How Did Cortes Go To Aztec

Each year, the Totonacs were forced to send hundreds of children to the altars of Tenochtitlan, a city within the Aztec empire, for sacrifice, therefore their hatred was prominent. [10] Whereas the Tlaxcalans, had been at war with the Aztecs for about a century, to the Tlaxcalans, the Spanish represented their only hope. [11] For this reason, Tlacochcalcatl forged an alliance with Cortés. Before his alliances, his army only had 508 men to conquer the Aztec empire, which had millions of people. Cortes had 50,000 Tlaxcalans backing him up for the re-conquest of Tenochtitlan, as well as 25,000 combined Indians allies.

The reading “An Aztec account of the Spanish Conquest” is mainly about a story when Hernan Cortes came for the first time at Tenochtitlan (nowadays Mexico City). The Aztecs believes that when Hernan Cortes arrive they believe the he was Quetzalcoatl, the main god in the Aztec culture. Cortes were friendly invite to the Aztec city as the most important guest, the Aztec people made a big party to celebrate the return of their god, but the Aztec people did not know Cortes intentions of conquer the empire. Later the Aztecs were betrayed by Hernan Cortes. Cortes’s army began to attack the city and at the end they take over the city.

1. I. Introduction 2. A. Cortes conquers Aztecs B. Pattern of conquest, continuity and rebuilding 1. Spanish tried to utilized Native resources similarly a. Used materials from ruins to build own houses b. Used similar forced labor system c. Allowed to follow ancient customs 1.

Huitzilpochtli was the sun god of the Aztec people. He fought his siblings for control of the sky. Huitzilpochtli thirst for blood. Human blood made him more eager for war. Huitzilpochtli was a mystic god of the Aztec. Because the Aztecs believed in human sacrifice, who believed in human blood gave their sun god power to fight the darkness. He was ready to conquer for his own ambitions to rule the Aztec empire. Cortes had his own ambition to conquer the Aztec Empire. Cortes was of Spaniard decent. He came to the Newland searching for wealth. He also devised a plan to conquer the Aztec emperor. Cortes army was more advanced then the Aztecs and he won the seventy-five day war. I believe that Huitzilpochtli and Cortes step toward conquering the Aztecs was far from the same. Cortes wanted to conquer the Aztecs because he saw wealth and fortune. He wanted to convert the Aztecs to Christianity so he could have this Newland he came upon.

In 1519, Hernan Cortes set sail toward Yucatan, Mexico. The Spaniards were excited for being able to settle in this place for the first time. In Tabasco, Mexico Cortes ran into some resistant natives. He cleared them out with ease, until they were forced to surrender. They gave him supplies and then he left. His mind was set to conquering the Aztecs. He had heard of them and he knew that they were very important in Mexico and he wanted to overthrow them. While they were parading through Mexico they encountered the rivals of the Aztecs, called Tlaxcalans, which were another tribe in Mexico. They became very important allies for the Spanish, during their upcoming siege on the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlan. When Cortes arrived, the Aztecs actually though he was their God, Quetzalcoatl, and their leader treated him with a big party. This was because their God was supposed to be returning to Earth that day. The Spaniards wanted to make themselves look powerful, so they fired shots into the air, to scare the Aztecs. They further entered the city and started to sack the whole thing, with the help of the Tlaxcalans and Doña Marina. They took Montezuma (the Aztec leader) hostage. Cortes manipulated him and ruled the city that way. While Montezuma was captured and the Spaniards were ruling the city, another Spanish force arrived from Cuba. Cortes stormed the

Rather than the total disregard for a culture that would be expected from a “conqueror”, Cortés shows an appreciation for the sophistication of Aztec life, as evidenced by the accounts of Tenochtitlan recorded in his letter to Charles V. Cortés displays his appreciation for the vastness of the city by attaching a title to it; anytime he uses the city’s name, he calls it “the great city of Tenochtitlan” (549, 552, 553). And, before noting the way of life of the Aztec people, he notes (comparatively) how impressive Tenochtitlan is in size alone, saying it is as large as Seville or Cordova, two major Spanish cities (553). Cortés also has a keen interest

The Conquest of Mexico began with rumors in Spain about an island in the new world that where streets were built on water and filled castles with filled with gold. The city at the root of the rumors was Tenochtitlan, ruled by Moctezuma II. Cortés begins his journey to conquer Mexica in February 1519. The first major Battle was the Cholula Massacre, where Cortés along with translator Dona Marina and the Tlaxcalans he had persuaded to join him defeated the Cholulans; As Cortés sets his sights on the city surrounded by water, Tenochtitlan, word of his arrival had reached Moctezuma, who prepared for the arrival of what he believed was the sovereign God of Tenochtitlan; Moctezuma realized far too late the grave mistake he made in welcoming Cortés

The Tlaxcaltecas were very beneficial to Cortes and his men because they despised the Aztecs. When Tenochtitlan fell, the Tlaxcaltecas finally had their revenge for the times the Aztecs had deceived them; they robbed the Aztecs of all their gold and valuables. The Tlaxcaltecas were valuable allies to the Spaniards because they helped them navigate the land. In the Massacre the Canal of the Toltecs, the Tlaxcaltecas willingly gave their lives by throwing themselves into the canal and formed a bridge, which the Spaniards were able to cross

