Paper details:
Unit 1 Discussion:
The Wonders of Tenochtitlan: Interpreting the Past through First Hand Accounts
The Wonders of Tenochtitlan
One of the things you will experience in this course is the opportunity to discuss ideas online with other students. You will also have the opportunity to read
primary source materials in most of the lessons. Primary sources are written by men and women who experienced or witnessed the emotions or events about
which they wrote. In contrast to primary sources. you will also experience “historiography” or historians’ interpretations of historical periods. In your lesson.
these are usually referred to as either “traditional interpretation”(when referring to the original historical view of the period) or “revisionist interpretation” (for
those points of view which challenge the original point of view). You will combine both of these experiences in your first class discussion.
Suggested Readings:
For this discussion. read the primary source account of “The Wonders of Tenochtitlan: City of the Aztecs” from Hernan Cortes: from Second Letter to Charles
V. 1520. Cortes was sent by King Charles V (I) of Spain to observe with the idea of overthrowing the impressive Aztec Empire. centered in Tenochtitlan (what
is today Mexico City). As you read the account. consider the point of view of Cortes as he encounters this sophisticated (was it?) society in central
Focus Questions:
Use the following questions to guide your thinking and to prepare for the class discussion.
1 Why is Cortes’ letter a primary source?
2 Is there any information in his letter that he did not actually observe? How do you reconcile this fact with the idea that this is a primary source? Can a
document be partially primary and partially secondary? (i.e-. written by someone who did not witness the events or experience the emotion?)
3 What can you infer about Cortes’ motives in writing about “the wonders of Tenochtitlan” and the Aztecs? Why did he choose to write about the topics he
addressed in this letter? Who is is intended audience. and how might that have influenced the letter?
4 Using Cortes’ comments in the first two paragraphs. what assumptions can you make about the wealth of the Aztec state?
5 List three characteristics of the Aztec religion. What religious practice did Cortes attempt to do away with? Do you think that he could have been
successful?
6 Do you think the Cortes’s account reflects prejudice against the Aztec people he encountered? Was he mostly impressed or critical?
