Oral Histories

The topic of European interaction with, and conquest of, the Americas is an important one. The two documents included in this exercise cannot possibly do the topic justice. However, they do offer a glimpse into the attitudes and experiences of both the Spanish and the indigenous people of Mexico at the time of the “collision of their cultures.” DOCUMENTS Document 1 is the Spanish ‘Requerimiento.’ This Law of Requirement, composed by officials of the Spanish monarchy, was read under ceremonial fanfare wherever Spanish ships landed on American shores. Document 2 is an excerpt from a compilation of oral histories that tell of the conquest of what is now Mexico, from the perspective of the Aztecs themselves. This second document poses many challenges to modern historians. The history of Mexico was passed along from one generation to the next through oral traditions, along with artwork from the period (reproduced in the document). An anthropologist from the mid-twentieth century set these histories to paper. Consequently, the written account, an important source for historians, was created hundreds of years after the original event, which makes historical analysis and interpretation more difficult. INSTRUCTIONS 1) Read Chapter 1 of the textbook 2) Read Document 1, The Spanish Requerimiento of 1510. 3) Read Document 2, Excerpts from The Broken Spears, : The Aztec account Account of the Conquest of Mexico. 4) Answer the questions that appear after the documents and submit your responses in their accepted format in the inbox below by the due date. You should expect each response to be at least 1-2 paragraphs in length. Be sure to label your responses.Your work should consist about 80-90% of your own words. A maximum of 20% similarity score will be accepted and anything above that number will be graded down. Your answers must be complete, unique and in your own words. Do not quote, unless absolutely necessary, since most quoted material can be paraphrased in your own words. Cite all work that you consult at the end of your reply. Skip paper identifiers like date, name, title. Only label your answers. No need to write out the questions. See attachments foe Doc1 & Doc2 Questions to Answer: Document 1: Describe what document 1 is saying. What is the purpose of this document and why do you think it is important for history students to read? Document 2: What is the purpose of Document 2? What can a history student gather from the analysis in Document 2?