From Kent Benn
To say that Hernán Cortéz was “horrified by the ritual of human sacrifice”, as Alison Ayres does in the introduction to her article on Xochimilco’s sunken treasure, and to imply that this was his justification for capturing and destroying Tenochitlán, reaffirms the biased historical picture we have all been taught and continue to be taught now (10 April, p 50).
The conquistadores were motivated simply by greed and the lust for power in the New World. The traditions of human sacrifice practised by the Aztecs in New Spain pale in comparison to the atrocities carried out by the conquistadores.
To perpetuate the myth that explorers of the New World were wholesome, God-fearing adventurers intent only on exploration does a disservice to those Amerindians who were murdered and to those being taught the history of that era today.
Westport, Washington, US
