Interpret the Evidence
How does Hernán Cortés treat his Indian adversaries (Document 1.11)? How does he justify this treatment? How does Cortés’s description of these events reveal conflicts among the Indians themselves?
How do the Aztec priests respond to Spanish criticisms of their religion? Why do they refuse to abandon their gods (Document 1.12)?
What omens did the Aztecs see before the Spanish arrived (Document 1.13)? How did these omens predict the coming of the Europeans? How would you characterize Aztec religion based on what you’ve read in Documents 1.12 and 1.13?
What did Cabeza de Vaca find surprising about Indian culture, and how might that reflect differences between the Spanish and Indians? What does his story tell us about the culture, labor, and economy of the Indians (Document 1.14)?
How did the Indians respond to meeting Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (Document 1.15)? How did the “chiefs of the country” appeal to Coronado? What did Coronado learn about the Indians on this trip?
Put It in Context
What do these accounts reveal about Spanish-Indian interactions in the sixteenth century? How would you characterize these encounters?
What role did religion play in the differing perspectives among the Indians and the Spanish?
These documents were either written by Europeans, or, in the case of Documents 1.12 and 1.13, came from Indian sources but through the filter of Europeans. Is it possible to get an accurate description of Indian lives, considering Europeans played such central roles in the creation of these sources? Why or why not?