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An essay about the history of mexico
Spanish colonization of new mexico
Spanish colonization of new mexico
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More handpicked essays just for you.
An essay about the history of mexico
Spanish colonization of new mexico
Spanish colonization of new mexico
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
When Cortes and his men first arrived on the island of Cozumel in 1519, they were unaware that a complex and advanced civilization was just beyond the shores of Mexico. Although, as stated, the Aztecs were a rather advanced civilization, when compared to the Spaniards that invaded their city, they were lacking in technology. Cortes used this to his advantage, stunning the natives with displays of cavalry and horses, as he
However it didn’t last long. In 1523 Cortés was named governor and captain general of New Spain. In 1528, amid Spanish fears that he was becoming too powerful, he was forced to return to Spain where the king reinstated him as captain general, but not to the position of civil governor. On his return to Mexico, his powers were significantly limited and his activities monitored. Some might argue that Hernan Cortes was a villain instead of a hero because he invaded the Aztecs and took Montezuma hostage.
• Third reason was his translators Marina and Geronimo de Aguilar. Marina was a Mexican tribal girl who was given to Cortes as a gift, Geronimo de Aguilar was intelligent and well educated and picked up on much of the local dialects. First Marina translated the local languages to Geronimo, later he translated them into Spanish for Cortes. Marina proved herself to be invaluable in helping Cortes recover from confrontations with the Aztecs and other opposing tribes. She also was important in helping Cortes gain Indian allies as she could explain what Cortes could do for them and helping him in conquering the Aztecs • Fourth reason was Montezuma the local leader believed that Cortes was a god of thunder and lightning "Quetzakoatl" Which made Cortes to gain power over the local tribes.
Hernan Cortes. Spain’s savior, nightmare for the Aztecs. The man who brought gold and glory to Spain, at the cost of the destruction of a rich, thriving civilisation. Hernan Cortez was a cunning, manipulative, intelligent conquistador and he and his army single handedly took down one of the greatest civilizations of all time by forging, advanced weaponry, alliances and the Conquistador’s Formula. Some may argue that Dona Marina is most responsible because she advised and told Cortes what the enemy was planning, but she was merely a pawn in Cortes’s grand scheme of conquering the Aztecs, as Cortes was the true mastermind and defeated the Aztecs for these reasons: First Cortes and his army has more advanced weapons such as Halberds, crossbows,
This gave Cortes a big advantage because he managed to get very close. When Cortes saw the city of Tenochtitlan he knows that he would not be able to take it over with force. He became friends with Montezuma and then kept him as a
The Aztec civilisation, led by Moctezuma II, stood as one of the most sophisticated and advanced civilisations of its era (1325 AD- 1521 AD). Armed with powerful weapons, like wooden spears and metal shields, the Aztecs faced a merciless army. When Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors entered the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, on 20 April 1519 AD, driven by their pursuit for God, gold, and glory, it would only take two years before Cortes’s small army had conquered and annihilated this powerful civilisation with Spanish military technology. The collapse of the Aztec civilisation was significantly influenced by their weak wooden weaponry, tactics of diplomacy, espionage, and sacrifice that proved no match for the superior Spanish weaponry,
Another leader that had influence among his people was Montezuma. Montezuma is presented as a decent man when he welcomes the Spanish gracefully. Diaz even states in his book that “on hearing this speech, we were all amazed at the greatness
While many worldviews exist, The fall of the Aztec empire was unavoidable. The Aztec’s were a group of people who were very religious and lived in Mexico for hundreds of years but one day a group of Spanish people arrived and executed all of the Aztec people. Many of them died from diseases the spanish brought with them like small pox. The others were killed by the spanish and some were taken to spain as slaves. This was led by an explorer named Hernan Cortes.
The Mexica people of Tenochtitlan, situated on an island in Lake Texcoco and the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan’s two principal allied city-states, the Acolhaus of Texcoco and the Tepanecs of Tlacopan, formed the Aztec Triple Alliance which has also become known as the “Aztec Empire”. Henan Cortes, along with a large number of Nahuatl speaking indigenous allies, conquered Tenochtitlan and defeated the Aztec Triple Alliance under the leadership of Moctezuma II. In the series of events often referred to as “The Fall of the Aztec Empire”. Subsequently the Spanish founded the new settlement of Mexico City on the site of the ruined Aztec capital.
The strong tactics of the Spanish Conquistadors, the mistakes of Montezuma, and disease lead to the defeat of the Aztec army of 200,000 men. The Spanish Conquistadors had the advantage over the Aztecs, using the allies they had and the technology they used in battle. Montezuma, the ruler of Tenochtitlan made a mistake when the Spanish Conquistadors arrived, by thinking they were Gods.. The conquistadors also brought over diseases, which whipped out most of the Aztec army leading to a slight setback for the Aztecs. The Aztecs then, had no chance against the Spanish.
In 1521 Cortes returned to several thousand tribes to include the Texxocans, Chulca, and Tepanec for a final battle. Cortes and his Spanish force besieged Tenochtitlan cutting off water and food supplies. Despite a fierce resistance the city fell August 1521, more than 200,000 people died in the struggle (History.com Staff,
Brittanica shares that, “Cortés entered the city on November 8, 1519, with his small Spanish force and only 1,000 Tlaxcaltecs. ”Hernan now entered the Aztec capital, and prepared for war. History quotes, “Seizing his chance, Cortés took Montezuma hostage and his soldiers raided the city.” Cortez now took over Tenochtitlan, and it wasn’t a long or hard fight for the Spanish before they won. On August 13, 1521, the Aztec empire fell and Cortez won.
I looked down at my uncles dead still body and I did not recognize him. He laid there in a coffin dressed in a deep black suit so uncanny to his normal casual attire of navy blue sweatpants and a maroon sweater. Where was his black thinly rimmed glasses that hung off of his large nose? Why was his dark brown hair neatly slicked back off his forehead when it always messily hung over his hazel eyes?
They both killed in the name of religion, and both growing empires willing to do anything to gain more power. Cortés was sent on expedition to establish trading deals with the Natives in and around the Yucatan peninsula, under order of Diego Velázquez, who was the Governor of Cuba. Velázquez soon regretted his decision and to stop Cortés from ever leaving
The Spanish were able to colonize Mexico without much resistance.” After the smallpox epidemic, the Aztecs were even more vulnerable. The Spanish exploration and conquering of Tenochtitlan was to gain power for the Spanish empire, but the city’s people were somewhat considered rebellious, and consequently, Cortes needed to conquer/kill the people first. By taking down the people of the city, Cortes was exposed to the city’s great treasures for his reward of gold; he retrieved all the gold he could, and travelled back to Spain where he was labelled a hero for his acts of