While reading Mesoamerican Voices, I was amazed to learn how much of a complex culture existed between the different tribes of Mesoamerica. They had an incredible political infrastructure before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers and even after the Spanish arrived and took the territory, many tribes maintained their political power and were allowed to govern themselves by the Spanish rulers. This was unique to me because my previous experience examining colonialism had focused almost exclusively on North America and the way the British treated Native American tribes in the United States was much harsher than the way the British treated the Native American tribes of the United States. Spaniards were dealing with Mesoamerican peoples. This is not to say that the Spanish only treated the Mesoamerican people well; like any story of colonialism, the Mesoamerican peoples faced a lot of abuse and torment at the hands of their colonizers, but this shows that the Mesoamerican tribes had built an incredibly complex and progressive society, as I do not believe that the Spanish l 'would have granted. power unless they consider it somewhat necessary. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Part of the reason was simply because there were so many people in Mesoamerica at the time. These tribes were among the largest groups of indigenous people to ever exist. Some areas in which the tribes lived were the most densely populated by indigenous people, requiring careful and effective government. This proved to be an advantage for the Mesoamerican tribes, as the Spanish were forced to let them govern themselves, although the Spanish slowly took over. Essentially, the leaders of each Mesoamerican tribe constituted the political authority for a given region, but they were accountable to a Spanish supervisor. This allowed the political leaders of each tribe to defend and protect their tribe when the Spanish tried to take advantage of them, as is clearly shown in a letter written to the king of Spain in which Mesoamerican nobles demanded justice and a reduction in taxes and of work. tribes owed to the Spaniards. Unlike indigenous peoples in most examples of colonialism, Mesoamerican tribes retained a good deal of power and maintained genuine political relationships that were particularly respected by the colonizers. I was also surprised to find that gender relations were progressive among Mesoamerican tribes. Women were in no way treated as second-class citizens and there was seemingly equal respect for both sexes. Gender shaped indigenous responsibilities, but they were not concrete or inflexible responsibilities. Women played important roles as producers and sellers in markets and as healers within the community. Both men and women could own property, and in marriage property and property were separate, so neither was allowed to take the others' property in the event of divorce. Reading the wills from this era was fascinating, as it showed the true freedom women had. A woman made it clear in her will that none of her property or money should be transferred to her husband because he had not supported her at all in her life. She had actually lent him money which he..