Class 5 questions due 9/19

P. 14

Your authors state that there are two main kinds of historical sources. Name both of

them

  • The two main types of sources are primary sources and secondary sources

Your authors state that a primary source is a gateway to the past. Why?

Why do your authors state that primary sources, when we have them, are more

valuable than other sources?

  • Primary sources are considered a gateway to the past because they come directly from the time period being studied. They are more valuable than other sources because they provide firsthand evidence that is less affected by time and memory distortion.

Primary sources are generally considered more valuable than secondary sources

Your authors refer to a secondary source as one written or created when?

According to your authors, a twentieth century biography of an Egyptian pharaoh is an

example of a primary source OR is it an example of a secondary source?

  • A secondary source is one written or created after the fact. A twentieth-century biography of an Egyptian pharaoh is a secondary source.

  • our textbook is a secondary source

P. 15

Your authors mention that there are four key areas to consider when interpreting

sources. Name all four of these

  • The four key areas to consider when interpreting sources are:

    1. The author

    2. The audience

    3. The intent

    4. The context

P. 18

Why do your authors (toward the bottom of this page) state that textual or written

primary sources are considered the best possible resources for historians

  • Your authors state that textual or written primary sources are considered the best possible resources for historians because they offer far more context and information than other types of sources. They can also provide clues about the writer’s intent.

Do extra questions in EMAIL. ANSWERS IN DIFF COLOR INK

The Spanish Arrival in the Aztec capital

  • Who was the Spanish conquistador that captured the Aztec Empire?

    • Hernan Cortes

  • In his letter to Charles V, the king of Spain, what does Cortes claim that the people of the Aztec empire begged him to do and what does he state the emperor of the Aztec Empire used to keep them (the people of the empire) in (subjection) subjugation?

    • In the letter of Charles V, Cortés claims the people of the Aztec Empire begged him to protect them from Emperor Moctezuma. He also states that the emperor used “violent and tyrannical measures to keep them in subjugation”, like taking their sons to be slain and offered as sacrifices to his idols.

  • In the Aztec account of what Cortes did to the Aztecs (by Miguel Leon-Portilla, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico - see directly below what Cortes claimed was happening), what did the Spanish first do to the musicians, then to the singers and even the spectators?

    • The Spaniards brutally attacked and killed the musicians, singers, and spectators, then continued the slaughter for three hours, killing even unarmed workers inside the temple.