Robles-González 1 Smallpox Played in Favor of Spanish Colonizer to Overthrow the Aztec Empire Carolina M. Robles González Cindy Chávez 20 April 2014 Author s note: Carolina M. Robles Gonzáles is a third year Merced Community College student. Previously, she attended to Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico Agropecuario 107 in La Estancia de los López, Nayarit where she focused on Communitarian Development. She did hands on work cultivating and processing fruits and vegetables, creating graft in order to enhance fruit production to supply the community demand and rising farm animals to recreate a self-sustaining community. She is currently working on her general subjects at Merced Community College where she is researching about the rising and ending of the Aztec Empire and the different views of Euthanasia. In the future, she plans to transfer to California State University Stanislaus where she is majoring in Liberal Studies with a minor on Child Development to become a preschool teacher. Her passion for teaching enhances her interest in researching.
Robles-González 2 Abstract: This Literature Review focuses on how the pandemic disease smallpox largely contributed on the Spanish conquest over the Aztec empire. Being a powerful and highly advance civilization the Aztecs maintained an enormous army capable of marching and conquer multiple villages or complete cities in one day. This civilization, showed advances in agriculture, architecture and astronomy which ceased when Mexico was invaded by Spain. Somehow the Aztecs managed to establish their capital Tenochtitlan in the middle of a salt water lake building pyramids on the center and creating breaches to connect the city with the main land. Their knowledge was enough to create a calendar based on their astronomic observation and to build an aqueduct system to bring fresh water from a nearby hill. With the discovery of the New World and the desire of the Spanish King to colonize and spread his faith, the Spanish explores brought with them an agent that favored them in battle more than its weapons and horses: the smallpox epidemic. This research demonstrated the process of destruction of the Aztec empire from the arrival of the first Spaniards to the virtually complete extermination of Aztecs. Key words: Smallpox, Epidemic Disease, Explorers, Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortés, Aztec Empire, Moctezuma, Tenochtitlan, New World, Spanish Conquerors.
Robles-González 3 Introduction: The Aztec Empire was a very advanced civilization with an advanced government and an enormous and powerful army (). They were established in the Valley of Mexico from about 1428 to 1521(Daniel, 189). The empire extended from the capital Tenochtitlan which is on present day Mexico City to the Gulf of Mexico and to the Pacific shore gradually becoming the dominant power over that region reaching south to what is now known as Guatemala (Hofstadter, 76). The capital city Tenochtitlan was founded over an island on the salt water Lake Texcoco. Using their vast knowledge in architecture they managed to build tall pyramids in the center of the city and a wide amount of breaches that connected the city with the mainland. After the Americas were discovered by Christopher Columbus, Europeans began exploring this new land seeking new sources of gold and trade (Thomson). By the time that Hernán Cortés arrived to Mexico in February 1519 the Aztec empire consisted of 25 million people (Mee, 56). Three years later in August 1521, Cortés and his Indian allies had conquered Tenochtitlan and its population had drastically decreased. Historians had attributed this reduction to Spanish massacres against native Indians but recent researchers have found evidence that probe that belief wrong. Researchers have proven that the main reason for the Aztec defeat was their low resistance to new diseases brought by Spanish conquerors such as smallpox.
