It should not have been, but what was amazing to me is how
selfish and blind these men were. They were all swooning with desire over
stories of El Dorado and other
fantastic treasures, but when it came to honesty and truth, they were NOT. I
think that is what shocked me the most; not the conquistadors’ struggles with
finding unlimited wealth in precious metals (some which gave them a decent
amount of wealth), but was their willingness to lie and cover the truth. Pizarro
distrusted and hunted down one of his men when he did not come back from a trek
down the Amazon, completely unwilling to believe the truth that the physical
landscape did not allow his man to return.
The Spanish conquistadors were blind to giving credit to
where it was deserved. Only a low majority of Spaniards, compared to blacks and
Native Indians, took part in the numerous conquest. This probably stemmed from
the ethnocentrism that was beginning to form back in Spain. Why was this? Even
though the men took on these ventures of their own will, why were they so blind
to sharing the truth?
One thing that I did find interesting is that Restall made
no mention of the crusades. I know that activities in the West Indies, Yucatan,
etc were a part of the Age of Discovery, but there were some strong
similarities between the conquests here and those of the crusades. I wonder if
the conquistadors themselves made any references in their writings?
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