RAMóN EDUARDO RUIZ
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262355
- eISBN:
- 9780520947528
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262355.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
Western Europe and the United States have played leading roles in Mexico's story. That said, Mexican underdevelopment has two fathers, though one, the Spaniard, must bear the brunt of the ...
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Western Europe and the United States have played leading roles in Mexico's story. That said, Mexican underdevelopment has two fathers, though one, the Spaniard, must bear the brunt of the responsibility. This story of Mexico begins to unfold long before Hernán Cortés and his intrepid band of Spaniards overwhelmed Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztecs, whio, like most societies on this earth, glorified warfare. A superstitious and fatalistic people, the Aztecs practiced a decayed and defunct theology, believing in a tempestuous and hostile universe presided over by capricious deities who had to be placated. Spain, to the despair of Mexico, had an intolerant, fanatical, and cruel underbelly, plus an economy harking back to the Dark Ages. Itself a colony of the developing countries of Europe, Spain set the stage for Mexican underdevelopment.Less
Western Europe and the United States have played leading roles in Mexico's story. That said, Mexican underdevelopment has two fathers, though one, the Spaniard, must bear the brunt of the responsibility. This story of Mexico begins to unfold long before Hernán Cortés and his intrepid band of Spaniards overwhelmed Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztecs, whio, like most societies on this earth, glorified warfare. A superstitious and fatalistic people, the Aztecs practiced a decayed and defunct theology, believing in a tempestuous and hostile universe presided over by capricious deities who had to be placated. Spain, to the despair of Mexico, had an intolerant, fanatical, and cruel underbelly, plus an economy harking back to the Dark Ages. Itself a colony of the developing countries of Europe, Spain set the stage for Mexican underdevelopment.
Susan Toby Evans
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520254435
- eISBN:
- 9780520941519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520254435.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, World Medieval History
In contrast to the few imperial palaces with dozens of wives and concubines, most polygynous households in the Aztec period were probably much more modest. Spain's conquest of the Aztec Empire ...
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In contrast to the few imperial palaces with dozens of wives and concubines, most polygynous households in the Aztec period were probably much more modest. Spain's conquest of the Aztec Empire changed much of Aztec culture: ancient Mexico's land and riches came under Spanish control, and its native people were converted to Christianity—and obliged to obey marriage laws that demanded monogamous unions. This change in marriage practices had severe economic consequences for the Aztec nobility, because Aztec women wove cloth, and cloth was so highly valued that it was a form of money. Therefore, a household with many wives produced much wealth, and one with only one wife was much poorer. The secondary wives, the “concubines,” held a status of respect because of the prosperity they generated. This chapter traces the relationship between marriage patterns and wealth in textiles through three successive periods in Mexican history: the Late Postclassic period heyday of the Aztec Empire (ca. 1430–1521), the Early Colonial period (1521–1620), and the Middle Colonial period (1621–1720).Less
In contrast to the few imperial palaces with dozens of wives and concubines, most polygynous households in the Aztec period were probably much more modest. Spain's conquest of the Aztec Empire changed much of Aztec culture: ancient Mexico's land and riches came under Spanish control, and its native people were converted to Christianity—and obliged to obey marriage laws that demanded monogamous unions. This change in marriage practices had severe economic consequences for the Aztec nobility, because Aztec women wove cloth, and cloth was so highly valued that it was a form of money. Therefore, a household with many wives produced much wealth, and one with only one wife was much poorer. The secondary wives, the “concubines,” held a status of respect because of the prosperity they generated. This chapter traces the relationship between marriage patterns and wealth in textiles through three successive periods in Mexican history: the Late Postclassic period heyday of the Aztec Empire (ca. 1430–1521), the Early Colonial period (1521–1620), and the Middle Colonial period (1621–1720).
Rodney Carlisle
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813037622
- eISBN:
- 9780813041612
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813037622.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Prior to the final decision of Congress, three more ships were sunk by German submarines: the Aztec, the Missourian, and the Marguerite. Word of the sinking of the first two reached Congress before ...
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Prior to the final decision of Congress, three more ships were sunk by German submarines: the Aztec, the Missourian, and the Marguerite. Word of the sinking of the first two reached Congress before their final decision. Wilson's address to Congress is discussed, showing the reasons why he focused on idealistic issues of democracy and morality, rather than on the precipitating actions that constituted a casus belli. The speeches of Congressmen are evaluated to show the extent to which they were aware of the specifics of the ship losses; several speeches showed that key members of Congress used the Lansing memorandum for their information.Less
Prior to the final decision of Congress, three more ships were sunk by German submarines: the Aztec, the Missourian, and the Marguerite. Word of the sinking of the first two reached Congress before their final decision. Wilson's address to Congress is discussed, showing the reasons why he focused on idealistic issues of democracy and morality, rather than on the precipitating actions that constituted a casus belli. The speeches of Congressmen are evaluated to show the extent to which they were aware of the specifics of the ship losses; several speeches showed that key members of Congress used the Lansing memorandum for their information.
