The Spanish conquest, also known as “La Conquista”, was the Spanish colonization of Latin America during 1519 – 1521. The motivation behind the conquest was all for exploration, driven by god, glory, and greed. The Spaniards wanted to spread their religion, spread their nationalism, expand their power, and fulfill their desires for gold and glory. This all began when Cortez had tricked the Mexica into believing that he was Quetzalcoatl; a prophecy that stated the return of Quetzalcoatl to the Mexica people. Soon after, the Spanish invaded the Mexica on a night that is now known as “La Noche Triste”. This was the night that the Spanish took over the Mexica temple along with its people. With the conquest, the Spaniards brought along with them their culture, beliefs, and customs; this greatly affected the Indigenous people’s culture by changing their religious beliefs, language, and social class.
La conquista altered Indigenous culture in the aspect of religion by converting many indigenous people to Christianity. Cortez had ordered his soldiers to destroy all of the religious symbols and writings that belonged to the indigenous people. In 1524, Franciscans were brought to Latin America in order to begin the religious conversion. These methods were sometimes forceful and executed by means of torture. These methods were called “Religion Conversion Programs” (Covarrubias & Gamboa, Lecture 10/5/15). In 1531, many Indigenous people were converting to Christianity more easily because of the encounter between Juan Diego and Tonantzin. Many Mexica believed for this to be a Mexica goddess while the Spaniards thought she was Virgin Mary. This kind of confusion became known as “religious syncretism”; this religious syncretism resulted from the blending of two different religious practices. But because of this religious blending between the two groups, Mexico is now a large majority of the Catholic Religion. Religion was not the only aspect of the Indigenous culture that was affected by La Conquista.
Language was another aspect that was affected by the Spanish conquest. Upon Cortez’s arrival there was a language barrier between the Spanish and the Indigenous people. Once Cortez had conquered Tenochtitlan, he no longer allowed the Indigenous people to speak their own language; they were forced to give up their language and learn the language of the Spaniards. Because of the different languages, code switching became a norm for those with the ability to speak both languages. (Covarrubias & Gamboa, Lecture 9/28/15). Upon arrival, Cortes had been using Malinali as a translator in order to be able to communicate with the indigenous people. Language was an aspect that was affected but not as greatly as the social class in Indigenous culture.
Before the Spanish conquest, there was no such thing as social class to the Mexica people. The Mexica believed that everyone was as equally important in society. After the Spanish conquest, indigenous people were separated by social class as well as by the color of their skin. Spaniards created the “Caste System”; this was a system by which social class is based on race / color of the skin. (Covarrubias & Gamboa, Lecture 10/05/15).Another system that was created to change social class was the “Hacienda System”. This was a debt sentence; this system gave indigenous people credit that they had to later pay off by working for the Spaniards. This system created a never ending cycle. Those who looked like indigenous people or who had darker skin were not treated fairly and thought of as no good; these individuals did not have rights. On the other hand, those who had a lighter skin color, or who appeared to be Spaniard were treated as normal human beings and had been given access to many things. After the Spanish conquest indigenous people never returned to their own culture; they had stayed and practiced the mixed culture that was brought along with the conquest.
The definition of “conquered” is when a group overcomes and takes control of (a place or people) by use of military force. I consider the indigenous people to be “not conquered” because even though they had many aspects of their religion forcefully altered, they still managed to keep, and even incorporate, their own culture in with the new Spanish culture. They still managed to keep a part of themselves alive, even when Cortez tried to burn and destroy everything that represented the Indigenous people.
The Spanish conquest, or “La Conquista”, happened during the years of 1519 – 1521. The Spanish “conquered” the indigenous people because of their fight with the Mexica. That night is now known as “La Noche Triste”; the Spaniards ambushed the Mexica during the night and killed many of their people. After the Spanish conquest, the Indigenous people’s vulture was affected in all aspects of life. This included changes to their religion, social class, and language. The Indigenous people are not conquered because a part of their culture still exists within the Spanish culture. They managed to keep a part of themselves alive by blending and mixing their own culture along with the new culture that came along with the Spanish conquest.