Nearly 500 years after his death, Montezuma is back in the news. Read the two articles in my Digg box (located on the right menu bar). Read "British Museum Seeks to Remake Montezuma's Image" first. Then read "Idea of the Day: Revenge on Montezuma". Is it fair for people to judge the Aztec emperor and his empire by western standards? Is London mayor Boris Johnson correct in his evaluation of the Aztecs?
Add your ideas to the comment section and remember to include your first name and last initial. Comments will be included in class participation grades.
41 comments:
I do not think it would be fair to judge moctezuma and the Aztec people in general based on western standards. Boris' s comment made them out to be these horrible people that only killed. Although they did do human sacrifice, it was a cultural ritual that at the time was important within their civilization. That does not mean their rulers shouldn't be studied and their accomplishments recognized. Until the Spanish came these two sides of the world basically had no contact with each other so it would be ridiculous to judge one by the other's standards because they were entirely different.
Jen berry
Is it fair for people to judge the Aztec emperor and his empire by western standards? Is London mayor Boris Johnson correct in his evaluation of the Aztecs?
I don't think it's fair at all for people to judge Moctezuma by western standards. What is considered right for some people might not be right for others. Therefore, I strongly disagree with Johnson's comments. I don't think anyone can say that the Spanish went to the Aztec empire to help the people, they went for their own benefit and justified their actions with the actions of other people.
Shahenda H.
I don't think that the British, or any of us, can really judge the Aztecs based on religous rituals. I think the mayor was kind of quick to say that it was so wrong, but given that he did admit that it is what "we" call right/wrong, at least he was willing to sort of admit that he was using his own moral compass to judge them. That being said, I do think that religious ceremonies that require human sacrifice should be looked on as immoral, I just don't think that is how we should remember/judge the Aztecs.
Andrew E.
I'm not sure if it's completely fair to judge the Aztecs by western standards because there really is no way we can fully understand the morals, ethics, or religious ideologies of their culture.
Megan C
The articles present interesting opinions. When studying the Aztec civilization, I believe it is important to not take sides but rather look at the invasion in context. Both sides commited atrocities in their own ways and both sides came across shocking new cultures. Their action's are not justified but should not be judged through a 20th century mindset. I don't agree with the mayor's opinion. Human sacrifice is in fact horrible but can be compared to things such as the Spanish inquisition.
Lucas L
No it's not fair to judge the aztecs by western standards because back then things were alot different then they are now and re aztes were just doing what they thought was right and that would be best to defeat the spanish. Johnson view on the emperor and Aztecs is partially correct, but then again we can't judge them that much by our western standards.
TaChelle Morris
I think that it is unfair to judge the Aztecs by western standards because they had a very different prerspective than we do on life. The mayor of london was wrong in his description of the aztec. He was way to harsh in saying that they did not know the difference between right and wrong; although they were very warlike and practiced human sacrifice, that was just their way of life and what they believed in. They did other things besides just kill people.
Clare t.
I don't think it's fair to judge the Aztec (or Mexica?) people on the information given by the Europeans, who believed they were the most/only civilized people alive, because obviously most of the information they gave us would be biased and filled with opinion rather than fact. Also that journalist was pretty harsh, we all know they made human sacrifices, but that's not ALL they did.
Christy R.
I Do not believe that any ancient culture, such as the Aztecs, should be judged by any dominant society throughout history. The countries that conquered them will definately have a strong opinion towards them because they feel superior. The mayor was wrong to say what he said because he is only trying to influence others to try and gain that sense of dominance and superiority. He even says that anyone who does not agree with him should go to the museum to "see it for theirselves."
Spencer R.
I think that what the British museum is doing is a good thing, giving another perspective to the Aztecs. Now mr. Boris Johnson has absolutely no right to compare the Aztecs to the Nazis. He said that when Cortes arrived to tenochtitlan it was like walking into Belsen. That is something that the Aztecs didn't accomplish, a genocide, or else it would be written in all of the textbooks. I think that he has no right to judge the Aztecs that way and today we may never know what they were truly like, but we can at least give them the benefit of the doubt.
Ben Edgar
I do not think that it is fair to Judge the Aztecs or Moctezuma based on western standards. The Aztecs were not a western culture and should not be subjected to the standards or morals of others. They had never had any contact or influence by other cultures, so they can't be expected to follow others. Boris Johnson referred to them as "a culture gone mad", but the Aztec were a very advanced culture, not only interested in killing or sacrifices
Hannah A.
I believe that it is unfair to critisize the Aztec empire because of their human sacrifices. No it should not be acceptable today but it was a different time and it was what they believed in. Instead we should remember them for their art and great cities that they built.
Rachael R
I agree that we can't base all of our opinons about the Aztecs on what their conquerors said. On the other hand we can't say that the empire they were running was one that was a very good one at least morally speaking. The human sacrifes and killings can't be denied even by the most hardcore Aztec fan. The only thing we can do is try to find out the true story behind all this and then make our opinion.
Marvin C.
