Wednesday, August 13, 2008
This Day in the History of Evil Being Destroyed
On this day in 1521, Hernando Cortes captured Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) after a three month siege. He stopped the institutional cannibalism, which many members of his conquistadors had been victims of, and generally was a force for good in the New World, in contradiction to the anti-historical pap being force fed our children these days--that the peaceful, kite flying Indians were raped and murdered by the evil Spaniards. It is still difficult to believe ten dozen Spaniards could bring down an Empire with a million citizens and a dedicated warrior class, but the evil of the Aztecs was a big Karma driver (local native warriors seeking to end Aztec rule may have numbered 150,000) and disease, specifically smallpox, was Cortes' greatest ally.
Labels: Aztec History
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 6:34 AM 
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Rog,
Guns, germs, and Steel.
Let us accept that the Aztecs were evil, although in truth., one can wonder whether those natives who sought to supplant them were any better.
That which followed is history and I think it rather uselss to assert whether this was good and that was evil. Nevertheless, the history of the Spanish conquest of the New World in many ways does not cover the Spanish w/ glory.
T
Guns, germs, and Steel.
Let us accept that the Aztecs were evil, although in truth., one can wonder whether those natives who sought to supplant them were any better.
That which followed is history and I think it rather uselss to assert whether this was good and that was evil. Nevertheless, the history of the Spanish conquest of the New World in many ways does not cover the Spanish w/ glory.
T
# posted by 
: 8:53 AM
: 8:53 AM
I'll stipulate that culling surrounding peoples like cattle and eating them is evil but disagree that the surrounding people under Spanish rule were anywhere near as bad as the Aztecs.
Glory, huh? Curious word. Conquering through force of arms hugely numerically superior nations, creating a new society, making things much, much better and changing the genetic makeup of the nations may not be glorious, but if not, I don't know what would be glorious then. Thank God we evolved (if I can use those words in proximity) on the one continent that stretched the long way east and west
Glory, huh? Curious word. Conquering through force of arms hugely numerically superior nations, creating a new society, making things much, much better and changing the genetic makeup of the nations may not be glorious, but if not, I don't know what would be glorious then. Thank God we evolved (if I can use those words in proximity) on the one continent that stretched the long way east and west
Rog,
The Spanish in the New World treated the indigenous peoples like slaves. Admittedly, they did not eat them like the Aztecs did. But make no mistake, the Spanish had their own agenda and forced conversion and enslavement were intrinsic components of the program.
These are the same Spanish who 67 years later would attempt to invade England. I the context of their times, they were who they were. But never mistake them for being nice people who had anyone's interest at heart but their own.
T
The Spanish in the New World treated the indigenous peoples like slaves. Admittedly, they did not eat them like the Aztecs did. But make no mistake, the Spanish had their own agenda and forced conversion and enslavement were intrinsic components of the program.
These are the same Spanish who 67 years later would attempt to invade England. I the context of their times, they were who they were. But never mistake them for being nice people who had anyone's interest at heart but their own.
T
# posted by : 9:11 AM
: 9:11 AM
Not nice but not evil in the way the Aztecs were evil. Think of the Nazis, but not motivated by anti-Semitism, rather by hunger.
The Aztecs spent a great deal of energy murdering people for religious reasons (the human sacrifice thing was very explicitly a religious ritual). In that, they are indistinguishable from the Spanish of the 16th century.
I disagree, Doug. The act of sacrifice may have been believed to have been to appease the Gods, but they knew that they were eating the body, not the Gods. If you're a Christian, the Spaniards brought everlasting salvation to the heathens. Murder? I'm not sure that's the term I'd use. Perhaps the Maya, Toltecs and Aztecs,etc. who survived the plagues abandoned their false, unhelpful gods and embraced Christianity sincerely. Stranger things have happened.
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