HIST 101 A Pivotal Encounter: This document is well detailed of the economy and environment of Tenochitlain which indicates how much in control Spain was in of their colonies. Hernando Cortés was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who landed on the coast of Mexico in 1519. The Spanish leveled Tenochtitlán and built Mexico City on the site of the Aztec capital. Tenochitlain was one of the strongest cities possessed by Mexico so once the lost it Spain was able to overpower all of Mexico.

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01.02 Assessment Template Document # and Name: Step 1: Note what you already know about the subject of the document. Use this chart to fill in information about the excerpt. H A P P Historical C... ontext Audience Purpose Point of View (POV) Cortes’s description of Tenochitlain was written by Cortes himself in the 1500s during the time that the Europeans wished to conquer foreign lands in hope of increasing their wealth. This document was created in the land of Tenochitlain hence the explicit description. An historical event similar to this would be the British and their own quest to colonize the Americas. Both England and Spain were fierce contenders for possession of the richness the lands of Americas contained. The Americas was not the only region coveted by the European powers but central and eastern Asia as well for they possessed the spices and silk which was deemed very valuable at the time. It is quite apparent that the author wished for the king of Spain to view his description as he portrays Tenochitlain quite favorably. It is mainly background information that is used to determine the main audience of the description such as the country Cortes is from and the goals and aspirations of such country. But the first sentence of the description is what really gives it away. “This great city of Temixtitlan [Mexico] is situated in this salt lake…” Cortes wishes to portray the economics and scenic surroundings of Tenochitlain to the King of Spain. It may be that the King of Spain may have wanted information about the land of Tenochitlain before deciding to take total control of the particular city which Cortes does a fine job of doing. The document is quite focused on Tenochitlain fulfilling its purpose. Hernan Cortes was a famous male explorer who worked for Spain. Cortes would have most likely profited immensely from the riches found in the land so he would not have lied in this document causing the king to waste valuable resources. This article is written in the first person of Hernan Cortes therefore his thoughts are contained in the entire document. Step 2: I am well aware of the colonization of the Americas, Africa and Asia by the European powers fueled by a variety of reasoning be it religion of pursuit of riches. Which later develops into the application of Social Darwinism as justification of their action fueled primarily by the White Man’s Burden. [Show More]

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