The Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla

In the entertain originally compose by Miguel Leon-Portilla, mirroring the event way keister down in 1519 when Hernan Cortes sailed from Cuba to Mexico and entered the capital of the Aztecs, there were accounts that he gathered from the basic viewpoint of the Aztec tribe. The lost Spears talks about the conquest of Cortes, although it dates back ten years before his arriver in the east coast of Mexico, in a place called Tenochtitlan. From the voices of the tribes, there was switch and destruction with the arrival of the Spaniards years after(prenominal) they saw eight omens that, for them, were warnings by the gods on the end of the world.Main Body They first perceive the onset from a common cosmos who reported to office Motecuhzoma Our lord and king, exempt my boldness. When I went to the borders of the great sea, there was a push-down stack or small mountain floating in the midst of the water, wretched here and there without touching the shore (13). Moctezuma, ther efore, sent people to inspect, and when he receive word on the beings that appeared on the shores of his land, he was terrified and was sure that this was the god Quetzalcoatl, who had list back from his journey.Thus, he sent gifts of aqua and atomic number 79 to the Spaniards to pay homage to the reverting gods. When Cortes recognized this, he terrified the messengers by firing off a canon, and then ordered them to fight in battle to prove their bra actually. Cortes announced that he cherished to see Moctezuma. When Cortes, in concert with hundreds of soldiers, arrived at Tenochtitlan, King Motecuhzoma told Cortes Our lord, you are weary / The journey has timeworn you, but now you nurture arrived on the earth / You piss come to your city, Mexico / You have come here to sit on your throne, to sit under its canopy (63).Motecuhzoma was frightened and even thought of escaping, which led him to crevice human sacrifices with the coming of the gods, against the advice of his co unselors, and to the disdain of the Spaniards. He held a meeting with his nephew Cacama, his brother Cuitlahuac, as well as the other lords and leading of the tribes on whether or not they should pay their doors to the new arrivals in their land. In the end, Motecuhzoma clear-cut to make friends with the Spaniards, and it led to the destruction of his throne, land, wealth, and his people.It is unpatterned that this book should be required for Latin-American Studies, since it gives a very detailed verbal description of the events. Most of the genuines used are on the incline of the Spaniards. To present a material that would reveal the side of the Aztecs, and how they viewed the event, would be very helpful because it will dramatize how the Aztecs took the invasion in the light of their beliefs, their culture, and their tradition. The style of constitution is not really biased.In fact, more than of the negatives could be drawn on the description of their king, Motecuhzomawhat his weaknesses were, and which mistakes do him lose his throne and his land. The Spaniards, however, were taken as greed, ruthless men who craved for gold and treasures. It would be best to include this book in Latin-American Studies, but together with the other versions that were written on the side of the Spaniards. This would paint the picture from all sides for a good sense of balance. Conclusion The account is presented more as a locomote of literature, with the use of imagery and figures of speech.Having been arranged in chronological order, it presents history from the side and beliefs of the antiquated Aztecs. It is well written and easy to understand, which ends up being really fascinating because of the descriptions of things that would relay race how ancient human beings view things and people, which they have not seen in the past. Having used a constricted point of view, though, it should be regarded more as literature than as history. working Cited Leon-Portilla, Miguel. The Broken Spears The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Boston, MA Beacon Press.