Author Bio: Mark A. Kishlansky was born in Brooklyn, New York. He completed his undergraduate degree at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1970. He proceeded to graduate study under David Underdown at Brown University, receiving his M.A. in 1972 and his PhD in 1977. In 1991 he became a professor at Harvard University and from 1997 to 2001 served as Associate Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciencesat Harvard. Kishlansky has co-authored a number of textbooks, most notably Civilization in the West, Societies and Cultures in World History, and The Unfinished Legacy.
Date/Context: At this time the Spanish are conquering Mexico and other parts of the Americas. Cortes, Don Pedro de Alvarado and the rest of the Spanish conquistadors are at first being recognized as Gods or Godsends to the Aztecs but soon turned to be enemies of the Aztecs and other indigenous peoples as they conquered them in the name of Spain and Catholicism.
Summary: The Aztec people find the Spanish to be godlike as they offer gifts of gold, quetzal feathers and other jewelry. The Spaniards find the offerings disgusting after the messengers preform human sacrifices in front of the Spanish and offer the blood to them as well. They Spaniards became angry at this and started attacking unarmed dancers and musicians that were having a ceremony in their honor. The Aztecs respond at first peacefully, but then turn to violence and war to drive at the contesting Spanish. The Aztecs were forced from their homes, villages and cities as the Spanish pushed through Mexico fighting any indigenous tribe that dared stop them and their advanced weaponry and technology. They fought in Yacacolco, Atezcapan, Coatlan, Nonohualco, Xoxohuitlan and Tepeyacac and massacred the native fighters. This all ended with the retreat of any remaining Aztecs to anywhere the Spanish weren't as there was destruction in the wake of the Spanish.
Key Quotation: "Gold, jade, rich cloths, quetzal feathers - everything that was once precious was now worthless"
I think that your PDP is effective in getting the main idea of "An Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico" across. It details the beginnings of Aztec and Spanish relations with the Aztecs perceiving the Spaniards as higher beings. Then, as you mentioned, the Aztecs are discriminated by the Spanish because of their rituals (which is a perfect example of ethnocentrism). Inevitably, the Aztecs had no choice but to respond with violence in order to attempt from being driven from Mexico. All in all, you constructed an effective summary for the reader to grasp the general ideas of the primary document.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I felt that your primary document analysis was a bit to broad and general for the reader to thoroughly understand the specifics of this Spanish-Aztec conflict. For future reference, I would include more details regarding the war, especially in the battles and sieging of Tlateloco and Tenochtlan.
Kishlansky is only the editor of this compilation. For the author bio you need to explain the Aztecs.
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