2004-11-25 13:58:00
Larry quoting JJ:
"Remember this. Cortez and his men were much more advanced technologically than were the American Indians, but which were more advanced spiritually?
"The Spaniards may have not been more spiritually advanced, but I doubt they were less spiritually advanced (and an argument could certainly be made that the western civilization the Spaniards represented was indeed spiritually superior, despite the cruel and callous treatment displayed by the Spaniards in regards to the native Americans).
"Cortez gave them cheap beads. They gave him precious gold. They shared, he plundered."
Larry:
"I seem to recall that the S. American Indians that the Spaniards first encountered may have been somewhat disarmed by their own theology and legends. The Aztecs, for example, seem to have been expecting some sort of "white gods" to come. Therefore at first they indeed thought that the gods had arrived and treated the Spaniards whom they mistook as "gods" as you described. However any examination of cultures like the Aztecs will tell you that they still practiced human sacrifice and were quite capable of extreme cruelty equal, and perhaps even surpassing, that of the Spaniards. So they probably got from Cortes exactly what karma decreed."
JJ:
You make some good points Larry. Both sides were far from innocent and which was being more primitive is a judgment call. I think Cortez did surpass the Indians in sheer greed and negative intent. In fact, he was one of the most barbaric of the explorers from the old World.
Copyright 2004 by J J Dewey