Camilla Townsend
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190628994
- eISBN:
- 9780190629021
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190628994.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
After the Spanish conquest, the Nahuas of colonial Mexico learned the Roman alphabet and used it to transcribe oral performances of traditional histories of their peoples. These texts were called ...
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After the Spanish conquest, the Nahuas of colonial Mexico learned the Roman alphabet and used it to transcribe oral performances of traditional histories of their peoples. These texts were called xiuhpohaulli in Nahuatl and are usually referred to as “annals” now. They were produced by indigenous people and for indigenous people, without regard to European interests, and they therefore provide the closest view of pre-Columbian historiography we are ever likely to find. Over the course of the colonial era, the annals changed with the times, but for over one hundred years their flexibility allowed for incorporating the new without obliterating the old. Usually these texts have been assumed to be anonymous, but Camilla Townsend has deduced authorship in the case of most of the key texts, and in so doing, has been able to place them securely in their proper contexts, thus rendering them more legible to modern readers. Each chapter begins with a selection from a key text, then considers who wrote it and why, before finally embarking on an exploration of its meanings.Less
After the Spanish conquest, the Nahuas of colonial Mexico learned the Roman alphabet and used it to transcribe oral performances of traditional histories of their peoples. These texts were called xiuhpohaulli in Nahuatl and are usually referred to as “annals” now. They were produced by indigenous people and for indigenous people, without regard to European interests, and they therefore provide the closest view of pre-Columbian historiography we are ever likely to find. Over the course of the colonial era, the annals changed with the times, but for over one hundred years their flexibility allowed for incorporating the new without obliterating the old. Usually these texts have been assumed to be anonymous, but Camilla Townsend has deduced authorship in the case of most of the key texts, and in so doing, has been able to place them securely in their proper contexts, thus rendering them more legible to modern readers. Each chapter begins with a selection from a key text, then considers who wrote it and why, before finally embarking on an exploration of its meanings.
Mark Christensen
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804785280
- eISBN:
- 9780804787314
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804785280.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This book examines ecclesiastical texts written in Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya to illustrate their role in conveying and reflecting various Catholic messages—and thus Catholicisms—throughout colonial ...
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This book examines ecclesiastical texts written in Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya to illustrate their role in conveying and reflecting various Catholic messages—and thus Catholicisms—throughout colonial Central Mexico and Yucatan. It demonstrates how published and unpublished sermons, confessional manuals, catechisms, and other religious texts betray “official” and “unofficial” versions of Catholicism, and how these versions changed throughout the colonial period according to indigenous culture, local situations, and broader early modern events. The book’s study of these texts also allows for a better appreciation of the negotiations that occurred during the evangelization process between native and Spanish cultures, the center and periphery, and between official expectations and everyday realities. In many cases, these negotiations ensured that the religious instruction prescribed for and experienced by one differed from that of the other. Whereas many studies on colonial religion have focused solely on the Nahuas and their texts, this book employs both Nahuatl and Maya religious texts. This allows for a unique comparative study that expands beyond Central Mexico to include Yucatan. Such a comparison allows this book to illustrate important subregional and regional similarities and differences between the evangelization efforts made among the Nahua and Maya, and to expand beyond a monolithic understanding of colonial Catholicism to better visualize the diversity that religious texts both created and reflected.Less
This book examines ecclesiastical texts written in Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya to illustrate their role in conveying and reflecting various Catholic messages—and thus Catholicisms—throughout colonial Central Mexico and Yucatan. It demonstrates how published and unpublished sermons, confessional manuals, catechisms, and other religious texts betray “official” and “unofficial” versions of Catholicism, and how these versions changed throughout the colonial period according to indigenous culture, local situations, and broader early modern events. The book’s study of these texts also allows for a better appreciation of the negotiations that occurred during the evangelization process between native and Spanish cultures, the center and periphery, and between official expectations and everyday realities. In many cases, these negotiations ensured that the religious instruction prescribed for and experienced by one differed from that of the other. Whereas many studies on colonial religion have focused solely on the Nahuas and their texts, this book employs both Nahuatl and Maya religious texts. This allows for a unique comparative study that expands beyond Central Mexico to include Yucatan. Such a comparison allows this book to illustrate important subregional and regional similarities and differences between the evangelization efforts made among the Nahua and Maya, and to expand beyond a monolithic understanding of colonial Catholicism to better visualize the diversity that religious texts both created and reflected.