I dont think it was really fair to judge the aztecs based on western standards. The reason is because the era and circumstances for the aztecs were completely different from modern day. Also at the time they didnt know what we know today. Their beliefs were different. However, they had the same religious motive as most do today. That is to go to heaven after their deaths. So they believed that the way to do that was by human sacrifices. Boris was also too harsh on his criticism. He made it seem like the aztecs were all murderers and the reasons for their sacrifices were all bad. However the brutal way that the Spaniards killled thousands of aztecs are all exceptable. Even though they only killed to fulfill their greed.
Sabrina p.
I do not agree that we should only look at moctezuma through european perspective. and the mayor was just being closed minded, the Aztecs didn't just kill,but it was their religious ritual after all.
It is ridiculous to judge the Aztecs by western standards and Johnsons veiw on the aztecs is flawed. Who is to say how the Aztecs would have developed without the influence of Cortes and his men. The idea that they were better of with this interference of the spaniards is like saying they are better off dead, which is a very close minded veiw of culture. Katri g.
I firmly believe moctezuma should be given a closer look by historians. The Aztecs were a great civilization but their age of greatness was ending so moctezuma couldn't have protected the empire forever. And their violent practices don't matter that much to me since the Spanish were even more inhuman.
Chad hilla
The London mayor Boris Johnson is completely out of line to say such things about this early empire. It is true that they practiced human sacrifices and other rituals that we now and then. Think crazy and imoral but who is he to judge a society that we do not understand or know much about except for what we have read from bias sources. I think it is unfair for peple to be judging the Aztec society so harshly. It is great that the museum finds it important enough to include in an exhibite so that others will be able to see and learn a bit about this empire which is so harshly judged and critized.
Lexi Bieniek
I don't think it's fair to judge the Aztecs by western standards. Human sacrifice was part of their culture, and the spanish did some equally horrible things in the conquest of the Americas, which in itself was more for robbing the land of all of it's resources then trying to "westernize" the Americas
Daniel W
Personally, I do not believe that we as western culture should have the right to judge the Aztecs based on our standards. Our life is extremely different, and forcing our beliefs on a past, completely different culture is pointless. Sure, human sacrifice isn't the norm nowadays, but back then it was. Their beliefs influenced their actions, thus their ways of keeping the Gods happy - sacrifice. We do the same thing, just in less violent ways. In a thousand years we may be looked down upon for doing something not up to the standards of the new norm. Even now we do things thought of as wrong to other cultures. And if all we remember the Aztecs for is their justifed mass murder rather than their accomplishments, that's like remembering our time for global warming and genocide rather than great feats in technology. We shouldn't judge a culture based on their beliefs and how they execute them.
Sara N.
I think that we shouldn't judge the Aztecs by western standards because they lived in a different time period and didn't have the same standards, rules and beliefs as we do now. What the mayor said was just stupid. The Spanish were trying to get rich not build a city and the Spanish committed attrocities just as bad as the Aztecs.
Clem Aifer
I don't think that it is entirely fair to judge the Aztec by current western standards but we kind of have to seeing as that is how we see the world. In my opinion human sacrafice is barbaric, as is mass murder od any kind, but they would think our current religions to be barbaric as well so we have reached an impass on that. Should we re evaluate Moctezuma? Yes. Historical figures should always be re examined because our views of them can change from generation to generation.
Rebecca F
While Moctezuma may not have been the ideal ruler for the ordeal the Aztecs had to go through, that doesn't necessarily make him the worst. One also has to take into account that he was not just basing his decision on logic. Quetzalcoatl was scheduled to arrive that year, and the idea of possibly trying to fight an angry god probably clouded Moctezuma. When this is taken into account, it makes western judgement unfair since having a legend define policy seems ridiculous. This said, weakness of a ruler does not excuse the violence and manipulation that the Conquistadors commited.
Annie P
I personally do not think it is fair for anyone to judge the Aztec emperor and his empire because those we different times. Since, they were very different from us their ideas were much different and maybe sacrificing people was not that bad for them and it was a way where they could show how much they were into their religion. Also, since it was never introduced to eastern standards they had to come up with a way they could distinguish themselves. I think Boris Johnson is completely wrong and as a matter of fact no one is truly 100% sure of how the Aztec civilization was. Everyone has their specific ideas of how it was but my ideas are very different from Boris'.
Scarlet J.
I don't think it is fair for moctezuma to be judged only by western standards. He was doing what he believed was right and was good. The mayor was out of line because he is not listening to moctezumas side of the story. He can't just say moctezuma was wrong and doing something bad because he doesn't understand why he did what he did.
I believe that what the mayor of London is saying is fair. The aztec rituals were barbarous. However I don't think it's fair to judge moctezuma too harshely. Opinion on human rights depends on your perespective. In the future I'm sure some of the things we do will be judged harshely
I think that it's very unfair to judge the Aztecs and Montezuma by western standards. The Aztecs were an advanced and an intelligent empire. Although they practiced different rituals (human sacrafice) than western countries does not mean that they were terrible murderers. The Aztecs were a very different society than any other western nation. But people cannot judge them compared to western socities because the Aztecs lived in a completely different area of the world and had a completely different society and way of life.
