Sahagun, who attempted a faithful chronicle, the Indians’ history by recording oral testimonies in Nabuatl, substituted the word “devil” for the Nahuatl “God” in his translation of the work. The problem of translation was another which caused much dispute as to whether indoctrination should be done in Indian languages. Sometimes it is uncomfortable to look back through history and see the atrocities that have been committed by those that are thought of as civilized. At the end of the book, Todorov closes with a discussion of “Las Casas’ Prophesy” concerning the wrath that “God will vent” not only upon Spain but all of Western Europe, because of its “impious, criminal and ignominious deeds perpetrated so unjustly, tyrannically and barbarously. A bit slow and painful at times, but if you can barrage through it, you will definitely learn a lot. certain elements just like won't ever leave and I'm grateful to have been able to have a full class's help picking this one apart. He creates vivid pictures that stand out in the imagination, colored by a “marvelous” descriptive style. They also determine the themes to be treated, by excluding certain others. Absolute piece of garbage that couches history in semiotics, Oreintalism and conflict theory. Pp. His Historia general de las cosas de Nueva Espana would occupy him for forty years. If eligion was a guiding principle in the lives of the conquerors, as Todorov points out, so too was it for the conquered, especially in the case of the Aztecs. For Todorov, Europeans displayed “remarkable qualities of flexibility and improvisation,” characteristics that allowed them to be more effective in imposing their ways of life on others (Todorov 247–8). Whereas for some the Christian principle of the equality of men ensues the assimilation of “Indians,” because they are similar to us, Las Casas tries to figure out the perspective of it. Free delivery in the US Read more here. Duran is remarkable, in Todorov’s estimation, because of his hybrid identity as a Spaniard who moved to Mexico at a young age. to the memory of a Mayan woman devoured by dogs,” to his epilogue statement that in America “the other remains to be discovered” (p. 247), Todorov challenges the reader to engage in a sophisticated semiotic interpretation of the conquest of Mesoamerica. Translated by richard howard. Interesting in parts, dragged in others. Watch for his generous use of others' voices, while never pretending to speak for others and without the conceit of removing his own voice from the narrative. ” (Todorov 103). Our excellent value books literally don't cost the earth. Perhaps, due to the obvious problems for the Catholic Church that this represents, this motive has taken a backseat to the supposed thirst for gold that has overshadowed the religious roots of this horrific tragedy ever since. A great experiment of semiotic interpretation of an historical event. However, Las Casas’ knowledge of the other (along the epistemological axis) is inferior to that of Cortes: this is Todorov’s point that these modes of perceiving alterity are distinct. This is a driving force, primarily because the gold will serve as a future funding for the grand ideas of Columbus. Definitely a very critical view of European colonization of the Americas. I only made it 25 pages in and decided it wasn't worth it. The Conquest of America is a well-written and entertaining book to read. It was just a myth. He dreamt of the creation of an ideal state that would be Mexican and Christian — a city of God. Perhaps, that is one of the most dangerous luxuries of victory–the ability to show compassion for the defeated, but always, yet always too late. We're familiar with Columbus's discovery of the islands in the Caribbean and their Indians. The Aztecs on the other hand, were so steeped in ritual that they were taken advantage of by the Spanish, who, when they learned their customs and myths, effectively wrote themselves in to the ongoing prophetic fulfillment that the Aztecs found in the events of their world. Todorov uses a great deal of first-hand documentation to display the mindsets and motivations of such historical figures as Colombus, Cortes, and Montezuma. The book offers an original interpretation of the Spaniards’ conquest, colonization, and destruction of pre-Columbian cultures in … The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov, A Flair for the Dramatic/Selfish Machines by Pierce the Veil. Although he occupies the same position as Columbus on the praxeological axis, Sahagun is distinct from the latter in that his position is a result of the ambiguity of his identification, rather than complete disinterest as in the case of Columbus. A grim but incredibly insightful account of the Conquest of America. Todorov claims that “the effective conquest of information leads to the ultimate collapse of the Aztec empire. So many atrocities were committed in the name of God, especially in the name of Jesus Christ. Refresh and try again. In the age of the book, this decision cannot be left to the audience: the choice must be made in order for the book to exist and one merely imagines (or hopes for) an audience that will have given one answer rather than the other; one also tries to listen to the answer suggested or imposed by the subject itself.”, http://books.google.com/books?id=LrcX-UKNdBEC&dq=tzvetan+Todorov%E2%80%99s+Conquest+of+the+Americas&source=gbs_navlinks_s, See 1 question about The Conquest of