Essay on The Broken Spears by Miguel Leon-Portilla

The book The Broken Spears authored by Miguel Leon-Portilla, provides a comprehensive and graphic description of the Spanish conquest. The book narrates the story based on the point of view of the Aztecs. Miguel selections of events portrayed in this narrative are combined to give the audience a wider view of the Spanish Downfall. The book narrates the historical happening on an expressive and human perspective which aids the reader to fully comprehend and empathize with the fear and terror that the Aztecs underwent. Similarly, the book also offers comprehensive details concerning the correlation of misguided leadership, superstitions, and technological disadvantage that led to the defeat of the Aztecs.

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Miguel posits that the Spanish were wholly at fault for the total destruction of the Aztec Empire. In the book the Broken Spears, he gives account to the different factors apart from Spanish power that led to the defeat of the Aztecs. Apart from the many advantages that they possess, the Spanish also took advantage of their cultural differences and exploited them. The primary feature that led to the Spanish victory is that the Aztecs viewed the Spanish as gods due to their appearance. The Aztec Empire accepted the Spanish with festivities and gifts, giving the Spanish a total control of the people. Montecuhzoma tells Cortes Our lord, you are weary. The journey has tired you, but now you have arrived on the earth. You have come to your city, Mexico. You have come here to sit on your throne, to sit under its canopy. The Aztecs went to the extent of performing rituals for the arrivals of the gods by offering a human sacrifice. This act was perceived by the Spanish as disgusting making them begin to hate the Aztecs.

The Spanish began to take advantage of the Aztec weaknesses after they noted the vast resources possessed by the Aztec empire. The Spanish people were more advanced with more power and better equipped as compared to their Aztecs counterparts. On the same note, the Aztecs leader, Montecuhzoma was a cored and weak leader who was more concerned with his welfare rather than the welfare of the people he was leading.

The stories narrated by Leon-Portilla are based upon old writings of actual native Aztec people who survived the Spanish ordeal. The narratives in the book are presented in three distinct sections. The first section is the general introduction where the author utilizes to give the contextual background for the books content. This section describes Aztec life, their cultural aspect, the struggle of the accounts that were narrated by eyewitnesses who survived the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Miguel Leon-Portilla prefaces the sources that he used in compiling the book by looking at the background on the events, as well as descriptions and background information about the sources themselves.

Preceding these accounts, the narrative concludes with highlights of the difficult relations that are seen in the descendants of the Aztecs and their counterparts the Spanish as well as contemporary Mexicans. All these relations are marked by letters inscribed to the Spanish crown directly based on the account of native individuals. These accounts range from King Philip 11 of Spain to fears emanating centuries later for Nahua identity being merged with colonial Spain.

The second section of the book depicts the Azteca and their preliminary responses that are associated by the local Aztec mystics after the conquest that led Spanish to come to their city. The author also proceeds to describe the proceeding war, and thereafter the impact of disease and war on the natives. This section also describes Aztecs actions when they began to campaign to fight against the Spanish and also the defeat they suffered because of various aspects that disadvantaged them such as superior technology, military conquest and disease impact on the natives as narrated by Aztecs.

After reading the book, one begins to comprehend how and the reason why Aztecs were eventually conquered. Initially, I thought that the leader of the Spanish group Cortes was a powerful leader having a great army. I thought that the victory in conquering Mexico was an easy task. After reading the Broken Spears, I came to realize that the Spaniard's leader may have been a good leader but his successes are attributed with more circumstances that were in favor of the Spaniards as compared to the Aztecs. The disadvantages faced by the Aztecs include inferior weapons, non-indigenous disease, native allies of the Spaniards, and bad interpretations of the Spaniard's intentions. Indeed, the Aztecs were greatly disadvantaged as compared to the Spaniards.

This book also illustrates the unambiguous contrast as well as the ultimate clash of different culture. The Aztecs culture was deeply rooted on worshiping idols. While they were continuing with their activities of building statues and decorating idols, their Aztecs counterparts were planning surprise attacks. Cultural differences were evident throughout the book forming and fueling the difference between the native people and the Spaniards that eventually led to conflicts between the two different cultures. This book is worth reading to understand the history of the Aztecs and the conquest of Mexico by Spain.