Changing Worldview

Encomienda - spanish economic system

Franciscan order - priests who vowed to live in poverty, never marry and obey all superiors without question

Ideologies - a set of values. Ex) political parties, cultural and social

Mestizo - mixed-race people -- same root as Métis (mixed)

How can losing a war affect a conquered people’s worldview?

Have you ever had your ideals challenged?

Did you stick to your guns or did you take a look at the other ideals and possibly change the way you think or approach the topic?

Even though the Black Death was an event that could not be controlled, it has huge consequences on the population of Europe. For the Aztecs, the Spanish conquest was a catastrophe, as well. At the end, it had a significant impact on how the Aztecs lived and worked, while forcing them to rethink how they looked at the world….their worldview.

How might religion and economy impact a worldview?

What world event has taken place in your time, that has had a far-reaching effect on how you look at the world around you?

Even while many of the people in Tenochtitlan knew they were not going to win, the priests continued to push the leaders to pray and sacrifice because the gods would help them win the war.

Who do you think the Aztecs blamed for the loss?

Many of the people felt that their gods had abandoned them.

How did the Spanish respond?

Cortés sent for “religious persons of goodly life and character” to help meet the “desperate” religious needs. When the Franciscan order arrived, they were barefoot, had been fasting and walked the 500 km to get to Tenochtitlan. When the men had finally reached their new home, Hernan Cortés “knelt in the dirt and kissed the hem” of their robes. The Aztecs had never seen such a behaviour from the Spanish.

Why do you think this astonished the Aztecs?

They had never seen the Spanish treat anyone with such respect.

When a country is taken over by a new one, the economy of the nation is changed. This happened to the Aztecs as well. We know that the Aztecs economy was strengthened by their bond with the people through farming, trade, war and tributes attained through war. These elements helped the Aztecs’ build an incredible amount of wealth.

As with many leaders, the Aztecs demanded more and more tributes from their people. This frustration led to many of these people hating the Aztecs and therefore were recruited by the Spanish in their conquest against the Aztecs.

System of Slavery

As in Spain, the new economic system in Mexico was introduced.

Encomienda

Unfortunately, the settlers abused their workers anyway. The Spanish Crown tried to control the abuse by passing laws against the abuse, but because or the distance between the Spain and the colonies, this was hard to enforce.

Economic Hierarchy

11.2 A New Worldview Emerges