced, and wealthier than any group of people the Spanish had yet encountered."1
Prior to leaving Cuba, Cortés made a speech stating:
We will take vast and wealthy lands
this is a just war
we will do this in God's name
they would become the wealthiest men to cross the ocean
Velázquez tried to cancel the trip, because of fear that Cortés would get all the glory, but Cortés kept going.
Once on the coast of Mexico:
Cortés set up La Villa Rica de la Veracruz
declared it an independent government
sent a ship back to Spain with the treasures that were seized so far
sank the remaining ten ships to prevent soldiers who were loyal to Veláquez
Cortés was
an ambitious man
wanted wealth
wanted glory for overtaking the new land
1 Worldview Contact and Change, page 221