America…, Crusaders, Conquistadores and Colonial Empires, Goodreads Staffers Share Their Top Three Books of the Year. Columbus is declared a so called “hero” to the Americans for discovering America. Todorov gives us an interpretation of Columbus’ discovery of America, and the Spaniards’ subsequent conquest, colonization, and destruction of pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico and the Caribbean. How about receiving a customized one? The author gives a unique perspective on history - he is a linguist. Consequently, Las Casas is able to justify colonization on spiritual grounds, and maintains that it should be carried out by priests instead of soldiers. The passages (filed under Love) on massacre and human sacrifice are amazing; the section (under Knowledge) on the last conversion of Las Casas argues compellingly that he is among the first people to achieve a modern understanding of cultural relativism, and that it is only at the end. 274. His interventions in the text are not only rare, but clearly separated from the rest. (Todorov 227) In the final part of the book, Todorov investigates the impact that these events have had on the subsequent writings on the subject. They must be given their original freedom back and be reinstated in their sovereignty. In order to propagate better Christianism he projected to write the history of the ancient Mexican religion. I had to read this for a seminar on multiculturalism. Initially, I thought of Columbus as someone primarily seeking gold for the glory of the King and Queen. Largely by doing profiles of some of the major figures and digging deep into their thoughts and beliefs, the author unveils the prevailing feeling of superiority among the Spaniards--whether it be because of a lack of respect for the natives' way of life in general or because they were reluctant to accept Christianity. The construction of this typology along axes rather than levels is important, because it preserves the independence of each kind of experience of the other: Todorov writes, “There exist, of course, relations and affinities between these three levels, but … we cannot reduce the to one another, nor anticipate one starting from the other … Knowledge does not imply love, nor the converse; and neither of the two implies, nor is implied by, identification with the other” (Todorov 186). Difficult reading. Todorov was a Franco-Bulgarian historian, philosopher and literary theoretician. He even attempted to justify the human sacrifices they were committing through arguing about “natural reason” and that it is their way to adore God, by giving the greatest sacrifice of all: human life. All rights reserved, The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov. In fact, Las Casas often appears to view the Indians as superior to the Spaniards. In the middle section of the book Todorov gives a detailed analysis of this stunning historic event and shows that Cortes’ victory was not necessarily due to any great military achievement, instead it was mostly the result of the Aztec’s refusal to mount any kind of an effective defense until it was too late. Both in his letters and in his diary, Christopher Columbus repeatedly expresses his primary purpose as a religious one. Broadly, the thesis is that the overwhelming majority of the Spaniards were not interested in seeing the natives as people possessing an equal portion of humanity. The book offers an original interpretation of both Columbus's discovery of America and the Spaniards' subsequent conquest, colonization, and destruction of pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico and the Caribbean. We’d love your help. The logic of this deed and others like them illustrates the destructive influence of Christianity in the Colonial project, which lies at the root of the hegemonic self-image of Western experience–first defined from the perspective of Columbus and Cortes. Idk I took some useful ideas from this book, and I think Todorov has his heart in the right place, but there are a lot of very obvious problems with this work. As Todorov observes, “It is as a consequence of this perfected system of information that Cortes quickly gains a detailed knowledge of the existence of internal dissensions among the Indians. His focus is on the way these various figures communicate and understand different discourses: natural, human, and divine. (Todorov 171). The first two chapters describe Columbus’ initial encounters with the “Indians” of America. Todorov's subject is the Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and Mexico in the 16th century. almost like getting your shit together internally so to speak requires an external projection of violence. Initially, one can see Columbus nearly overwhelmed by the beauty of … Many words, especially in the religious vocabulary, represented concepts which simply did not exist in the native language. In The Conquest of America Todorov delves deeply into the dark consequences (intended and unintended) of the European discovery of the Americas and represents the first important study of the influence of religious belief on the interactions beginning with Columbus with the "savage" Other. A book review of Tzvetan Todorov's "The Conquest of America" grappling with its implications for America's War on Terror in the early 21st century. This book takes an interesting tack in looking at the time of America's conquering and attempted assimilation into the European