DBQ Brynn Cardozo 10/5

Many people in the past and present have often wondered what motives of the Europeans had for travel and in the New World and what consequences contact with them had upon the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The motivation for the Europeans was to spread their religion and get rich, when visiting these societies they found that many of them were what they would have considered weak and this may have provided extra motive for the in-habitation and conquering.  The contact of the Europeans with indigenous America resulted in the consiquence of Europeans going to the indigenous societys and introducing new goods, and the conversion to christainity of many indigenous people. In this study it would be beneficial to have a document from a third party such as a rival or neighbor of a native tribe being "visited" by the Europeans, this would not only bring not only a new perspective but would show a perspective from a society that was not directly involved within the exchange between the particular indigenous American society and the Europeans.

In a letter from Amerigo Vespucci in 1497 ( document one) we find that the Europeans first impression of the indigenous peoples of America was their religion. He observed that they must be worse that pagans for they had no house of prayer and offered no sacrifice. It could be argued that if these people have no religion, and practice no type of faith then perhaps the have no soul. This encounter could have provided motivation for the Europeans for if these indigenous people possessed no soul then they were no more than animals and if they were animals then why would it be wrong for them to take the gems that these "people" do not value, and kill and enslave them, do you not kill cattle and "enslave" horses. In a different letter from Cortes to the Spanish government in 1520 (document 3) Cortes stated that when then chiefs of native peoples of the islands begged for new laws to live under when they were told they could no longer live under the pagan faith. They of course were converted to Christianity and taught how to be good, thus another form of Christianity evolved. It can therefore be concluded that the consequence of European contact in this area is the conversion to Christianity of the native people. Similar to the native people in the area of Document one, those in the Document three, a report from Samuel de Champlain, also had no religion. These people were considered savages by their French visitors and were clearly ill thought of. The way that the indigenous peoples of this area were described makes one perceive that no thought would be put forth before destroying these people.

 Religion was not the only thing that may have been motive or been of consequence of European interaction, society was also a factor. A Doctor on Columbus' second voyage published his account of the Caribe Islands(Document 2), describing the natives a bestial. He was completely disgusted by their cannibalism and their enslavement of women for sexual purposes. This great and utter disgust of the indigenous society of this area could have easily been motivation conqueristic feelings. However other societies were perceived in different ways. The indigenous society that Hernando Cortes encountered in Mexico was open and gracious, they excepted what the Europeans gave them and were impressed by the complexity and craftsmanship of their goods. The impact of these goods and their owners could easily be described as a consequence of European encounter. Other societies seemed to float in the balance, as Samuel de Champlain discovered in 1632 ( document 4). The society that he discovered was prone to thieving and must be watched with a wary eye, but was willing to barter and trade. They had no perceivable government, and wore very little clothing, and their wisdom was questioned because they bartered away their bows and arrows for buttons and pins. Their could have been some motive imposed upon the Europeans by the discovery of this society, because it could not be that hard to control a society that was willing to barter away their weapons for buttons.  Aztec reactions to European encounter (document 5) showed the prolific consequences that European contact had upon the Aztec. When the first news off the Europeans and their descriptions came to the Aztec leader his people described him as conquered by despair. Then their country became riddled with disease that gave them sores all over and eventually killed them. Anyone who survived this great  disease and the great despair would have found them self broken and unwilling to fight against the Spaniards any longer. Spain's success over the indigenous Aztecs may have given Europe motive to continue it's conquering. 

 

The documents that are given show us that both religion and society played a part in the motives of the Europeans and the consequences of their contact with the indigenous peoples of America. It is predictable that in document 4 the author  would think that  the indigenous people of the area were so low and thieving  and unknowledgable. This is because for one the author was European and was speaking from a Euro-centric perspective, it is also because this society and it's history and culture may not have been well know and therefore became harder to understand. As it is often with human beings, things that are not understood are often undermined and thought primitively of. It is also predictable that the Aztec Chieftain/Emperor  ( document 5) would have the reaction that he did to the coming of the Europeans. This is because for the Aztec this was the year that their world was predicted to end, the sight of these strange new creatures who road "deer" as tall as the roof of a house, must have been like a sign that said that the end was near. In this study of the motives of Europeans and the consequences of their contact with the indigenous people of America it would be helpful to have an article from a document from a third party such as a rival or neighbor of a native tribe being "visited" by the Europeans. This would not only bring not only a new perspective but would show a perspective from a society that was not directly involved within the exchange between the particular indigenous American society and the Europeans.

Document 1: Amerigo Vespucci, 1497

Document 2: European doctor on Columbus' second voyage, 1500

Document 3: Hernando Cortes, 1520

Document 4: Champlain, 1632

Document 5: Aztec Reactions to European Encounter, 16th century.