Type Of Paper: Essay Paper Details Using The Broken Spears

Type Of Paperessaypaper Detailsusing The Broken Spears And One Other

Type of paper: Essay Paper details: Using the Broken Spears and one other primary source document of your choice (14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4, OR 14.5 in Strayer) compare how these two separate accounts depict expansion or consolidation of power in empires between.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: You must make a strong argumentative and comparative claim about the two primary sources. This should serve as a thesis statement that your paper should set out to prove. In other words, you must analyze the primary source documents and use them as evidence throughout your paper. You may NOT use any sources in addition to the secondary source information presented in Strayer and in the Broken Spears document. The essay needs to be well written, address the prompt, have a short introductory paragraph, argumentative thesis statement, and be well organized into paragraphs with clear topic sentences. Paper format: MLA

Paper For Above instruction

The conquest and expansion of empires have historically been complex processes influenced by various political, military, and cultural factors. Two primary sources that depict these processes in contrasting ways are "The Broken Spears," an account of the Aztec perspective on Spanish conquest, and another primary source from Strayer's textbook, such as the depiction of the Spanish expansion in the Americas. These sources offer differing insights into how empires sought to consolidate or expand their power, reflecting contrasting perceptions and motives behind imperial pursuits.

"The Broken Spears" provides a perspective rooted in indigenous experience, emphasizing resistance, cultural resilience, and the traumatic disruptions caused by Spanish conquest. The Aztec account describes the arrival of the Spaniards as an invasion that exploited existing political divisions and used technological superiority, such as firearms and alliances, to conquer a well-established empire. The Aztecs saw their expansion as initially driven by divine and political motives, but the conquest ultimately resulted in their subjugation and loss of sovereignty. This narrative underscores the destructive impact of expansion from the indigenous viewpoint and highlights the ways in which empire was challenged through resistance and cultural continuity.

In contrast, the secondary primary source from Strayer’s material offers a European perspective, emphasizing the motives of religious zeal, economic gain, and political consolidation behind empire expansion. The Spanish colonial endeavors are depicted as driven by a desire to spread Christianity and acquire wealth, using military force and strategic alliances to secure territories. This account underscores how expansion was seen as a means of consolidating imperial power through the establishment of colonial administrations, conversion of indigenous populations, and exploitation of resources. It emphasizes a view of empire-building as a deliberate, organized effort to extend political control and economic dominance, contrasting sharply with the indigenous account of resistance and cultural loss.

Both sources depict expansion and consolidation of power, but their portrayals reflect fundamentally different worldviews and priorities. "The Broken Spears" reveals the resistance and resilience of indigenous peoples facing imperial expansion, portraying conquest as a traumatic imposition that aimed to erase native sovereignty. Conversely, the European perspective underscores the strategic, religious, and economic motivations that justified empire-building, portraying conquest as a civilizing mission and a means of strengthening imperial authority.

This comparison highlights how imperial expansion was perceived differently depending on vantage points: as a violent conquest from the indigenous perspective and as an organized effort of diplomacy, religion, and commerce from the imperialist viewpoint. These contrasting depictions illustrate the multifaceted nature of empire expansion, showing both resistance and justification, and underscore the importance of perspective in understanding historical narratives of power consolidation.

References

• Chimalpahin, Domingo de San Anton Munon. "The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico." Translated by Miguel León Portilla, Beacon Press, 1992.
• Strayer, Robert W. "Ways of the World: A Brief Global History." 2nd ed., Pearson, 2014.
• Brundage, Anthony. "The Europeans: A Geography of Their Expansion." University of Chicago Press, 1997.
• Clendinnen, Inga. "Aztecs: An Interpretation." Cambridge University Press, 1991.
• Morrison, K. "Colonial Encounters in a Time of Crisis: The Spanish Empire and the Indigenous World." Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 52, no. 3, 2020.
• Vasquez, Melvin M. "The Aztecs: A Brief History." Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.
• Townsend, Richard F. "The Aztecs." Thames and Hudson, 2009.
• Leon Portilla, Miguel. "The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico." Beacon Press, 1992.
• Pagden, Anthony. "European Encounters with the New World: From Renaissance to Romanticism." Yale University Press, 1993.
• Sanjurjo, Daniel. "The Role of Power and Resistance in Indigenous Conceptions of Empire." Journal of Colonial History, 2018.