milieu. Las Casas’ ultimate wisdom lies in arguing for the restriction of jus ad bellum in the face of those who make compelling arguments, draped in moral universals and humanitarian imperatives, for its expansion. Buy The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other New edition by Todorov, Tzvetan (ISBN: 9780806131375) from Amazon's Book Store. the naming of the Yucatan peninsula as Spaniards, I still think about this book all the time and read it well over a yr ago now in class. this was not a page turner but informative. His work can be qualified as “ethnography” as he is just collecting information without interpretation, and making only a timid comparison with Ancient Rome, but without being comparative. Sahagun is similarly successful in his acquisition of knowledge of the other: even more successful than Duran, Todorov argues (Todorov 240). His ships carried 600 conquistadors with horses and weapons.They wanted fame and riches. These people don’t know that he really wasn’t the good guy that he was claimed to be. Todorov creates a loose typology of forms of intercultural interaction through an examination of both major and more minor figures from the Spanish conquest of Mexico. It's not my area (at all) and there's a lot of theory to wade through, but the payoff is huge. Hi there, would you like to get such a paper? We understand the conquest in terms of the leading edge of 16th century technology coming into abrupt contact with a society not possessing a written language. Hire a Professional to Get Your 100% Plagiarism Free Paper. So good, Todorov maintains a tight focus as he makes two arguments, using the "Conquest of America" as his grounds for both a historical case, and a case for ethically reading. In the 2nd half of the book The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov, Todorov discusses Bartolome de Las Casas and Bernardino de Sahagun. If he admits that there are differences between Spaniards, and Indians that would function to the latter’s disadvantage, he does so in order to reduce them immediately by evolutionary scheme: they (over there) are now even as we (here) were once …” (Todorov 166-167). The Indians demonstrate little interest in material wealth not because they are lazy (as the Spanish ironically claimed), but rather because they possess a Christian morality (Todorov 165). There are no discussion topics on this book yet. The Aztecs were too superstitious and basically just not smart enough to not be conquered by the Spaniards. Obviously the book talks about so much more and goes into the subtleties of multiple points of view. On the praxeological level, Todorov argues that Las Casas and Cortes are essentially equal. Todorov writes that Sahagun “does not to any degree renounce his way of life or his identity … yet he learns the other’s language and culture in depth … and ends … by sharing certain values of those who at the start were the object of his study” (Todorov 240). Now, how can you call that type of a person a hero–when all he did was make others suffer? Wonderful, wonderful, though at times the criticism is really very subtle, it is not thereby weaker. It's dense and the translation is choppy at times, but it's still an enjoyable and incredibly interesting read. Todorov uses exploration and discussion of primary writings (journal entries, letters, scholarly treatments) from the 1400 and 1500s to explore cultural differences and differences in worldview that allowed the Spanish, hugely outnumbered and in unfamiliar territory, to successfully conquer the Americas. The Conquest of America In the book The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov, Todorov brings about an interesting look into the expeditions of Columbus, based on Columbus’ own writings. It reads rather strangely (translated Polish -> French -> English) but has all sorts of eerie foreshadowing of 20th C. atrocities. Those that were different, in dress, culture, or religious beliefs, were beneath them and destined to be conquered or converted. Todorov argues that in order to convert them, Las Casas had to conceive of them as equals: “It is not that Christianity is unaware of oppositions or inequalities; but the fundamental opposition here is the one between believer and unbeliever; Christian and non-Christian; yet each man can become a Christian … equality is an unshakable principle of the Christian religion” (Todorov 161). Las Casas, also, ultimately rejects the idea of difference by illustrating that the Indians are potential Christians. From the view of the prophets and holy men of the indigenous communities, the coming of the Spanish was not something to be fought. The passages (filed under Love) on massacre and human sacrifice are amazing; the section (under Knowledge) on the last conversion of Las Casas argues compellingly that he is among the first people to achieve a modern understanding of cultural relativism, and that it is only at the end of his long and remarkable life that he begins to overcome religious chauvinism and to see the Indians he has spent his life advocating for as both equal and different. Todorov was a Franco-Bulgarian historian, philosopher and literary theoretician. An unusual and fascinating historical study of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs. Unfortunately we do not have a summary for this item at the moment. (2017, Apr 27). New York: Harper & Row, 1984. The ideology that he created to legitimize this diverse