A Clash of Religions: The Main Reason for the Aztec/Inca Decline

           While there are a few areas where Conrad and Demarest and Restall agree, such as the myth of the Spanish being exceptional, there are other areas, I think, where Conrad and Demarest may go into more detail than Restall, such as the issue of religion.

            One area where the authors seem to agree is one the issue of the Spanish conquistadors being exceptional.  Restall explains how the Spanish had three major “allies”: Disease, which rapidly killed a significant number of the native population; native disunity; and weapons (pgs. 140-142).  Unfortunately, Restall does not go into detail explaining what caused the “native disunity” .  Conrad and Demarest also explain how the Aztecs and Inca, which arose in the 13^th and 14^th centuries AD, faced a couple hundred Spanish Conquistadors (pg. 2).  Under normal crcumstances, common thinking would say that there was no way the Spanish could have stood a chance.

            One area where Conrad and Demarest go into more detail is discussing how religion played a role in the downfall of the Aztec and Inca Empires.  In one particular instance, Conrad and Demarest explain that the decrease in human sacrifices only served to increase the zeal of the Mexica to find more (pg. 44).  While not directly hinted at, it is easy to see how the Spanish must have seen this as a lower depth of barbarity/depravity.  In an instance concerning the Inca Empire, Conrad and Demarest explain how their religion, with its multi-faceted Gods, would have been difficult for any non-Inca to understand (pg. 99-100).  In This way, Conrad and Demarest make it easier to understand one of the reasons why the Spanish would have destroyed both empires.

            While the authors do agree with each other to an extent, there is the issue of different focus.  On the one hand, Restall was focusing on dispelling the myths of the Spanish conquest that we are told in elementary school are true.  On the other hand, Conrad and Demarest are exploring how religion played a key role in the rise and fall of the Aztec and Inca empires.