The Making of Latin America Blog

This week, I really enjoyed our two readings by Cortes and Diaz. To me, it was very interesting reading two different viewpoints of the same events. It seemed to demonstrate what we talked about earlier this year with differing perspectives or realities based on the same occurrences. Diaz and Cortes seem to be living in two different realities. Diaz's reality appears to be that of more a layman. He is focused more on the day to day aspect of the trip, as evidenced by his recounting the exact numbers of men, and his long story describing how they finally met Aguilar. He seems to have no illusions about how hard the fighting with the indigenous is, and the difficulties the expedition encounters on every turn. Cortes, however, seems to be caught up in some grandiose, ideal expedition. He seems to brush over important make-or-break aspects, like having Malintzin as an interpreter, and focus more on the wealth he found and his power over the natives. This may be because he was writing t...

Hey Ben! This post was super interesting. I had never heard of van Olmen before, so hearing about him in class, and now in your post, is fascinating. It's crazy to me how something we deem as inconsequential nowadays like wind direction had such a major impact on the course of history. I don't think twice about what way the wind is blowing when I walk outside, but if van Olmen would have before he left on his journey, things would have been drastically different. I liked your point that the countries of today may not have existed or would be totally different if the Portuguese had come to the New World first.

I found our discussions on the film Conquest of Paradise to be very enlightening. Back in the day, when my sister was in this sequence, she would come home and discuss what she had learned or thought about in class. One of the novel ideas I heard from her was the concept of Columbus not being an all-around, great guy like I was used to thinking. Throughout my elementary and high school career I had typically been taught that Columbus was a nice dude, so what she was saying to match my mental description of him. Part of me always wondered how, if Columbus was not so great after all, the main line of thought taught in school was that he was a hero. Our discussion on this film, however, demonstrated how. The thoughts of most people are skewed or swayed based on media in any form, including films. This film portrays Columbus as a visionary hero, coinciding with my previous way of thinking. I realized that films like this are what perpetuates theories, dare I say myths, about history, and i...

 I really enjoyed our talks on Malintzin, as well as the book excerpt we read. I find it super interesting that someone who played such a vital role in helping the Spanish communicate with the natives is rarely mentioned in Spanish historical records, as well as our history books. It's also fascinating to me how, to some, Malintzin has taken on a mythological meaning. It's interesting to see the two opposing views on a crucial interpreter. Many of the Spanish chose to omit or ignore her role, but some of the natives embellished her tale to make her into a god-like being. Overall, though, I found Malintzin's tale to be very interesting, but sad at the same time because of the life she was forced to live. Given the circumstances she was placed in and the role she had to fill, the choices she made are very understandable. Many times people like to think that if they had been in that situation, they would have done differently, when in reality, they probably wouldn't have.

Hey Ben! I think it's great that you brought up how different cultures see the world in a different light. I think many times we grow up in a sheltered reality, thinking that our culture or way of life is the "correct" one, and not realizing that other people looking in may view our culture in a whole different way. The idea that there are different "realities", and that the same situation or event can be viewed in opposing ways solely based on perspective, is really eye-opening. Thanks for this great post, I really enjoyed it!

 Thus far, I have found this honors course to be extremely interesting. One of my favorite discussions we had, however, was about who was more civilized, the Europeans or the Indigenous peoples. When my family and I visited Peru, we visited an Inca site called Sacsayhuaman. Essentially, its a fortress about 12,000 feet in the mountains that has walls made of enormous stones, each perfectly fitted to those around it. How these stones were moved, let alone carved and placed perfectly together, boggles my mind. One of the discussions I had with my siblings was about the brilliance of the Inca, as well as other New World civilizations. We all lamented the fact that the Europeans had all but wiped them out, because we were thinking about the advancements that could have been made, and how far society could be now, if these civilizations had not been eradicated. Our discussion in class reminded me of this, causing me to revisit my speculations. I'll always wonder what the world could hav...

Hey Seth I'm super glad you decided to take this course with me! I'm so sorry to hear that your trip to Costa Rica got canceled, but hopefully you will be able to go once we're through with this pandemic. I've never been to the Grand Canyon but judging by your picture it looks gorgeous, so I definitely should make an effort to get out there. Looking forward to class with you!