Camilla Townsend
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190628994
- eISBN:
- 9780190629021
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190628994.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
In Central Mexico, the generation in power at the time of the Spanish conquest faced not only a crisis but also a new set of opportunities. Don Alonso Castañeda Chimalpopoca, a chief of Cuauhtinchan ...
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In Central Mexico, the generation in power at the time of the Spanish conquest faced not only a crisis but also a new set of opportunities. Don Alonso Castañeda Chimalpopoca, a chief of Cuauhtinchan whose younger relatives attended the Colegio de Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco, supervised the transcription of his people’s history into the text now known as the Historia Tolteca Chichimeca, while peers of his worked on the Annals of Tlatelolco. They welcomed the use of a phonetic alphabet. In the history they recorded in their texts, the political nature of marriage alliances and warfare are both key elements.Less
In Central Mexico, the generation in power at the time of the Spanish conquest faced not only a crisis but also a new set of opportunities. Don Alonso Castañeda Chimalpopoca, a chief of Cuauhtinchan whose younger relatives attended the Colegio de Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco, supervised the transcription of his people’s history into the text now known as the Historia Tolteca Chichimeca, while peers of his worked on the Annals of Tlatelolco. They welcomed the use of a phonetic alphabet. In the history they recorded in their texts, the political nature of marriage alliances and warfare are both key elements.
Kelly L. Watson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814763476
- eISBN:
- 9780814760499
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814763476.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter explores the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Spain under the leadership of Hernán Cortés, and the place of cannibalism in the discourse on the conquest of Mexico. Spanish used ...
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This chapter explores the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Spain under the leadership of Hernán Cortés, and the place of cannibalism in the discourse on the conquest of Mexico. Spanish used cannibalism and sodomy, among other sins, as justification for their initial conquest. Those who resisted the Spanish (and the Portuguese) most vehemently were often those who were most vociferously accused of being cannibals. Moreover, the Spanish and Portuguese empires practiced widespread slavery and exploited native labor to a degree not present in any other American imperial context. The Spanish supported this behavior, at least in part, by arguing that slavery was permissible and preferable for those natives who resisted their imperial efforts and those who practiced cannibalism.Less
This chapter explores the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Spain under the leadership of Hernán Cortés, and the place of cannibalism in the discourse on the conquest of Mexico. Spanish used cannibalism and sodomy, among other sins, as justification for their initial conquest. Those who resisted the Spanish (and the Portuguese) most vehemently were often those who were most vociferously accused of being cannibals. Moreover, the Spanish and Portuguese empires practiced widespread slavery and exploited native labor to a degree not present in any other American imperial context. The Spanish supported this behavior, at least in part, by arguing that slavery was permissible and preferable for those natives who resisted their imperial efforts and those who practiced cannibalism.
Martin Brückner
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807834695
- eISBN:
- 9781469600802
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807838723_bruckner.16
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter discusses Antonio Garcia Cubas's Atlas geografico, estadistico e historico de la Republica Mexicana, in which viewers can still encounter the traces of an ambitious state undertaking of ...
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This chapter discusses Antonio Garcia Cubas's Atlas geografico, estadistico e historico de la Republica Mexicana, in which viewers can still encounter the traces of an ambitious state undertaking of the nineteenth century. The atlas opens to a map of the country, and following it, each of Mexico's thirty-one states appears on two-page spreads. The space of the nation thus unfolds and expands across its pages. Such atlases would have been quite familiar to audiences in the United States as well; armchair travelers in New York or Omaha, Nebraska, could choose to view their own nation thus in their national atlases. An unusual feature of Mexico's atlas came in the closing pages of this modern image of nation. At the end of the volume appear two indigenous maps, both from the sixteenth century, both taking the form of itineraries, both showing the fabled journey of the Aztecs from their edenic home of Aztlan sometime in the dim reaches of the thirteenth century.Less
This chapter discusses Antonio Garcia Cubas's Atlas geografico, estadistico e historico de la Republica Mexicana, in which viewers can still encounter the traces of an ambitious state undertaking of the nineteenth century. The atlas opens to a map of the country, and following it, each of Mexico's thirty-one states appears on two-page spreads. The space of the nation thus unfolds and expands across its pages. Such atlases would have been quite familiar to audiences in the United States as well; armchair travelers in New York or Omaha, Nebraska, could choose to view their own nation thus in their national atlases. An unusual feature of Mexico's atlas came in the closing pages of this modern image of nation. At the end of the volume appear two indigenous maps, both from the sixteenth century, both taking the form of itineraries, both showing the fabled journey of the Aztecs from their edenic home of Aztlan sometime in the dim reaches of the thirteenth century.