Robles-González 4 Review of Literature Migration of Smallpox On his article The Migration of Small and Its Indelible Footprints on Latin American History Mark Thomson describes how smallpox has been taken from continent to continent by explorers alongside their search of new places to colonize, armies in search for conquest, merchants involved in trade, religious movement attempting to spread their faith and immigrants in search of new places to establish. No one knows for certain where Smallpox originated, but there is evidence of its appearance in Egyptian mummies of northern Africa from 1570 to 1055 B.C., and Indian writings suggest existence of smallpox in 1500 B.C. Wherever it started, it is believed that this epidemic spread through the old continent mostly among armies fighting, and returning carrying along the disease. Christopher Columbus found the Americas in a search of new land to colonize. Along with his ship crew, they brought new forms of ruling and European plants and animals which were unknown to Native Americans. Grievously, they also brought devastation by carrying with them the virus that causes smallpox. Slave trade played a big role in the spreading of smallpox on the New World. Smallpox was already an epidemic in Europe when Spanish Colonizers brought African slaves to work on the mines of Hispaniola which is now Haiti and Dominican Republic. African slaves were transported in ships that promoted the perfect condition for the virus to flourish since they carried big amounts of slaves among which there were some already infected. Since they had poor conditions and bad hygiene, it was easy to transmit the virus to other slaves who landed on Hispaniola carrying the contagious virus with them. It is believed that at the time of Columbus arrival to Hispaniola in 1492, there were about 3 million inhabitants called Tainos. By 1542, there were only 200 natives, but within two decades, Tainos were all extinct. As Spanish
Robles-González 5 explorers penetrated into mainland smallpox reached the Aztec civilization devastating its population. This was a new epidemic for Native Indians, consecuently, they had not yet developed immunity as European adults who were exposed to smallpox as children. This is why smallpox struck the Aztec Empire on a larger scale than previous smallpox pandemics around the world. It is well noted how smallpox played a big role in the defeat of the Aztec Empire. Contradictory Civilization Dan Hofstadter on his article The Aztecs: Blood and Glory, brings to attention the contradictions of the Aztecs arguing that the Aztecs were an advanced civilization but yet practiced human sacrifice. The Aztecs settled in the central highlands of what is now Mexico, lasted only from about 1428 to 1521. They founded Tenochtitlan the capital city in the early 14 th century. By the end of the 15 th century they had built one of the most stunning civilizations in history. Tenochtitlan could be called the Venice of the New World where were found pyramids and could be crossed only by a network of canals with wide bridges through the city. Tenochtitlan was the center of the empire that spanned from central Mexico to what is now Guatemala. The City was politically, socially artistically and architecturally impressive. It had a system of law to provide structure to the empire by strictly defining behavior and responsibilities of citizens. They developed precise astronomic knowledge upon which elaborated calendars. Women were allowed to divorce in case of spousal abuse and mothers received custody of their children. Women were considered warriors when giving birth to a child and in case of death during labor, mothers would receive honors as a warrior. The city was built on an island in the middle of a saltwater lake with long causeways connecting the city to the mainland and a system of aqueducts brought fresh water from a nearby mountain. They practiced music, dance, poetry and oratory, made refine jewelry and sculptures but yet, the Aztecs also practiced human
Robles-González 6 sacrifice. Some calculations show that emperor Ahuitzotl ordered 20,000 executions during one single ceremony. This contrast is very strange that is hard for some of us to visualize this beautiful, but at the same time terrifying civilization. The Aztec dominion appeared invincible but in February 1519, eleven ships led by the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés landed on the coast of Yucatán during the reign of Motecuhzoma II who is best known as Moctezuma. It is believed that Tenochtitlan was inhabited by about 250,000 people when Cortés arrived to this city. The clash of this two highly developed civilization brought catastrophic consequences for the Aztecs. By 1600 the population had declined to around one million due to war between Aztecs and Cortés army and his Indian allies. Not only had the brutality of the Spaniard influenced the decline in population but also the low resistance of the natives to diseases such as smallpox and measles transmitted by the Spanish conquerors. No doubt that smallpox favored the Spanish conquest over the Aztec empire. Hernán Cortés victory over Moctezuma On his article "That Fateful Moment When Two Civilizations Came Face To Face" Charles L. Mee gives a detailed drafting of what is believed that happened during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire according to Fray Bernardino de Sahagun and Bernal Díaz. Sahagun was a missionary who recaptured the events told by Aztec survivors while Díaz was a soldier from the army of Cortés who chronicled some events years after the conquest. This war between Spaniards and Aztecs started when Hernán Cortés learned that the Aztec Empire was highly fragile. The empire consisted of a central government with a weak organization of villages and cities or states with more than twenty languages and hundreds of different dialects spoken. The reign was based on conquest and subjugation. This oppression took some of the