Liz E
I believe it is not fair what-so-ever to judge the Aztecs rituals and traditions on Western beliefs. Although their practices may have been barbaric to some, it was perfectly normal to them. It goes back to the concept of "what is civilized?" What someone here might do/eat/say could be viewed as gross, or not right by others. To the Aztecs, their rituals were perfectly fine, while to the Western world, they were consisted barbaric. The mayor of London was not right in saying what he said about the Aztecs and their rituals. Although he may think the Aztecs were "saved" but the Spanish killed many, and practically ruined their heritage. What may be percieved as barbaric to some may be normal for others
max b.
David halliwell is under scarlet
I don't think it's fair to judge moctezuma by western standerns because the Aztec culture is completly different from western standards and he only killed people because it was for religious purposes so it's not fair to judge him and call him a bad leader. halima j
Although I think that it is unfair to make judgements on a civilization based on how your culture is, I do think that their should be a standard code if human rights that all people love by. The Aztec killed many people for the purpose of religion, and I believe that that is wrong. Even though this is part ofteir culture, this should not be tolerated in today's standards. Europeans were far too butal, but they did have a right to judge these people who had many ofthese controversial practices.
Boris Johnson is not correct in his statement that the Aztec were only a bloody civilization who had no other meaning. Th Aztec did have many things that would make us people today shiver in our boots, but they were still a great civilization. They did have reason, just they did things that would be very controversial in our world today.
Ryan Z
I think it's not fair to judge Aztec emperors especially moctezuma because western standards are bias towards the natives. Western civilizations like the Spanish thought the natives or Aztecs were uncivilized and corrupt and made moctezuma seem like a cowardly and weak emperor. However moctezuma made great advancements like military power and having a centralized government which expanded Aztec power and land.
2nd question: no Boris is wrong because during the times of colonization Europeans were in war and chaos. Europeans did worse means of punishment like beheading and also putting heads on stakes to intimidate the enemy.
It's unfair to judge the aztecs by western standards because they had their own radically different religion and culture and religion. I vehemently disagree with Boris because the spaniards treated the indiginous people with violent savaragy that far outweighs the sacrafices of the Aztecs. Victoria t
I don't think it is fair to judge the Aztecs based on Western values. We live in a completely different time and have different cultures. Human sacrifice was part of the Aztecs' religion therefore it was seen as normal to them.I disagree with Johnson's comment because the Aztecs did not perform human sacrifices for the sake of killing others, while the Spanish killed the natives because of their greed.
Lan-Anh N
I think that we shouldn't place Aztec society in the view of American culture because it was a different time back then and they were just doin what they thought was right to please the gods. That guy is entitled to his opinion, but he's wrong. The Spanish didn't go to Tenochtitlan to help them, they went to conquer the Aztecs.
Hardino M.
I respect the fact that Boris wrote his own opinion. Most of us are critisizing Boris for criticizing the Mexicas which just makes us hypocrites. When observing history we should not judge one anothers opinions because we truly can never be 100% sure about things that occured in the past. Can't we all just get along?
Parita S.
I don't think it's fair for people to judge the Aztec emperor and his empire by western standards. Mayor Boris Johnson isn't correct but it's his opinion. Yes the Aztecs did do brutal things but thats how they were. Every culture is different and people can't really judge about that. It may seem weird to us but whatever we do may seem weird to other people. This happend a long time ago and other cultures were as bad as the Aztecs or maybe worse but no one is commenting about that.
Jessica Viricochea
I dont think that its fair to judge Montezuma and the Aztecs based on western standards. I think that the Aztecs lived in a totally different time and under completely different circumstances, so we could not possibly try to relate or impose our rules on them.
I don't agree with Mayor Johnson because he makes Aztecs out to be blood thirsty and inhuman instead of acknowledging their other accomplishments.
Katherine P.
It is not fair to have only the opinion of
the western side because that is clearly
only one opinion of the story concerning Montezuma. It's better to have different perceptions
or opinions so that there can be different
sides of the argument. Then every person
is entitled to their own opinion. I completely
disagree with Boris Johnson. He expressed
the Aztec's as a "culture gone mad" which
gave the Spanish the right to conquer. Boris also
interpreted the Aztec artifacts incorrectly. The artifacts are
part of the history of the Aztec culture and should only be
thought of as that, not a call for the help to be conquered.
Imane Zirari
conquered.
of the Aztec culture
I do not think it would be fair to judge the Aztec empire's ways based on the moral standards we have today. The things that the Aztec's had done may seem violent to us today but in their time and culture it was an acceptable way of life. In that time there were many forms of violence that existed through out the world. Boris was wrong to say that the Spanish conquest was the best thing to have happened to the Aztec empire. Some of the things that the Spaniards had done was far worse than the Aztec's human sacrafices such as the Spanish inquasition. Teddy p
I think it was a good decision for the British Museum to present Montezuma and his reign as Aztec emporor in a new light. Most people understand the conquering by Hernando Cortes only the way that the Spanish wanted it perceived. I don't think it was fair for Mayor Borris to judge.
Courtney R.
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