How Did Hernan Coates Conquer Mexico

The Aztecs, part of modern day Mexico, were once the epitome of fine culture. They began their rule of southern and central Mexico during the 14th century and practiced an incredibly wealthy lifestyle. Nonetheless, this rule began to deteriorate when Spanish explorers disembarked at Tabasco and Vera Cruz on April 21st 1519. When the Spanish voyagers first arrived, they were welcomed warmly, respectfully and received Godlike treatment. Montezuma, the ruler at that time, believed that the Spanish military leader, Hernán Cortés, was the great god Quetzalcoatl. The Spanish took advantage of this Aztec belief and conquered Mexico within two years. By 1521, the Aztec culture was officially eradicated and a new culture, consisting of a

Despite the welcomed reception Cortes believed that attempts would be made to drive him out and in return he imprisoned

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.

The man who faced Cortes was Motecuhzoma, the ruler the priest. Motecuhzoma who was the Aztec emperor of Mexico foolishly believed that Cortes was in deed a god. Motecuhzoma feared the god’s arrival and when Cortes arrived to Mexico City he opened the doors to him and the rest of the Spaniards.

Throughout the book, writers mention that Aztec governments did everything that they could to give the Spanish everything that they needed, and that the Spanish took advantage of them. “…he took the Spaniards to be gods; he believed in them and worshiped them as deities.” The people of Mexico were loyal to those that they believed to be gods and “when they conquered the Mexica and all belonging to them, we never abandoned them or left them behind in it.” Under Spanish rule many men, women and children were exploited, tortured and murdered. The Broken Spears captured this in great detail while Traditions and Encounters skims over a lot of these details. This seems to create a gap between the two texts, making the differences between the authors more apparent.

The Spanish invaded the Aztecs in 1519, led by Cortes. As can be seen, the Aztecs already had a very organised way of life, as well as their own religious ideas and traditions. Additionally, they had developed a strict social organisation, with an element of democracy and a well-managed economy and trade. The siege Cortes laid on the city of Tenochtitlan, and the fact that the Spanish tried to escape with many of the Aztecs’ treasures also suggests that the Spanish were there for their own selfish desires and forced the Aztecs’ into surrendering in the end. Thus, the Aztecs were invaded by the Spanish when their Empire fell.

Hernando Cortes landed in Mexico in 1519 and entered Tenochtitlan, city of the Aztecs. The Native Americans here welcomed the Spaniards into the city with the belief that the Sun god had returned to save the people and allowed them to stay for some time there and apparently to move about most areas of the city freely. These Natives did display a much more sophisticated and technologically advance society

Hernan Cortes was very brave, he fought the Aztecs with 300 men, when they had an army of thousands. The men looked up to him for leadership and bravery

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.

In order to gain control of the whole of New Spain, Cortés must manipulate the hierarchal traditions of the Aztec people as well. As in wealth, Castillo makes no lapse of detail here as well. He documents the way Montezuma his treated and revered by those who are under him. "Not one of these chieftains dared even to think of looking him in the face, but kept their eyes lowered with great reverence…" (World History: Castillo, 247). Montezuma

Cortés was intelligent and proficient in law and knew that he was committing treason when he first departed Cuba for the unknown. Frank Ross wrote in “The Codex Cortés: Inscribing the Conquest of Mexico” that Cortés had “conceived of his defense as a legal case which depended on showing that his sense of personal loyalty to the King motivated his actions.” He had to provide evidence that his expedition into the unknown was for the benefit of Spain, especially economically. In the Second Letter of Hernán Cortés to Charles V, Cortés describes the Tenochtitlan market as packed with sixty thousand people

Cortes prepared for this expedition. However, Velasquez became regretful of his decision. He thought Cortes wanted to conquer the Mayans for his own personal gains. Velasquez attempted to change his orders, but it was too late. Cortes set sail and continued to put his fleet together. In 1519, Cortes explored the Yucatan coastline. Landing in Tabasco, Cortes captured the natives. Although, Tabasco people possessed little of value, they told Cortes of the great treasures of the Aztec Empire. Cortes moved his troops northward and conquered the port of Vera Cruz. In addition to, Cortes was making plans to advance against the Aztecs. He took a Tabasco woman and enlisted her help to supplement his army. Cortes used her to translate the native language to Aguilar. Aguilar was another Spaniard that had been shipped wreck at the port of Vera Cruz. He had learned the language of the natives. Aguilar translated the language to Cortes troops. They learned about the traditions of the Aztec people in Tenochtitlan. Cortes used this information he gathered to defeat the Aztecs. Finally, he convinced the native tribes to fight with him against the Aztecs. He knew he needed these allies to conquer the Aztec empire. With the knowledge of a myth about a white god, he was able to betray Montezuma II. “Quetzalcoatl was an Aztecan god. His name means “the feathered serpent” in the Nahuatl language. Quetzalcoatl was the patron of priests and the inventor of

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.

Among many things given to the Spaniards during the first few days of contact with the Aztecs was a large chest of gold figures along many other expensive things. This gesture of good will by the Aztecs would eventually lead to their downfall. The moment Cortez started receiving all these wonderful items his mind was most likely made up that he would do whatever it took to plunder every valuable item of the Aztec kingdom. As Cortez gradually moved deeper into Aztec territory he steadily received more gifts from the Aztecs and from other city-states that surrounded Tenochtitlan. Each time Montezuma requested for Cortez and the Spaniards to return back to the coast and conduct meetings and trade from there. However, with each gift received just gave Cortez additional incentive to move towards Tenochtitlan. By the time the Spaniards were in Tenochtitlan the Aztecs saw their true colors and it was too late.

Mexico and Spain are two countries that started interacting with each other since the early 1500s. In 1518, Hernán Cortés (a Spanish conqueror) led an expedition to Mexico establishing the city of Veracruz on his arrival. In 1521, Cortes and some of his men marched into the capital city of the Aztec, Tenochtitlan. Even though the Aztecs and their emperor Moctezuma tried to persuade the Spanish to leave, Cortés and his man did not accept. Instead, he allied with some other indigenous people who were enemies of the Aztecs such as the Tlaxcalans in order to defeat them and take Tenochtitlan (1).