The question itself on whether the Spaniards defeated the Indians by a means of signs is a bit broad, yet vague, in its proposition. The Spaniards abused, exploited and massacred the Indians in all of the colonies; and that indubitably, is what accomplished what history now denominates their “defeat”, but what paved the way for this to happen, and even further, for the Indians to abide by this, were signs. On page 56, Todorov brings up the Toltecs, a Mesoamerican civilization that used to inhabit the area of central Mexico. They were excellent warriors, artists and sculptors who practiced human sacrifices and established a trade network; nonetheless, their decline was a mystery. Some propose that the civilization was burned down along with the capital, Tula, otherwise known as “The Burned Place”, which came crashing down in flames around 1150 a.D., while others propose that the nearby tribes could have gotten to them. The Aztecs, being the civilization that occupied central Mexico after the Toltecs, called themselves the successors of the civilization, firmly believing that these were to return one day to claim what was rightfully theirs. “Has this national guilt complex caused Montezuma to imagine that the Spaniards are direct descendants of the ancient Toltecs, coming to reclaim what is rightfully theirs?” Todorov questions further on in the page. He proposes such rhetorical questions precisely to withhold the idea that the Indians surrendered because the Spaniards communicated religious signs. Todorov brings up the case of Montezuma not resisting when Hernán Cortés and his men came to captivate him (p.56) and argues that even though Montezuma knew that the Spaniards were coming, he was not certain on whether he should welcome them and offer the city as a reward, or kill them at Cholula (p.55). He also quotes Durán on page 62 by saying, “They asked the gods to grant them their favors and victory against the Spaniards and their other enemies. But it must have been too late, for they had no answer from their oracles; then, they regarded the gods as mute or dead.” In other words, it is evident that the Indians believed the Spaniards were either gods or their predecessors, and would continue to do so until proved otherwise, for they had armory, huge vessels, elaborate clothing, a distinct language, and a whole list of actions in their favor. This caused the Indians to eventually abide by every action the Spaniards took, for their leader did so until the end. Nonetheless, even though signs paved the way, it did not win them the war. Todorov mentions three factors that came into play during the years of the conquest that were crucial to enable and facilitate the so-called defeat. The first factor was the one I previously mentioned, religious beliefs, which later in the book he denominates as “religious conquest.” The second factor was “Cortés’s exploitation of the internal dissensions among the various populations occupying Mexican territory.” (p.57) Todorov recounts how Cortés and his men took advantage of rival tribes in order to defeat these, and then allied himself with the Aztecs so that they would comply more easily given that the Spaniards had given them the tools to enhance their army. Further on he talks about how Cortés began targeting and dismantling the families, with the exception of pregnant women. By doing this, he achieves his first half of the defeat, or conquest, given that he got a hold of the main units composing the civilization. Finally, the third reason was biological warfare, mentioned on page 61. The Spaniards had brought smallpox along with other diseases from the Old World, which were completely new to the Indians, causing them to fall one by one due to inability to resist. These factors, although Todorov would argue that do not suffice when talking about such subject, I think summarize and justify the answer to the question in the simplest manner; the Spaniards used signs as theirs means, and warfare as their end References: -ThoughtCo. article on The Ancient Toltecs - The Book
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