entity was the notion of perpetual peace or sulh-i-kul. In terms of the built-in scale for valuing civilizations, then Indian civilization’s greatness lay in its ability to absorb diversity and make it its own. One critical point of adaptation was that the Spanish, he argues, were superior in their ability to learn the language, customs, and beliefs of the Aztecs, not in order to understand or appreciate them, but in order to use this knowledge as a weapon against them. I liked the authors take on columbus and his religious beliefs in what he was doing, but cortez was not so good, it seemed the authors purpose was to show the difference between the myth of these great or so called great men and the truth of their real reason of doing what they did. Controlling information about the enemy was crucial as evidenced in both examples. In fact, Todorov invokes the unimaginably horrible image of Catholic priests bashing Indian baby’s heads against rocks, allegedly to save them from damnation to hell, which their “savage” culture would have otherwise consigned them to. In particular, he focuses on the work of three writers, all Spanish, but among the first generations of Europeans native to South America. Todorov notes that, like Las Casas, Sahagun “adheres to the Christian doctrine of the equality of man” (Todorov 239), but it seems that Sahagun goes a step further: “The replacement of Aztec society by Spanish society is therefore a two-edged sword; and after having carefully weighed the pros and cons, Sahagun decides, more forcefully than Duran, that the final result is negative” (Todorov 237). This is an absolutely remarkable book. Todorov uses exploration and discussion of primary writings (journal entries, letters, scholarly treatments) from the 1400 and 1500s to explore cultural differences and differences in worldview that allowed the Spanish, hugely outnumbered and in unfamiliar territory, to successfully conquer the Americas. His analysis is eye opening in that he reveals an entirely different (non Western) way of looking at the invasion of the Spanish. Conquest by Semiotics!From his hard-nosed book dedication “ . His main conclusions focus on the differences in the way that Spaniards and Aztecs viewed and learned from. “The three axes on which we can locate the problematic of alterity” (Todorov 185) as proposed by Tzvetan Todorov. He interviewed Indians who were eyewitnesses to the conquest and used native scribes to record and illustrate what was said in Nahuatl. They are remarkable – Sahagun in particular – for their “success” (Todorov 218) on he epistemic axis. Among his most influential works is his theory on the fantastic, the uncanny and marvellous. According to Las Casas, thus there is a universal love of God, but all religious expressions of this love are culturally specific, and as such relative. Todorov was a Franco-Bulgarian historian, philosopher and literary theoretician. Not a first book on the conquest, but a worthy overview once you've got several others under your belt. scriptures and etc. almost like getting your shit together internally so to speak requires an external projection of violence. Columbus lays claim to any island he can see, claiming it for the glory of God and the King and Queen. Every December, as we wrap up our annual Goodreads Reading Challenge, we ask our book-loving colleagues a simple yet incredibly tough... To see what your friends thought of this book, [أريد قرأت الكتاب فهل حد يعرف اذا كان في منه نسخة مترجمة للعربي, The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other. Barbarism is a relative notion as well. . Todorov uses the terms “distributive” and “assimilationist” to portray Las Casas’s approach towards the American Indians. The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov. Cortés had heard We've read accounts of priests Christianizing the Indians and how the population was enslaved and decimated by disease. This video is unavailable. Spain conquered Iberian peninsula and the Americas in the same yr. the psychology of that. I always rate books based on how the book captured my attention. Rather, the fall of Montezuma was inevitable. Las Casas illustrates the dangers of Sepulveda’s position and offers an alternative framework of jus ad bellum that focuses on injury and warns against including humanitarian benefits in the just cause criterion. For this reason, Sahagun is farthest to the right on the axiological axis. Broadly, the thesis is that the overwhelming majority of the Spaniards were not interested in seeing the natives as people possessing an equal portion. Todorov brings about an interesting look into the expeditions of Columbus, based on Columbus’ own writings. This places Las Casas on the positive axiological axis. Duran repeatedly states that “to eliminate paganism successfully, it must first of all be known thoroughly” (Todorov 202). as aways, greed and god were the reasons for all the evil they did. “(Todorov 103). I give it four stars not because I liked it so much, but because I recognize that it is well written and I cannot fault the book in accuracy (otherwise some crazy scholars would be sending me hate mail). , Todorov argues that Las Casas ’ Love for the glory of the Aztecs with a much review... By marking “ the three axes on which we can locate the problematic of ”! Can barrage through it, you will definitely learn a lot be declared as inferior be. 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