Aztec's Second Chance
So the point of my project was to change the fat of the Aztecs, a once indescribably powerful and advanced native american group of people. To do this, I decided to take out the man who made their downfall, Hernando Cortes. Growing up with a passion for adventure and danger, Cortes came across many different opportunities for him to die but escaped them by some luck or little trick. My POD is him running out trick and luck though.
I think the thing that I liked the most about this project was the fact that I got to look into something that happened over a hundred years ago and be able to see how one change down the line can have a big ripple effect. I also liked the fact that I got to look into a group of people that really interested more. I think the most challeging thing about this project was trying to figure out what exactly would be the perfect point of divergence and then researching all the information that tied into the one change. There was a lot more background story to a lot more events that I needed to research but hadn't realized.
The most interesting thing that I read was the fact that Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs had all the warning signs that someone (Cortes) was coming to overthrow his power. There were numerous bad omens that foretold of it and Montezuma chose to ignore it. If he had planned ahead of time and actually took the omens seriously, he would have been more prepared to deal with the Spaniards.
As I learned from my project, one single choice made can reshape the entire outline and road that life is trying to steer. I feel like if I hadn't had other benchmarks and outside of school things to attend to, I would have been able to give this project the attention it deserved. I think I could have more thoroughly researched a lot of things, especial the Mexican American War that lead to the US gaining New Mexico, Texas, and California. If I were to ever do this project again, i would definitely put more effort into doing it and I would also try to make much, much better primary sources.
There's a moment in Cortes' life where his life is put in the hands of a Governor name Velasquez who had to the power to completely kill him off without any repercussions. Two options could have been made and both were reasonable. One option was to kill off Cortes and make his death an example to anyone who would try to threaten Velassquez's position and power. The other, which is the option that was chosen in real history, was to let Cortes sit in jail which didn't work out very well because Cortes ends up picking his cuffs and escaping off to a church for refuge.
The result's of Cortes being killed off so early is that the exploration to and discovery of the Aztecs went different and in the Aztec's favor. The explorers who tried to do what Cortes would have done would fail due to their lack of a good blend wit, charm, and the ability to not understand fear and failure.
I think the thing that I liked the most about this project was the fact that I got to look into something that happened over a hundred years ago and be able to see how one change down the line can have a big ripple effect. I also liked the fact that I got to look into a group of people that really interested more. I think the most challeging thing about this project was trying to figure out what exactly would be the perfect point of divergence and then researching all the information that tied into the one change. There was a lot more background story to a lot more events that I needed to research but hadn't realized.
The most interesting thing that I read was the fact that Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs had all the warning signs that someone (Cortes) was coming to overthrow his power. There were numerous bad omens that foretold of it and Montezuma chose to ignore it. If he had planned ahead of time and actually took the omens seriously, he would have been more prepared to deal with the Spaniards.
As I learned from my project, one single choice made can reshape the entire outline and road that life is trying to steer. I feel like if I hadn't had other benchmarks and outside of school things to attend to, I would have been able to give this project the attention it deserved. I think I could have more thoroughly researched a lot of things, especial the Mexican American War that lead to the US gaining New Mexico, Texas, and California. If I were to ever do this project again, i would definitely put more effort into doing it and I would also try to make much, much better primary sources.
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