Robles-González 7 populations under Aztec reign to willingly join Cortes in battle against the Aztec emperor Moctezuma. Even though Aztecs army greatly outnumbered Spanish army, Mee suggests that there were multiple factors for the Aztecs not to attack the Spanish in the first place. First, the Spaniards must have impressed the Indians with their gunpowder, glistening armors and white horses which made them vulnerable. Many historians have written that Indians were amazed for watching men riding white horses believing they were gods. Another reason was the tendency of Aztecs to not kill their enemies but capture them in order to use them as sacrifices for their gods. They also stopped fighting during the battle to remove their dead and wounded warriors from the battlefield. Finally, the Spaniards had swords, gunpowder and cannons which were better and more efficient weapons than obsidian lances that Aztecs used. On May 1520, the message of another Spanish fleet arriving at San Juan de Ulúa came to Moctezuma. The fleet captained by Panfilo de Narvaez consisted of 18 ships, 80 horses and 900 soldiers. Most of the Narvaez army joined Cortés including a Negro who was sick with smallpox which turned to be a very significant part of the Aztec tragedy. The population of the Americas had no resistance to the virus that caused smallpox, for that reason many died of the disease along with the warriors that were in combat. The mortality rate in Mexico increased greatly to the point where people alive could not manage to bury the dead. Smallpox became a silent allied of Spanish to conquer the Aztec Empire. A Pestilential Disease Stronger Than an Army The article The control of Smallpox in New Spain s Northern Borderlands by Thomas L. Pearcy indicates that recent scientific studies show that this pestilential disease was the primary factor to eliminate native resistance to Spanish domination. Recent scholarly
Robles-González 8 investigation is challenging the belief that Spanish war against the native population is the basis for the decreased of entire civilizations. It recognizes recurring waves of pestilential death as the primary mean of depopulation. The article explains how both Natives and Spanish were exposed to the virus and both populations had human losses. However, Spanish doctors used advanced technology obtained from previous epidemics on the mother country influenced by the Enlightenment, while Aztecs suffered disproportionately, trying to cure smallpox using primitive methods that only favored the virus instead of healing the people. In an effort to control smallpox Spanish used Variolation. Variolation consisted in breaking the blisters of a person infected with smallpox one by one on the eight day of transmission. The purpose was to remove pus from the blisters and place it on the arms and hands of uninfected people to produce a mild infection creating immunity against the virus. The problem with Variolation was, that many times it actually produced a strong infection in others resulting in death. Variolation was introduced to America in the 1720s. This method is no longer used since it was replaced by the cowpox vaccine introd uced and financed by King Carlos IV allowing the Spaniards to survive while Natives were deceasing. which is a safer alternative. Who could imagine that this virus would favor the smallest army in number to eradicate the greater Aztec Empire? Conclusion By reading the different articles discussed on this review of literature, it can be well settle that smallpox, became an important agent for the Spanish conquest over the Aztec empire. Smallpox was a pandemic disease introduced to the Aztecs by the Spanish colonizer. Being a great and powerful civilization, the Aztecs were defenseless against such epidemic to which they
Robles-González 9 had not being in contact thus, they had not developed antibodies against it. Definitely Spanish such as Hernán Cortés doubt not in taking advantage of this situation to gain territory and take over the capital city Tenochtitlan with the Emperor Moctezuma. Researches prove that Aztec army greatly surpassed the Spanish army, for that reason is hard to believe that Spanish attacks by themselves were the only mean of conquest. Both civilizations were highly advanced and both wanted to rule, unfortunately for Aztecs, a virus prove to be more dangerous than a complete army with 10 large bronze cannons, explosive powder and shots. Even when the shields of the Aztecs warriors were much simpler than the ones of the Spanish army, it is concluded that not only the war devastated the Aztec population. It was an addition of many factors in which are included the Spanish attacks against the Aztecs, religious believes, and lack of defense against epidemic diseases such as smallpox.
Robles-González 10 Works Cited: Hofstadter, Dan. "The Aztecs: Blood and Glory." Smithsonian 35.10 (2005): 76-85. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 26 March 2014. Mee, Charles L. "That Fateful Moment When Two Civilizations Came Face To Face." Smithsonian 23. (1992): 56. Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). Web. 15 April 2014. Pearcy, Thomas L. "The Control of Smallpox in New Spain's Northern Borderlands." Journal of The West 29.3 (1990): 90-98. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 April 2014. Thomson, Mark. The Migration of Small and Its Indelible Footprints on Latin American History. History Teacher 32.1 (1998): 117-131. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 8 April 2014.