Slaughtering Natives

¶ … Storming of the Teocali Emmanuel Leutze's "The Storming of the Teocali" dramatizes one of the most unfortunate events in Mexican history. Specifically, this work details the conquering of those that were native to this land, indigenous peoples that likely encompassed various aspects of the Aztec tribes and other tribes that were in North America. The conquering force depicted in this work is that of the Spaniards, who were led by Cortex in what was described as "the decisive death grapple of the savage" (Prescott, 1892, p. 351).

There are so many ways in which this picture renders a tragedy. It illustrates the more militarily advanced Spaniards encroaching on a holy site -- a temple -- valiantly defended by Mexican warriors whose weapons and defenses were primitive in comparison to the chain mail armor, long swords, muskets and shields of the Spanish conquistadores. However, the true tragic nature of the events depicted in this tragedy alludes to the almost total subjugation of the Mexican peoples -- which also pertains to the latter day events of the Mexican-American War.

The name of Cortez has been preserved throughout history and is common to virtually anyone who has studied the subject -- particularly in the United States. Those of these valiant Mexican warriors, their leaders and ways including, most eminently, their native language, religion, and cultural mores, were lost forever to the bullets and blades of the Spanish.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of these markers of the culture of the Spanish were probably subjugated to the Christian religion well-evinced in the lower right hand of this painting, in which a missionary kneels (conceivably praying) over an injured Mexican warrior -- a fitting emblem for the fate of these two groups of people in the years ensuing since Teocali was stormed. This work pertains to the Mexican-American War in a number of ways.

Firstly, that martial encounter took place well after Cortez butchered and raped his way to conquering Mexico, and was a further attempt for Mexicans to withstand the influence of Westerners. The crux of the Mexican-American War is the fact that prior to its conclusion, the physical border of Mexico extended well beyond that where it is presently located. In fact, Mexico encompassed parts of California, Texas, and some of the states in between such as New Mexico and Arizona.

However, once the United States began its westward movement in earnest empowered by the concept of manifest destiny, Americans began encroaching in parts of Texas, which were still under Mexican control. The history of Texas is more convoluted than that of other states -- at one point it was its own country, a fact which Mexico disputed. Nonetheless, once the U.S. incorporated Texas as one of its states it formally went to war with Mexico which, of course, protested this fact.

There are certainly parallels between the Mexican-American war and the events depicted in Leutze's painting. The U.S. not only invaded the parts of Mexico that are presently part of the former's borders, but actually invaded Mexico proper. Instead of Spanish Conquistadores as Leutze depicted, this time there were Yankee soldiers killing Mexicans in the.