The logo for Lesson 6 is Hernán Cortés

This is Lesson 6, The Conquest of Mexico

If you would like to see the full text of Lesson 6, click here.

If you would like to read the literature portion in the original Spanish side-by-side with the English translation, click here (note: this is an excellent language learning technique).

Multiple choice questions for Lesson 6 (click on the correct answer; if you are wrong, nothing happens; if you are right you will get a confirmation):

Question MC 6-1: What motivated the conquistadores?

a. The Monarchs forced them to go

b. The need for land for their crops

c. Spain was overpopulated

d. God, gold, glory

Question MC 6-2: What was Bernal Díaz del Castillo's style like?

a. Frank and direct

b. Poetic

c. Imaginative

d. Epic

Short-answer questions for Lesson 6. Instructions: If you are not sure about the answer and would like a hint, click on the figure labeled "Hint".

Note: In later versions of this web site we plan to make it possible for you to type your answer directly on the web site and send it back to the instructor electronically. For the moment you might want to type your answers in a word processing program and let the instructor have them for extra credit (on paper or electronically via email to jchild@american.edu). We may also be discussing these questions orally in class, and similar questions will appear in unannounced quizes.

HINT Question SA 6-1: What was the art of the Conquest like?

HINT Question SA 6-2: What do we know about the life of Cortés?

HINT Question SA 6-3: Explain the use of the word "True" in Bernal Díaz del Castillo's work.

HINT Question SA 6-4: Who were the "adelantados"?

HINT Question SA 6-5: What attitude does Bernal Díaz del Castillo have toward the Aztecs?

HINT Question SA 6-6: Explain the significance of Marina/Malinche.

HINT Question SA 6-7: Does Bernal Díaz del Castillo criticize Cortés in "The Tragic Night"?

HINT Question SA 6-8: What is the relationship between the Conquest of America and the Reconquest of Spain?

HINT Question SA 6-9: What explains the way in which small groups of Spanish conquistadores were able to overcome large armies of Indigenous warriors?

HINT Question SA 6-10: What was the literature of the Conquest like?

HINT Question SA 6-11: What happened when Cortés tried to embrace Moctezuma?

HINT Question SA 6-12: What motivation did Bernal Díaz del Castillo have in writing his "True History of the Conquest"?

HINT Question SA 6-13: In the work of Bernal Díaz del Castillo why is Marina/Malinche rejected by her mother and step-father?

HINT Question SA 6-14: In the work of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, what is the significance of the phrase "and not the way the chronicler Gómara says it"?

HINT Question SA 6-15: What was the significance of the bridges in the telling of the "tragic night" in the work of Bernal Díaz del Castillo.