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Cortes, as well as many other explorers during this time, was inspired by the Three G’s: God, gold, and glory. He planned to conquer the new lands for Spain, to convert the natives to Catholicism, and to obtain the riches of the land, mostly gold. Conquistador is basically a record of the last days of the Aztec civilization, as the two groups, the Aztecs and the Spaniards, clash, and the Spaniards ultimately come out on top.
I, Marco Valencia, was a former conquistador of Hernan Cortes. Hernan Cortes was better known throughout the world as the man who defeated the Aztec Empire. As he took over the Aztec Empire and their emperor, Motecuhzoma, Cortes conquered Mexico. In the beginning, Cortes’ goal was to only find gold and other riches along the way, and bring it back to the mainland.
The Spanish Conquistadors had the advantage over the Aztecs in many ways. One way they used was using allies against thee Aztecs. The Aztecs was a tribute empire, where they required
As a whole, the tribute system was widely successful in accumulating wealth, depriving it from potential enemies, and demonstrating the omnipotence of Aztec influence to legitimize their rule. On the contrary, it may be argued that the Aztecs’ political management was flawed, and accompanied by religious parochialism would eventually lead to their downfall. After all, “Quetzalcoatl the Feathered Serpent god of the Aztecs prophesied that in the thirteenth era white strangers would arrive from overseas and would overthrow the Aztec king and would enforce a new religion,” greatly influencing Montezuma II, the ruler at that time, and his handling of the Spanish’s arrival (Hyatt and Verrill 58). Their lust for fortune and hostility were largely ignored, and they were openly welcomed, which gave them the resources to succeed when they finally turned on the Aztecs. Moreover, because of the oppressive tributes enforced by the Aztecs, many of their self-governed territories would turn on them in pursuit of greater freedom (Schmal).
There are many wild theories about what the Aztecs thought about the Spanish arriving in Tenochtitlan. All these theories can be narrowed down to one outcome which was that the Aztecs thought that the leader of the Spanish, Cortes Herman was their god Quetzalcoatl. The Aztecs thinking that Cortes was their god welcomed him with much honour and freedom in their city, but little did they know that it was their biggest mistake yet. When did Cortes arrive in Tenochtitlan, Mexico? Cortes arrival in Mexico was unwelcomed by many of the inhabitants in Mexico.
Eventually people began to realize it is not him, because he lacks the generosity and sincerity of Quetzalcoatl. Cortes just takes and takes and takes, and gives nothing back to the people. Eventually Cortes and the Spanish conquer the Aztecs. The history of the Aztecs is heavily incorporated in the myth of Quetzalcoatl and also had a lot to do with the events that occurred after the Spanish
Not only that but when the Spanish arrived, the Spanish arrived with elite warriors of the Spanish land with a specific purpose to conquer, these were trained men that came to the new land hungry for gold and silver (Source 2, Del Castillo). With that being said they came ready to conquer wielding guns, swords, cannons and armor that made most of the Aztec weapons useless in combat. To add to their great advancement in weaponry and armor, the Spanish had horses that can swiftly carry them through battle and allow each individual in the Spanish army to kill several Aztec Indians and still live (Source 3). Although at one point the Aztecs overwhelming numbers almost finished the Spanish off and many died, they died with smallpox that was spread through the Aztec civilization killing 25% of their population over the next ten years.
For proof of their power, the Aztecs were immense believers in gods and sacrificing others. The Aztecs went to war then, captured others to sacrifice. Hence they could not have done their intense sacrifice without neighboring civilization’s
The author gives insight on how many ways the Spaniards used their power to assist in the downfall of the Aztecs. The reason why the Spaniards became victorious, was because the Spaniards were looked upon as if they were gods because of their outer appearance. The Aztecs broke bread and welcomed the Spaniards with gifts and parties. The Aztecs triggered their relationship with the Spaniards by holding a ritual for the arrival of the god which included a human sacrifice. The Spaniards didn’t agree with the rituals and began to despise the Aztecs.
The main question was how? How could the Aztec empire, with its powerful military tradition, complex religious institutions, and long-range trading and spy system, fall to a conflicted group of Spanish invaders in less than two years and on home ground?” ( 102). Hernán Cortés men killed Aztecs at an important ritual. This came up to a revolution which drove the Spanish from the city.
Expansion was important to Europeans because they believed that the more land they controlled meant the more power they had. One of the most successful Spanish conquests to take place in the New World was the Conquest of Mexico, in which the Aztec empire fell to Hernan Cortes. In his second letter to King Charles V, Cortes mentions that the Aztecs believed that he and his men were the descendants of an ancient prince who had come back to conquer them, as had been prophesized long ago. Because they believed this, the Aztecs told Cortes that they would obey him, and acknowledge him for their
If the triumph over the Aztec empire had not been due to the Spanish, there would eventually have been another empire/colony doing the same thing. Even without the arrival of the Spaniards, the Aztec had their own enemies in their native lands. The Tlaxcalans (another powerful empire) were just one of the many indigenous groups that tried to overthrow the Aztec. In fact, some historians claim that it was “other Indians” that conquered the Aztec empire.
The Aztec Empire was a society that existed between the fourteenth and the sixteenth century A.D. the Aztec civilisation was highly advanced for their time, There are many ways in which the Aztecs proved their advancement in their society; this included excelling in a number of fields such as their architecture, health and sanitation, engineering and agriculture. In 1325 the Aztecs began to construct the basic foundations of their city, which was located in the centre of lake Texcoco, the Aztecs named it Tenochtitlan. Aztec Engineering proves the advancement of their society, through their way of constructing buildings and transportation. Some examples of their advancements include the foundation of Tenochtitlan that created a secure and flat surface to establish their city, the Aztecs achieved this by manually driving wooden pylons into the lake to serve as the support for the Earth, this allowed them to built their city and granted them the option to expand their land if required.
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
As he had many options to choose from but he ended up choosing the wrong one many times. To sum up, could the Aztecs have won against the Spaniards? The Aztecs were peoples who
