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Spanish JCC Background Guide

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Spanish JCC Background Guide Spanish JCC Background Guide April 13th Kutztown University of Pennsylvania 1 | Page Table of Contents Staff Welcoming Letters…………………..…………………………………………. 3 History……………. ……………………………………………………………............. 4-8 Current Situation ………………….…………………………………………….……. 9 What is Crisis ……….……………………………………...……………...……………... 10-11 What is Crisis ……….……………………………………...……………...……………... 12-16 2 | Page Dear Delegates, I am happy to welcome you to the Unstoppable Ambition Spanish lado, with Hernan Cortes motto in mind “We Spaniards know a sickness of the heart that only gold can cure.” My name is Pietra Hernandez, and I will be serving as your Chair for the duration of our session. I have been involved in Kutztown Model UN club throughout my freshmen year and into my junior year, both a delegate and as an E-board member. We hope that our KUMUNC XI Crisis Committee will allow you to get a taste of a fast-paced and intensive world of college MUN. This Two-way Crisis Committee will focus on the beginnings of the Cortes’ conquest of the Aztec World. This expedition ultimately shaped our world forever! You are to work with your delegates to explore the new land. This committee is filled with not only the typical diplomacy, an exciting exploration, problem-solving, espionage, heated debates, and fast decision making. Ultimately, your goal is to settle the crises with your position’s best interest at heart. Staying in character is incredibly important to this crisis committee, and delegates who match their assigned persona will be favored. Unpredictable events are bound to occur as we diverge from history, but with cooperation, debate, and determination, delegates are sure to succeed. Will the conquistadors find gold? Will the work of the Lord be spread to savages? How will Culhua-Mexica look like after this expedition? All up to you delegates! This is my third time chairing for KUMUNC and so I hope that you all fully embrace your parts and take your preparation seriously! I look forward to hearing some heated debate, as well as see the outcome of this expedition. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Do not hesitate! As Hernan Cortes, I your chair, leave you with this “I love to travel, but hate to arrive”. Pietra Hernandez [email protected]. Chair 3 | Page History Trade For thousands of years, Europeans have relied on various items from all over the world in order to achieve their standard of living. Europeans have been trading with “the other” dating back to before the age of empires. Trade routes have been established, reestablished, monopolized, broken up and monopolized again for thousands of years. Monopolies were created on a variety of different trade routes and ports for various substance. Spices are one of these tremendously valuable substances traded. The spice trade route passed through the Indian Ocean from the rich subcontinent and traveled through the Middle East. Europeans then purchased spices from the eastern Mediterranean and transported them throughout Europe. The Venetians and Greeks had a virtual monopoly on this trade, numerous European powers relied on the spice trade. This all ended in 1453 when the Ottoman Empire took Constantinople and annexed the last remnant of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Ottomans began to levy extremely heavy tariffs and taxes on all spices which were being traded with Europeans. Discovery of the Caribbean European powers were not happy with the situation. Portugal, a nation situated with very close proximity towards the continent of Africa began to undertake the task of finding a new route to spices was the first to attempt to find another route. Portuguese 4 | Page sailors sailed south, around Africa establishing a series of Feitorias along the coast of Africa and eventually in the Indian Ocean. At last a route to spices had been found. With the ottomans thwarted and a new route to spices found, it seemed that Western Europe would once again be happy with the discoveries made, however, this was not the case. With the establishment of Portuguese Feitorias all along the coast of Africa, the spice trade had been effectively monopolized once again, only this time, by the Portuguese. Western Europe needed another route in order to achieve effective competition over the trade. A man named Christopher Columbus circled around Europe proposing a somewhat outlandish idea, that one could sail west and land in India. He propositioned various nations including Portugal to finance his voyage west. The Portuguese believed that his estimates of distance were too small. It appeared that no one in Europe wanted to hire the Italian explorer until King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella who had recently undergone the Iberian wedding (the unification of Aragon and Castile into a single kingdom) offered their support for the expedition. In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean blue and discovered and claimed several islands such as Cuba and Hispaniola in the Caribbean for the Spanish Crown. The discovery shocked and reshaped Europe. All the eyes of Europe which had been previously divided were all fixed on the Atlantic Ocean. Over the next several years, Spain began to colonize more islands in the Caribbean as well as discovering more territory in modern day Mexico and Central America. 