Hernán Cortés

In 1519, the Aztecs were the most powerful kingdom in Mesoamerica. At the peak of their reign, their territory stretched as far as 80,000 square miles over southern Mexico, and had as many as fifteen million people. The Aztecs emerged in the thirteenth century, as a nomadic tribe. They were guided by their chief god, Huitzilopochtli, the war god and representative of the sun. The Aztecs couldn 't find a place to settle in the crowded central Mexico. Eventually, they were taken as serfs and

Violence in Aguirre The purpose of Spanish conquests during the 1500s was to spread Christianity to indigenous peoples. In the movie, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Lope De Aguirre travels the jungles and mountains of the Incan Empire on a treacherous conquest will an ulterior motive of finding the illustrious legend of “El Dorado,” a kingdom “…where gold was said to be so plentiful that it was thrown into a sacred lake in an annual ritual” (Primary Source, 4). Aguirre, in an attempt for power, overthrows

Mexico is a large country that was reborn as a result of the European colonization of the Americas. Although colonial influence largely reshaped Mexico, its Native American roots have remained a prominent element of its culture. Mexico’s history marks the origin of several advanced Amerindian civilizations, including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec (cia.gov). It was conquered and colonized by Spain in the early 16th century, and administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain

Has colonization finally ended? Most people would say that it has given the fact that most countries that were under colonial rule are independent now. However, most Latin American countries are still dependent on the great powers and are highly underdeveloped due to the enduring adverse effects colonization established. Colonialization has deprived Latin American countries of their wealth, freedom and character leaving the decedents of the colonists morally and psychologically disoriented. Two of

Daniel 1 Peter Daniel Professor Chrissanthos TA: Christina Pappous HIST010 4 June 2015 The Fall of the Aztecs The Aztec civilization is widely regarded as the greatest civilization of the Americas. The Aztecs’ empire covered most of modern day central Mexico and was the most powerful civilization in the region at the time. They had developed political, religious, and social systems that were very intricate and important to the culture as a whole. The Aztecs, at the height of their greatness

How was Cortes with 508 soldiers able to conquer the Aztec Empire with millions of peoples inside its borders? Cortes was able to conquer the Aztec people for several different reasons. The Aztecs had a very harsh tribute system that was not popular among the other peoples of Mexico. This ferocious tribute system allowed Cortes to act as a “liberator” of some sort. Additionally, with the Spanish came several diseases the Aztec peoples had never encountered. The spread of diseases such as small pox

Reagan Black HIST 1312 02 Dr. Christopher Richmann April 10, 2016 Spanish and Aztec Cultural Encounter On November 8, 1519, Spanish leader, Hernan Cortes landed in modern day Mexico, bringing along six hundred Spaniards and a lot of native allies. The Aztecs, who were natives in Mexico, welcomed Cortez with opened arms because they believed he was one of their gods, Quetzalcoatl. From the beginning, they were willing to share their land and wealth with the Spaniards but they Spaniards did not want

In Victors and the Vanquished, Schwartz poses the question of “How can we evaluate conflicting sources” (ix)? Through reading historical events such as the “Conquest of New Spain” there is an undeniably large amount of destruction of cultural material and bias testimonies of events recorded several years after they occurred. After analyzing the Spanish Conquest of Mesoamerica there is a debatable amount of evidence from the Mesoamericans and Spanish explanations of this event in history. The intentions

The conquistadors ventured to the America’s in approximately the 1500s. During the process of settlement the conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortez encountered numerous natives who originally inhabited the land. When two unfamiliar civilizations encounter each other the end result can be unpredictable. Each human being has an unique thought process. Therefore numerous spaniards viewed the native americans as a peaceful, and kind civilization, while on the other side of the bridge, several spaniards

Spanish Explorers Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro were explorers from Spain that sailed to the Americas and made many interesting voyages.They both faced separate challenges and difficulties along the way. During their difficulties Cortes and Pizarro acquired allies to help them on their expeditions. Cortez and Pizarro were both very fierce and conquered many areas. Hernan Cortes was a fierce conquistador from Spain that grew up in a noble family. In 1504, he headed out for Hispaniola but ended