Conrad and Demarest have closely examined the role of
religion in the Aztec and Inca Empires. When comparing to Restall’s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest,
Conrad and Demarest aim for the same mission of telling the truth of the
histories of the famous empires. Restall uses a condescending tone when
challenging popular historical beliefs, while Conrad and Demarest use a more
passive tone by combining enthnohistory and archeology (8). The main focus
between the two so far is the role of religion. Restall gives a general sense
of religion, but Conrad and Demarest go much more in detail. Conrad and
Demarest provide a comprehensive review of the histories before the Aztec and
Inca became to be which is very helpful in understanding why different
traditions or “ideologies” exist. In a sense, Conrad and Demarest do as far as
Restall in demystifying beliefs of the Spanish Conquest by demonstrating how
religions had great play in the downfall of both empires. In the Aztec empire
the downfall was attributed the extensive desire to please the Sun God through
human sacrifice, so much that the empire couldn’t physically uphold (60). For
the Inca empire, the role of ancestor worship, split inheritance, and royal
mummies was the main focus for the Andean civilizations that, again, the empire
couldn’t physically uphold (120). We can recognize that ideologies and
traditional practices proved to be strength and a weakness in both empires. Both
books have the same mission of educating scholars, even though they both have
their distinct styles. Au contraire popular belief that the Spanish conquered
these great almighty empires, both Restall and Conrad and Demarest fuel our
knowledge that the American civilizations structures’ allowed for Spanish to
come in.
I agree with Palacios’ statement that Restall and Conrad and Demarest aim for the same goal of telling the truth of the Spanish Conquest. Their two approaches are different. Restall discusses seven commonly held myths of the conquest, of which only three deal directly with the natives. Conrad and Demarest focus their entire book on the Aztec and Inca Empires. When these two books are compared we get a clear view of why the conquest ended in a Spanish victory. Restall credits the Spanish victory to five factors: disease, native disunity, Spanish steel swords, culture of war, and the age of expansion (pp. 140-145). Conrad and Demarest credit the victory to the fact that the Aztec and Inca Empires were in decline because of internal factors. The Aztecs were no longer successful in their conquests of new lands which were needed for the captives to offer as sacrifices and natural resources to maintain their population. To make their situation even more difficult, their government, economic, and religious structures did not allow for the complete control and integration of lands and peoples whom they conquered. This lead to a cycle of rebellion, re-conquest, and more rebellion that slowly drained the empire dry (pg. 70). In the Inca’s case, the Spanish arrived right after a bloody civil war which left the empire in shambles and open for conquest (pp. 138-139). The civil war was brought about by the ancestor worship and burial practices. The process of split inheritance encouraged the successor to conquer new lands to compensate for the portion of the kingdom not acquired. Usually the palace was used to maintain the deceased ruler’s tomb. This necessitated the construction of a new palace, which was economically demanding and labor intensive (pg. 93). It appears that the Spanish had not only disease and steel swords on their side, but also good timing as well—arriving during a period of native weakness.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with your statement, in particular with your description of the tones the authors used. Although I hadn't really thought about the tones the authors were using I must agree with you, when you say that Restall uses a condescending tone, while Conrad and Demarest use a more passive tonality.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that both books have the "similar mission of educating scholars" I think that they are educating scholars about two slightly different periods. Demarest and Conrad devote a lot of their book to the Pre Columbian era while Restall focuses more on the myths that surround the Aztec after the arrival of the Spanish. Other than that I agree with the points you made about religion, tradition, and ideology.