Week 5 prompt

Restall and Conrad and Demarest are telling two different stories in their books. In some parts they intertwine in what they are covering, however they mainly stick with the focus of their stories and do not cross over too much on details of the other. Restall’s story is about the myths of the Spanish conquest which from the title shows evidence that there will be some crossover is his title over to Conrad and Demarests’. Once you begin reading Restall though he does not go into the same detail that the other two authors do. For example he mentions human sacrifice where the Mexica capture and sacrifice an enemy conquistador. Conrad and Demarest mention the same thing in their book, however they do not mention Spaniards so much instead they focus more on the role sacrifices played in the expansion of the Aztec empire. The authors also differ in their tone in how they tell their stories. Restall likes to use firsthand accounts from individuals such as Bernal Diaz. On the other hand Conrad and Demarest have focused more on archaeological and secondary sources in their text. Where the two books mainly differ is in their topic. Restall reviews the Spanish conquistadors and how some of their ventures throughout the new world had been over exaggerated, with only a little insight being given about the people that were being conquered. Conrad and Demarest focused on the rise of the Aztecs and Incas, and how their civilizations were run.