Cortez and his force arrived in Tenochtitlan on November 8th, 1519. Tenochtitlan was the capital of what we know today as Mexico. Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the world at that time. Tenochtitlan was run by the Aztecs. Cortes then met Montezuma, the Aztecs’s emperor. Montezuma and the Aztecs thought Hernan Cortes was a god. They thought he was Quetzalcoatl. Cortez was there at the right time because the god was supposed to arrive the same year Cortes was there. Since they thought he was a god they would do anything for his command. Later on Montezuma suspected Cortez not to be the god. He gave him gold and jewels to try and get him to leave. It had the opposite affect and increased the Spaniards greed. Cortez then captured Montezuma as hostage to prevent the Aztecs attacking.

The Spanish arrival in Tlaxcala was a good meeting and the Tlaxcaltecas sort of formed an alliance with the Spanish, showed them the city of Mexico, and showed them the Cholula. The Spanish arrival in Cholula was a bad one and the Tlaxcaltecas hated the Cholultecas, which was even worse. When they arrived, the Cholultecas did sacrifices, the Spanish did not like it at all, and they fought and killed the many of the Cholultecas. The other telling was the same concept the Tlaxcala were with the Spanish and there was a battle with the Cholultecas except it didn’t happen as quickly the Spanish invaded Cholula and the Tlaxcaltecas sent a message to Cholula for peace but they fought in a battle anyways. Also, the Tlaxcaltecas realized that their

Hernan Cortes defied orders to have the Spanish base at Veracruz and moved near Tenochtitlán where there was rumored to be gold and other riches in Mexico. Soon after his arrival he became allies with the Tlaxcalteca a major enemy of the Aztecs. King Montezuma II heard of this alliance and sent gifts to Cortes to appease him and he even invited him into the Incan capital Tenochtitlán. Cortes upon arrival saw that he had been outnumber so instead he held Montezuma hostage and in the altercation Montezuma ended up getting killed. Over the next couple year he and his men fired siege weapons on the Aztecs until they surrendered. The siege cut off the water and food supplies which lead to a huge panic for the Aztecs. Another key role was smallpox, many of the Aztecs died off which weakened their military causing them to surrendering.Once they surrendered the Spanish went in and took control over the city and like many other places the conquistadors married the Native women having mestizos and combined their two cultures

After being surrounded and about lose everything he has worked for, they somehow come to agreement to become allies fighting against the Aztecs. Cortes and his people spent a month there getting to know and becoming friends with the Tlaxcalans. The poor city had no items to contribute to the Spanish but their people and army. Hernando decided he should try to scare and intimidate the Aztecs before approaching them. Cholula, a bordering city and an Aztec influence, was one of the most important cities of Mexico. It being a poor, deprived city based on religion, it was one of the most prestigious places for the Aztecs. The Spanish start by killing some of the low class nobles, then threatening important people in the society. After no reaction, Cortes and his army slaughter every person in their sight and burn the city. He bluntly told Moctezuma that the people disrespected him and not to be scared if he welcomes him with reverence and gold. The Spanish, after trying to teach a lesson and three long months since being here, were ready to enter the largest city in the world. Hernando Cortes was about to approach his biggest adventure yet, the Aztecs.

Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire in present-day Mexico. He was a hard work-restless man in Spain who was anxious for a life of adventure. So when he was 18 , he hopped on a ship & traveled to the new world. In 1511 , he joined an expedition runned by a man name Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. So when another conquistador, Juan de Grijalva , established a new colony on the mainland in early 1518, Cortés decided to take advantage. Cortes was appointed to the lead the expedition. Cortés sailed for the eastern shore of Mexico and arrived at Veracruz in July, 1519. As he approached the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, Cortés made alliances with other native people who had either been conquered by the Aztecs or was at war with them.

Well, when the two large figures of power originally met in the Aztec culture, a lot could have happened. There is a lot of controversy around this meeting. Many people have many different views based upon what they have seen and what they have read. Many documents of the time have been tossed around and many people no longer know what to think or believe. But I will share my views on the matter of the subject matter. I believe, when Cortez and the Aztec Emperor, Moctezuma met, they were both a bit on edge. Cortez was nervously in a new place he’d never traveled and having battled a small army beforehand didn’t really help him either. Moctezuma was worried himself due to the fact the god portrayed in his culture was said to return soon.

Additionally the Spaniards were able to achieve victory over the Aztecs because they were able to convert most of the people of Tezcoco to Christianity. In Tezcoco Cortes was greeted as an honored guest by Ixtlilxochitl, his brothers and his followers. Ixtlilxochitl asked Cortes to follow him to Tezcoco, so that Cortes might be served by Ixtlilxochitl and his people (León-Portilla, pg. 58). As a result of Ixtlilxochitl’s actions, Cortes wished to repay his kindness by teaching Ixtlilxochitl and his people the way of God. After Cortes finished with his teachings, Ixtlilxochitl and a lot of his people wished to start following the ways of Christianity. Evidence of this is how it is stated that “If it had been possible, more than twenty thousand