Expert: AliMcJ - 5/5/2004

Question
what does columbus have to do with the aztec's and how is he any realted to the azec's conquering the great cities in the valley of mexico?
was Colombus borne is spain?
is portugal in spain? is cathay in spain? were threre natives in spain?
I'm getting the impression that all wanted a piece of the new found land for selfishes reasons? was everyone after a piece of the new found land like the spainards, eruopeans, ?
what is the new found land and where is it located?

Answer
Columbus was sent by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to discover a sea route to India -- he knew he could get there by going around the world, not just straight East overland, as had been done for centuries on the trade routes.

Isabella and Ferdinand united Spain through their marriage and unification of their kingdoms, forming what we know as Spain today.  They were also strict Catholics and brought Catholicism as the official religion into Spain; it led to the Spanish Inquisition.

When Columbus came back with news of having discovered a New Land between Europe and the far east, Spain sent ships and people to begin colonizing it in the name of the Catholic Church and Spain.  That is what Columbus has to do with the Aztecs -- Columbus himself never set foot on the mainland of America, just the island of Hispaņola.

The Spaniards were dazzled by the gold ornamentation the Aztecs used and so had their own reasons other than religious for colonizing: gold.  That led to the conquering of the Indians.

Did you know that horses are not Native to the Americas?  They were introduced by the Spaniards.  They brought horses and guns, things the native peoples did not have, and had superior power as a result.

I suggest you head on over to Blockbuster and get these three videos to watch: the wonderful production of "Columbus" with Gerard Depardieu, "The Mission" with Robert deNiro and a film in Spanish called "The Conquest" (La Conquista), released in 2000, I believe.

Portugal is on the West Coast of the peninsula of Spain -- it is not Spain; it is a separate country where people speak Portuguese (and people in Brazil speak Portuguese also, while all other South American countries speak Spanish).  They share the peninsula.

Cathay is the old name for China.

natives in Spain?  Perhaps the Basque people could be considered "natives."  The spanish arose from native + Celtic (from Ireland) + visigoth (barbarian germans) + arabs and enjoyed a period of cultural refinement and great intellectual progress when the Arabs  (Moors) were in southern spain.  All this was before the unification that formed what we now know as Spain.

The new found land, my dear, is the Americas and the Caribbean.  You didn't learn that in elementary school?