Conquest in Mexico

The conquest of Mexico by the Spanish Conquistadors reads differently depending on which source an individual reads. the source from the Spanish show that the forces of Montezuma attacked the Spanish first, rather than being the defending party. the work The Spaniards Entry into Tenochtitlan is very interesting as well as humorous. the writing is humorous in that if the reader takes certain gifting ceremonies out of context of the time and place, and especially the culture, then it makes Hernan Cortes and Montezuma look very homosexual. however the giving of gifts in the form of necklaces and copious amounts of flowers, and more than anything the holding of hands and caressing of hair. though i do not currently understand the customs that allow a man to hold an other's hand while caressing his hair and still be considered completely heterosexual, i do understand that that is the case in the reading. from the readings i understand that the Spanish worked their way into Mexica society through gifts and the translating aid of Dona Maria. dona maria was the name generally used by the Mexica to refer to Cortes because she was his voice in the Mexica society. she is given very much respect in the drawings of Mexica/Spanish interactions. she is shown as speaking as well as shown not neutral or Mexica but close to the Spanish side of the landscape. she is given prominence also because rather than unclothed as the Mexica are shown she wears a full dress. she was also mother of the first mestizo children by Cortes himself. the Spanish view of the new world is the same as that of the Europeans who take control of North America; can we survive here, are there resources, and can we tame the savages. it is pathetic how the ethnocentric view has destroyed so many rich and colorful cultures which could have easily survived till today had Europeans worked alongside the natives rather than sought to eradicate them or subjugate them. the history of foriegn interactions with the European powers is appallingly pathetic and destructive.