Was Hernando Cortes a liberator or oppressor?

Answer 1

Most websites that i've looked at don't give a lot of good information on this subject. However, there are two ways we can look at it. We can call Hernando Cortez a conqueror because he brought down the Aztec empire, which ultimately was an end to a culture. The other way we can look at him is like this: Hernando Cortez was not out to seek wealth, fame, and glory. Cortez' mission was to bring Christianity and claim this new land in the name of Spain. Let's look at the Aztec culture itself. Human sacrifices were almost too common to the Aztec. They captured warriors from other tribes and would sacrifice them to their gods. They would claim that the universe would be unbalanced if the sacrifices didn't take place. This culture practiced cannibalism, they tortured, ect. Pretty gruesome to say the least. So i view Hernando Cortez a liberator, because he brought down such an evil empire, brought Christianity, and "liberated" oppressed tribes.