Burning of Boats... Does Naseem Hijazi own it? "It was the year 1519 and Hernán Cortés, with some 600 Spaniards, 16 or so horses and 11 boats, had landed on a vast inland plateau called, Mexico. The Spanish conquistador and his men were about to embark on a conquest of an empire that hoarded some of the world’s greatest treasure. Gold, silver and precious Aztec jewels were just some of what this treasure had to offer anyone who succeeded in their quest to obtain it. But, with only 600 men — none of whom had encumbered themselves with protective armour – conquering an empire so extensive in its territories could only be undertaken by a man with a death wish. This daring undertaking was made even more insurmountable by the fact that for more than 600 years, conquerors with far more resources at their disposal who attempted to colonize the Yucatan Peninsula, never succeeded. Hernán Cortés was well-aware of this fact. And it was for this reason, that he took a different approach when he landed on the land of the Mayans. Instead of charging through cities and forcing his men into immediate battle, Hernán Cortés stayed on the beach and awoke the souls of his men with melodious cadences – in the form of emblazoned speeches. His speeches were ingeniously designed to urge on the spirit of adventure and invoke the thirst of lifetimes of fortune amongst his troops. His orations bore fruit, for what was supposedly a military exploit, now bore the appearance of extravagant romance in the imaginations of Cortés’ troops. But, ironically, it would only just be 3 words which Cortés’ murmured, that would change the history of the New World. As they marched inland to face their enemies, Cortés ordered, “Burn the boats.” It was a decision that should have backfired. For if Cortés and his men were on the brink of defeat, there wasn’t an exit strategy in place to save their lives. Remarkably though, the command to burn the boats had an opposite effect on his men because now, they were left with only 2 choices — die, or ensure victory. And fight they did. We know today, how Cortés’ decision to burn his boats panned out. Hernán Cortés became the first man in 600 years to successfully conquer Mexico. Though historians still dispute the veracity of Hernán Cortés burning his boats, it’s doubtless that Cortés did destroy his boats. But, he wasn’t the first man to make such a bold, strategic decision to ensure victory. About a thousand years before, the world’s greatest empire builder, Alexander the Great burned his boats upon arrival on the shores of Persia. By burning his boats, Alexander committed his men to victory over the Persians, who far outnumbered the Greeks in great numbers. Furthermore, Persia then also had the distinction of having the most powerful naval fleet in the world. Considering what Alexander was facing, the decision to destroy the Greeks’ only hope of retreat was an extraordinary one. Nonetheless, it proved to be the correct one. Our history books also boast of other fearsome Greek commanders who executed the same strategy to guarantee victory. Taric el Tuerto, otherwise known as Tariq ibn Ziyad, the general who conquered Hispania in 711, burned his boats when fighting the Spaniards, as he too had a valid reason to do so — his army was outnumbered 5:1. Was this act of burning the boats a mock dramatization of bravery, or a cleverly constructed strategy? In Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, it brings to light the logic behind the decisions of history’s greatest conquerors to burn their boats at the risk of being killed in enemy hands. It was simply to eradicate any notion of retreat from the minds of their troops and commit themselves unwaveringly to the cause – Victory. Defeat wasn’t an option at all."
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 00:36:02 +0000
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