Aztecs CaseOn November 8, 1519, the Spaniards ventured into the Aztec empire for the very first time. In both selections in Worlds of History, Diaz and Broken Spears detail the events that occur between the Spaniards and the Aztecs. There were similarities such as both selections described mutual politeness, but that each side were apprehensive of the others true intensions. The differences in both selections were clear because in Diaz’s account, he highlighted the fact that the Spaniards were trying to bring Christianity to the Aztecs and show them that the barbaric lifestyles that they were living were wrong. While the Broken Spears’ account highlighted the Spaniards greed and blood thirst.
A similarity that had to do with the two accounts were that both sides, the Spaniards and the Aztecs, were very polite and cordial. When Montezuma and Cortes first met, they complimented each other (Broken Spears, 622-23), and gave each other gifts of gold and other ornaments. Cortes gave Montezuma a gold cord that was dipped in musk, while Montezuma had given Cortes a necklace made of golden crabs (Diaz, 614-15). Cortes and Montezuma were both trying to get the upper hand by being polite and by showing the other side that they had nothing to fear, by doing this they could understand the other side better while thinking of what they should do next.
Another similarity was that both sides seemed to be cautious of the other, despite their mutual politeness. In Diaz’s account, Cortes’ soldiers reminded him that he should be carful when it came to Montezuma because they could never be sure when Montezuma might decide to go against the Spaniards and attack (Diaz, 620). Montezuma said that he heard that the Spaniards shot out flashes of lightning, and killed many Indians with horses, and that they were angry gods (Diaz, 617), Montezuma also said that he was in agony for five days because he didn’t know what to expect (Broken Spears 622). These statements reveal that Montezuma was weary of the Spaniards true identities. Neither side could fully trust the other because they both had a goal in mind. Montezuma had to protect the Aztec way of life and his empire, while Cortes was in search of gold to take back to Spain.
Between the two accounts, a significant difference was that in the Diaz’s account, Diaz recounted Cortes talking to Montezuma about Christianity. He talked about how there was only One true God and that Montezuma should give up the gods that he worshipped because it will only lead him to hellfire, Montezuma replied to Cortes and said that he was aware of Christianity for some time and that although he thought that Cortes’ God was good, Montezuma had no doubt that his gods were good too (Diaz, 616). Diaz’s account highlighted this conversation because for the Spaniards, one of their goals along with finding gold was to spread Christianity. In the Broken Spears account, this conversation was not there at all, this is because
The Spaniards (who were the main members of the Inquisition) were not alone in their dislike of Catholicism. When Pope Pius IX decided the whole world should learn from the Spanish Catholic diocese in Rome, a Spanish diocese was called to protest (Rio dei Piso 1715-1716). Because of the negative reputation the Diocese had in the Catholic Church, one of the bishops ordered in 1735 to “restore their whole reputation and reputation” and at that time, Montezuma took the diocese and tried to make them independent (Rio dei Piso 1735-1812). The Catholic Church eventually adopted the idea and created a Catholic League (Perez Marques de Ponce de Mayo and the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Aquitaine, all the former members living in Rome).
The Catholic Clergy
Pope Pius IX adopted the idea and made a “coral council” on religious ethics, which he held in the diocese of Tuscany. However, in 1743, the deaconate of Tuscany did not participate in the council because he was unwilling to give up the idea, instead he said that the deaconate could give over the rights to the Church and bishops over those who wished to become bishops. According to some contemporary accounts (as shown in the following section), Pope Pius IX gave up the idea of Catholic Clergy in order to allow the Catholic Church to adopt the way of Catholicism in Rome, in an effort to end the need for bishops in Catholic dioceses (L’Esse nuit d’observation, L’Université Libre de Paris 1741-1812, 1766).
Pope Pius IX also proposed a law of bishops in all Catholic dioceses that would allow all priests to serve as bishops when they return from war, since this would make them bishops at the time. The bishops would have the power to give bishops the rights they had not, which was not permitted (Rio dei Piso 1735-1745). Some even advocated this bill because it provided bishops an opportunity to return to teaching at the same time that they did not.
Pope Pius IX created the “Catholic Clergy” to provide support to the dioceses who were currently sitting on the council. They consisted of one bishop at every diocese, each member of the Council would be a bishop at one time, and a bishop could also be called to one position. They were elected only during the time each diocese had a bishop. In addition, in 1775 he did enact the “Catholic Clergy Act.” It created the National Pontiff’s Council as a form of ecclesiastical oversight over the diocesan authorities.
What Did the Fathers