Posted on 11/18/2020 3:56:49 AM PST by LibWhacker
Cortez had a reputation for being over the top cruel as a commander before he went to the New World-he was said to have been overzealous with anyone unfortunate enough to be a prisoner of his-he captured the daughter of a chief who was a rival of the Aztec leader Moctezuma-he kept her as a mistress to coerce her father into helping him defeat the Aztecs-then he turned on her father and wouldn’t give the daughter back-Cortez also impregnated the girl-their son was the 1st documented Spanish/Native American born in New Spain. When Cortez went back to Spain a few years later, he married the mistress off to one of his favorite generals, took his son away from her and to Spain-not exactly what a gentleman does-I think he was a digusting person...
That’s true-but it didn’t stop them from making war on someone in a country that wasn’t theirs-namely the Native Americans-I’m always amazed that it took the Spaniards so long to get the Muslims out of Spain/Al Andalus-even before the Romans came marching in, Celts had settled there-not a peaceful bunch-then you add Roman DNA over a few centuries and you’ve got a country full of mean sonsofbitches-it was an accident of nature that the Muslims didn’t get thrown out years before El Cid came along,,,
“I think he was a digusting person”
It’s a full step from disgusting to brutal.
He was brutal, too-supposedly even in Spain-fond of hanging captured enemy prisoners from trees and gallows on the field-tied so that they suffocated very slowly-he executed Cuatemoc, the last Aztec emperor that way, too-hanged him from a tree after he was captured. rather than take him back to the capital city and have a formal execution-bad practice by most standards...
His was a brutal age. We do historical figures a disservice when we judge them by our own standards.
True-which is why I point out the brutality of both sides in historical conflicts-it doesn’t make me think my Hispanic ancestors were nicer-but it does serve to show they were pretty much in the same class as Heart-ripping Native Americans, Spanish torturing/burning heretics, Italians-Borgias, anyone?-Brits with the persecution of the Scots, etc-you weren’t going to get anywhere back then by being nice-which is also why all the history-hating/denying statue smashing snowflakes are so ignorant and full of s***-they choose to ignore how far we have come and how we didn’t ride in on a unicorn...
“which is why I point out the brutality of both sides in historical conflicts”
I prefer to focus on the heroic, the greatness of historical figures, the ways in which these world historical figures can teach us lessons.
Robert E. Lee takes a lot of flak these days because he was loyal to his state instead of the Union, but the fact remains that he was a magnificent soldier and a great man.
He has lessons to teach anyone who cares to look. However, it seems to me that when we become tendentiously even-handed, and concentrate too much on whatever transgressions are alleged, those lessons seem to be lost.
There is no way that any historical figure who was a military leader is going to be a saint-Julius Caesar was a good example-he was certainly a brutal conqueror-one who captured and executed the leaders of kingdoms all over Europe and farther-as well as being a notorious womanizer, etc-but he was one of history’s great generals and military minds. Texas own Sam Houston was a great fighter and leader, the person who won independence for Texas(and we maybe should have stayed that way, in my opinion)-but he was also said to have been intolerant of dissenting opinions, a harsh man, a womanizer and a hard drinker.
Gengis Khan, Attila the Hun, Alaric, etc-they were all great soldiers and leaders, but no one would ever say they were not also brutal or accuse them of being nice-even General George Patton was supposedly a cruel, explosive and harsh man...
“Texas own Sam Houston...was also said to have been intolerant of dissenting opinions, a harsh man, a womanizer and a hard drinker.”
As a Texan-in-exile, perhaps I am too forgiving of Sam Houston, but those things seem more like a recommendation than an indictment.
Years ago, on the sunny slopes of long ago, I was myself intolerant of dissenting opinions, a harsh man, a womanizer and a hard drinker.
Never founded a country, though.
The first thing that came to my mind was the image of a “Planned Parenthood” building filled with bloody babies recently sacrificed.
The second thing was that gif of that lady(?) screaming.
Ya could have wound up in the corncrib.
Today Aztecs would torture victims with 23 hours of Barack 0bama’s latest audiobook.
Yeah...um...it would have been less comfortable, for sure...;o])
‘Face
;o]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.