New World and OLd
...ney has tired you, but know you have arrived on earth…You have come here to sit on your throne, to sit under its canopy.”2 In a letter written by Cortes to King Charles, Montezuma’s first speech continues: “So because of the place from which you claim to come, namely, from where the sun rises, and the things you tell us of the great lord or king who sent you here, we believe and are certain that he is our natural lord, especially as you say that he has known of us for some time…”3 As once can plainly see from this first encounter, the natives were a bit too trusting toward the Spainards, whose objectives fell to greed and ambition. They wished to stake claim to the area for Spain, bring the peoples there under Spanish rule, convert the natives to Christianity, and indulge in the gold and immense wealth of valuables in the New World. The search for gold was the most important contribution to European interest. Upon arrival, the Spanish displayed signs of friendliness. However, once Cortes was given control and the Aztecs began their ritualistic dancing and celebrating of their god’s arrival, the Spanish attacked, slaughtering all in the Main Temple. They melted down the gold and shipped it back to Spain. After the massacre, Cortes was allowed to reenter the city on terms of peace, but he and his men were attacked the following day. And so began the relationship between the Europeans and Amerindians.2 The contacts between the two brought some unexpected advances and declines with global consequences. One of those advances was the introduction of new food crops; it added variety into both world’s diets. The Europeans were familiarized with the potato, lima bean, corn, peanut, pumpkin, squash, cashew, pineapple, and tomato. It is interesting to note that the tomato was basically just a weed growing in the Aztec corn fields. And the potato would become the “dominant food of the northern European working class.” They adopted the process of making chocolate from the cacao bean, and of grwoing tobacco and sugar cane. The last two became cash crops that eventually led to the emergence of the transatlantic slave trade. The Amerindians adapted to the coffee, wheat, lemons, oranges, lettuce, cabbage, and olives that the European communities consumed. They also benefitted from the domesticated animals of Europe. The animals, after living in much harsher conditions, thrived in the lands of the Americas. The introduction of horses was especially important because it transformed the way that buffalo where hunted in the northern regions of the Americas. Rapid multiplication of domesticated pigs guaranteed a supply of protein to the American diet.4 Religiously speaking, the natives were quick to convert to the Spanish Catholocism at first. I am sure that this was not as easily accomplished after they had established the whites as their enemies.5 The fourth, and perhaps whose effects outnumbered the lik...