How Did Hernan Cortes Affect Latin America

Latin America Essay 1 In 1521, Hernan Cortes captured the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, ending the reign of the Aztecs in what is now modern day Mexico. However, does the riches, land, and power gained by the Spanish justify the killing and looting? This vanquishment, as well as the ethical predicament it creates, considerably affected Latin America and Europe. Before we get into the ethical portion of Cortes' conquest, we must first explore the conquest itself. Hernan Cortes was a landowner in Cuba when in the early 1500s, he heard of Spanish conquests repelled by the Aztecs, he thought he could succeed. In 1519, he landed on the coast of Mexico with around 600 men, 16 horses, and a couple of cannons. Cortes made alliances with local Aztec enemies. The Spanish and their newfound allies made their way inland towards the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. The Aztec ruler Moctezuma, mistook Cortes for one of their gods, and urged him to stay out of Tenochtitlan. Cortes was determined to push on, and when they arrived at the city, Moctezuma welcomed them. Eventually, a confusing battle started between multiple groups of Spanish conquistadors, Native Americans, and Indians, and the Spanish eventually had to retreat, with half their

For the Aztecs, the loss of their culture and population isn’t worth the Spanish profit. However, for the Spanish, the opposite is true. The basic complication of morality is: how do we decide what is right or wrong? Many thought processes answering this question have been developed throughout time, including consequentialism. This is the idea that if the outcome is good, the action is moral. Consequentialists would say, because the outcome of the conquest was good for the Spanish, the integrity of their actions does not matter. Cortes' conquest, as well as its ethical dilemma, affected Latin America and Europe in many