Collision of Worlds: A Deep History of the Fall of Aztec Mexico and the Forging of New Spain

Description

Mexico of five centuries ago was witness to one of the most momentous encounters between human societies, when a group of Spaniards led by Hernando Cortés joined forces with tens of thousands of Mesoamerican allies to topple the mighty Aztec Empire. It served as a template for the forging of much of Latin America and initiated the globalized world we inhabit today. The violent clash that culminated in the Aztec-Spanish war of 1519-21 and the new colonial order it created were millennia in the making, entwining the previously independent cultural developments of both sides of the Atlantic. Collision of Worlds provides a deep history of this encounter, one that considers temporal depth in the richly layered cultures of Mexico and Spain, from their prehistories to the urban and imperial societies they built in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Leading Mesoamerican archaeologist David Carballo offers a unique perspective on these fabled events with a focus on the physical world of places and things, their similarities and differences in trans-Atlantic perspective, and their interweaving in an encounter characterized by conquest and colonialism, but also resilience on the part of Native peoples. An engrossing and sweeping account, Collision of Worlds debunks long-held myths and contextualizes the deep roots and enduring consequences of the Aztec-Spanish conflict as never before. Contents Preface Guide to Pronunciation and Spelling Deep Timeline Fifteenth– SixteenthCentury Timeline 1 Mexico, Spain, and Their Deep Histories of Place Facts on the Ground Reflection and Explanation The Path Ahead 2 Mesoamerica A Deep History Sons and Daughters of the Shaking Earth People of the Corn Early Towns and Spheres of Interaction Cities, States, and the Development of Classic Period Mesoamerica City of the Gods Reconfiguration and the Rise of the Toltecs Mesoamerica on the Eve of the Aztecs 3 Iberia A Deep History Iberia and Its Peoples From Ice Age Artists to ScratchPlow Farmers Light from the East, Legends of the West Hispania and All Roads to Rome Moros y Cristianos Spain on the Eve of the Catholic Monarchs 4 Mexico and Spain on the Eve of Encounter Aztecs and Spaniards: Ethnic and National Identities Comparative Social Organization: Cities, Trade, and Politics Technologies of Imperialism Religion and Philosophy Comparative History and Society 5 Invasion of the Mesoamerican Coast Chroniclers and Their Agendas The PreInvasion Setting of Early Spanish America Launching of the Cortés Expedition War with the Maya La Malinche and Early Alliances 6 Old Foes, New Allies The Battle of Tecoac The SpanishTlaxcalteca Alliance On the Road to Ruin Over Mountains and Causeways 7 The Spanish-Mexica War La Gran Tenochtitlan Narváez, Disease, and Mexica Resistance The Siege and Fall of Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco 8 Forging a New Spain Spaniards and Mesoamericans Continuing in Conquest Administration and Economy Religion and Rhetoric Colonists and Subjects of New Spain From America to Europe and the World Notes Bibliography Index