conquest of new spain

The Conquest of New Spain definitely does include much historical information. It tells how the Spaniards and the Aztecs fought and which groups had better technology. It goes into detail about Montezuma and his capture, along with stories of many other historical leaders and figures. Also, the book gives you an idea of what the lands looked like at that time and how the Aztec cities were set up.

Something that I found quite interesting while reading this book is that the Spaniards and the Aztecs view women similarly. They treat them as though they are tribute. The prettier they are the more they are worth, just as the purer the gold the more it is worth. The Aztecs give the Spaniards their daughters and nieces to make them happy, the same as they would jewels. Neither of them value women very highly.

One of the historical problems is ordering of events. Bernal Díaz wrote this book many years after the actual expeditions and his memory must have gotten mixed up. An. The editor corrects Díaz in a footnote:

attack the Spaniards. He tries to persuade his people with a speech, but “four or five of them replied asking how they could possible go without their lord Montezuma’s permission and make war in his own palace and city” (Díaz, 261). The Aztec warriors would not do so until they were sure it was what Montezuma wanted. The Spaniards mission in the New World was to convert the people they came into contact with Christianity. They tried many times to do this, and they never succeeded to convert any of the Aztecs as they would have liked. They put up crosses and took down their idols. However, they could never stop the people from sacrificing humans to their gods or from practicing sodomy. These are the things that struck me to be most important and interesting about the Aztecs.