5 | Page Mexico In 1510, the first permanent Spanish settlement was constructed along the Gulf of Urabá and later expanded along the Atrato River. The settlement served as inspiration for numerous other quests to discover and claim more territory. The first complete voyage to and from the coast of Mexico began in 1517. They discovered and mapped a great deal of southern Mexico. Translators informed the Spanish of a great deal of gold which could be found throughout Mayan territory. This information led to a series of conflicts between the locals and the Spanish expedition. One major conflict cost the life of the expedition’s leader Francisco Hernández de Córdoba. While the expedition did successfully map a great deal of southern Mexico, it effectively eviscerated any positive relationship between future Spanish expeditions and the local populace. The Terico Within the tercio, ranks of pikemen array themselves together into a hollow pike square with swordsmen – typically equipped with a short sword, a buckler, and javelins inside; the swordsmen can be interchanged with arquebusiers. The arquebusiers were usually split up in several mobile groups called sleeves and deployed relative to the corners, typically with one manga at each corner. This combined-arms formation simultaneously utilizes the structure and defensive ability of its pike-armed infantry, the range and firepower of its arquebusiers, and the ability to conduct assaults with sword-and-buckler men. In addition to its inherent ability to repulse 6 | Page cavalry and other units along its front, the long-range firepower of its arquebusiers could also be easily reorganized to the flanks, making it versatile in both offensive and defensive evolutions. The Reconquista For roughly seven hundred years, the heretical Moors had a foothold in Iberia. Through the combined efforts of European powers, the Muslims were stopped from spreading out of the peninsula. Their defeat led to a slow conquest of former Muslim land back into the hands of Catholic forces. Over the next several centuries, The Reconquista occurred, province by province, Muslims were expelled from Christian land. The forces of Islam were confined to a small section of territory in southern Iberia known as Granada. After the Iberian Wedding, the combined forces of Aragon and Castile waged one final war in The Reconquista against Granada. It was wildly successful and resulted in the consolidation of all Spanish territory under one crown. With the primary goal of The Reconquista successfully completed, Spain expanded the ideals of The Reconquista to the entire world. Spain would take the reins of spreading Christendom to the world. With the colonization of the Caribbean and parts of modern-day Columbia and Panama, Catholicism began to spread throughout the world in a new age. A New Reconquista has been called and all heretics must be converted for their own salvation. 7 | Page Enter Hernan Cortes An early colonist and conqueror in Hispaniola, Cortes quickly made a name for himself acquiring land and slaves through his conquests. He served under Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar during the conquest of Cuba, earning reputation and securing a job as a clerk to the treasurer of the governor; he was responsible for the twenty percent cut which was to be provided to the Spanish Crown from the Cuban expedition. After the successful conquest, Cortes was appointed the secretary for Governor Velázquez by the governor himself. For the next several years, Cortes served as a tool of the opposition to influence Velázquez and to potentially serve as a direct challenge to the governor. Cortes developed his administrative, organizational, and diplomatic skills. Relations between Cortes and Velázquez soured quickly soon after Cortes’ newfound political influence as both an ally and a rival to the governor. The competing nature of Cortes and Velázquez resulted in a very contentious state leading to conflict on several occasions. Geography The climate in this newly discovered Mexican land appears to be very temperate, if not a little hot. There is good fertile land throughout this territory. The local people appear to have been growing a strange starchy crop which is called Maize. The fertile soil and climate is ideal for growing cash crops such as tobacco and cotton. More information about the geography of the land will be discovered as the expedition ventures further inland. 8 | Page Current Situation In 1518, Hernan Cortes has appointed the head of the third expedition to Mexico. After spending several weeks gathering support, Velázquez and Cortes’ tumultuous relationship reached a boiling point. Shortly before the intended departure date, the charter which Velázquez gave Cortes was revoked by the governor himself.
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