Amir - Outline

Sorry this is late.

I. Introduction

A. Introduce topic (New World ritual and religion in early Spanish accounts)

1. Conquistadors’ accounts of human sacrifice in Mexico

a. Maybe include a scene from Díaz

2. Introduce Cortés and Díaz (biographies)

a. Briefly go over time period they came out of (reconquest, New World possibilities)

B. Thesis / Research question

1. I don’t have a clear thesis thus far. After talking with Professor Kollmann, I realized that instead of focusing exclusively on human sacrifice I should broaden my analysis to include more of the interactions that Spaniards had with the indigenous religions of the New World. With this, I’m hoping to show that the accounts of the Spanish arrival in Mexico cannot be viewed solely as an outward gaze but as a reflection on Spaniards’ own society. The originality of my argument rests on a very close reading of the text.

II. Main Body

A. Diabolical interpretation of the Aztecs

1. Offer many examples in Díaz and Cortés where idols are destroyed.

2. Tie in with Spanish experience with non-Christian religions. I’ll definitely be using Stanly Payne’s book on Spanish Catholicism a lot in this section and throughout my whole paper.

a. Moors

i. Not as violent as Aztecs but a mortal enemy, nonetheless

ii. Ironically, one of the Muslim charges against Christians had been that they were polytheistic, a misunderstanding of the Trinity.

iii. Díaz makes a very interesting remark about St James, who was a patron of soldiers and known in Spanish as matamoros (the Moorkiller)

I. This could be a fruitful comparison.

b. Jews

i. Portrayed with violent imagery similar to Aztecs.

ii. The beginning of the Spanish inquisition

B. Potential for reformation of Indians

1. Cortés and Díaz mention the possibility of redemption.

a. Whenever they arrive at a temple they present an image of the Virgin Mary and a crucifix and assure the natives that things will be better for them if they convert.

b. Cortés also begs the king of Spain to send more missionaries and good Christians, since the people of Mexico have much misplaced fervor that could easily be directed towards Catholicism.

2. Again, bring in the Spanish inquisition

a. Persecution of conversos (Jewish converts to Christianity)

i. Concern with asserting Spanish dominance

ii. Still, can’t underestimate the important of Christian principles of evangelization.

iii. Possibility of creating a new Spanish society out of the ruins of the old.

I. Despite convivencia of Islamic Spain, people were uneasy about pluralism.

II. Eventual expulsion of Jews and Muslims

III. Possibility of reformation exists even more strongly in America than in Europe.

A. New society can be created without vices of Europeans.

3. Hispanic culture has clearly emerged from the Islamic confrontation

a. Principle of attachment is seen negatively in Cortés’s and Díaz’s writings (bad traits, common barbarism)

i. Pagden

C. Opposing argument

1. David Carrasco

a. Argued that Spanish descriptions of Aztec rituals could have been part of greater scheme of defamation.

i. I will counter by mentioning how human sacrifice could have been repulsive to many other groups (other Indians around area).

2. Leads to reasserting how unique these descriptions actually are

III. Conclusion

I’m working on getting more secondary sources especially on Spanish religion. Important topics include the expulsion of Jews and Moors, and the early Inquisition.