| Date | November 2019 | Marks available | 4 | Reference code | 19N.1.BP.TZ0.6 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Analyse | Question number | 6 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The sources and questions relate to case study 2: The conquest of Mexico and Peru (1519–1551) — Impact: Cultural interaction and exchange.
Source E
Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a Spanish soldier who served under Hernán Cortés, writing in his memoirs, A True and Full Account of the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico and New Spain (c1568).
Motecusuma [Moctezuma II] conducted Cortés to an elevated seat at his right hand. Cortés … [revealed to Motecusuma] the commandments of our God. We were Christians, believing in one true God only, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for our salvation. We prayed to the cross as a symbol of that cross on which our Lord and Saviour was crucified. Those figures, on the contrary, which he [Motecusuma] considered as gods, were no gods, but devils.
Motecusuma replied: “I am not ignorant of what you have stated concerning the cross. We, however, maintained silence, as the gods we adore were adored in past ages by our ancestors. We have, once [and] for all, acknowledged them as good gods, in the same way as you have yours, and therefore let us talk no further on this subject. Respecting the creation of the world, we likewise believe it was created many ages ago. We likewise believe that you are those people whom our ancestors prophesied would come from the rising of the sun, and I feel myself indebted to your great emperor, to whom I will send a present of the most valuable things I possess.”
With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source E for an historian studying cultural interaction between the Spanish and the Aztecs during the conquest of Mexico.
Markscheme
Value:
- The author served under Cortés during the conquest of Mexico and it may be implied from the source that the author was present at the meetings.
- It offers a full account of the conquest of Mexico, therefore detail can be expected.
- It provides information on how the two sides perceived the other’s belief systems.
Limitations:
- The memoirs were written many years after the conquest of Mexico.
- The author’s Christian faith may have affected how he described the Aztec culture and beliefs.
- It only gives the Spanish perspective of the meeting between themselves and the Aztecs.
The focus of the question is on the value and limitations of the source. If only value or limitations are discussed, award a maximum of [2]. Origins, purpose and content should be used as supporting evidence to make relevant comments on the values and limitations. For [4] there must be at least one reference to each of them in either the values or the limitations.
