The Role of Environmental and Geographical Factors in the Conquest of Essay

The Role of Environmental and Geographical Factors in the Conquest of the Aztec Empire - Essay Example The Role of Environmental and Geographical Factors in the Conquest of the Aztec Empire Matthew Restall is a pioneering professor who has also discovered that history has been exaggerated in terms of how conquistadors actually captured the ancient settlement in Mexico.It becomes abundantly clear that the downfall of the Aztec empire was not merely an outcome of the conquistador’s attack, but the compounded effect of other elements such as germs and epidemics, geographical conditions such as drought, famines, modern weaponry and the deployment of steel on weapons and armor as well as the hatred people had against the ruler Montezuma. Many people believed that the victory of the conquistadors was because of their better evolution than the Aztec population. Evidence from historical accounts also tended to support this theory. The Mesoamerican people were considered to be barbarians and, while this might arise out of their rituals such as human sacrifices and cannibalism, such religious acts do not necessarily measure the enlightenment of a particular race. Jared Dia mond in â€Å"Guns, Germs, and Steel,† one of his most significant books, tried to set right such misconceptions regarding the fall of the great Aztec Empire. He professed that race and ethnicity do not determine one culture’s superiority over the other, and he used this theory to counter the general belief of how the conquistadors won. ... Diamond and Restall believe that the collapse of the Aztec Empire was a result of â€Å"Spanish germs, horses, literacy, political organization, and technology† (Diamond 28). The Aztec Empire was a flourishing civilization with its own food production methods, fertile lands, and was comprised of hard-working people including farmers. The population had evolved from hunter-gatherers and was now a full-fledged settlement backed with ample infrastructure. With the help of farming and cultivation the Aztecs were able to yield a lot of food surplus that could support non-farmers as well as women and children. Now food surplus meant more population and more population meant more risk of diseases and exposure to various types of disease causing germs. Furthermore, the population was also advanced in terms of domestication of various animals, which was again a primary source of spreading diseases. The natives spent much time with animals and further utilized animals to transport the f ood surpluses from one place to the other, which left more than sufficient chance for the germs to be transferred to humans as well as those food materials. However, throughout time, the indigenous people had developed some immunity against these germs. Despite such immunity, when the conquistadors arrived in Mesoamerica, they brought with them different germs that originated from foreign lands. These germs caused an incurable disease at the time, namely small-pox, to which the Aztecs had no resistance. Therefore, diseases caused through both indigenous germs as well as Eurasian germs resulted in the deaths of a lot of people, as there was significant contact among both exposed and unexposed individuals. Besides, this fact was evidenced by Diamond when he said that â€Å"99 percent of previously

Study case Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case Study Example Question on firm’s use of the services would help her to identify firms with opportunities for her proposed ventures while questions on who makes final decisions, criteria for selection of service provider, and evaluation criteria are important to identifying the most viable opportunities for Donna’s proposed enterprise. The research indicates that a majority of the studied firms, and by generalization, a majority of firms in the area, does not use consulting services. For those that use the services, the CEO, general manager, or the manager are the most influential decision makers. In addition, the firms have not been using consultancy services for marketing purposes and reputation, experience, and prices are the major decision making criteria. Further, large consulting organizations are preferred and performance is evaluated based on people’s acceptance of the rendered services. For the firms that had not used external consultancy services, they cited no need for such services. I were in Donna’s position, I would proceed with the intention to establish the marketing consultancy firm. I would target the companies that have not been using the services and awareness creation on the need for the services would be my marketing strategy. This would be my short-term strategy as the organization grows, as I would also be trying to capture large firms. I would also strive to develop professional relations with firm’s top executives such as CEOs, general managers and managers to understand their tastes and preferences for service providers and services. My actions would aim at entry into the market and expansion of market