The Spanish conquered the Aztec for many reasons like new resources and goods. The Spanish could have conquered the Aztec for new resources like gold. According to Document C “Aztec account of the conquest”, “When the Spaniards were installed in the place, they asked Motecuhzoma about the city’s resources and reserves… They questioned him closely and then demanded gold.” Under those circumstances, the Spaniards could possibly conquered the Aztecs to become wealthier and have more supplies and new resources. Not only did the Spanish conquer the Aztec for more gold, but also for new goods. According to Document B “Cortes’ Letter to the King of Spain”, “Of all the things created on land, as well as in the sea… had…
Hernan Cortes landed on the east coast of the Aztec empire where the natives mistaken for Quetzalcoatl, a deity. Cortés became allies with some of the native peoples he encountered, but with others he used deadly force to conquer Mexico. He marched to Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital and home to ruler Montezuma II. Cortés took Montezuma hostage and his soldiers raided the city. Cortés left the city after learning that Spanish troops were coming to arrest him for disobeying orders.After facing off against Spanish forces, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlán to find a rebellion in progress. The Aztecs eventually drove the Spanish from the city, but Cortés returned again to defeat them and take the city in 1521. In 1528, Pizarro went back to Spain and managed to procure a commission from Emperor Charles V. Pizarro was to…
The army was peacefully received by Moctezuma II, the Aztec tlatoani (ruler), who gave extravagant gifts of gold to the Spaniards to satisfy their army. However, this only increased the Spaniards’ greed, and Cortés took Moctezuma captive. Most people don’t on other people to use their armies. After Moctezuma was murdered (either by rebellion or the Spanish soldiers), open rebellion of the Aztec natives forced Cortés and his men to flee.…
Cortes’ ardent determination to bring back wealth, gold, and conquer the Aztecs’ most sacred land, Tenochtitlan, wasn’t enough to defeat them in a hard fought battle. Determination was just one of the many factors that helped the Spaniards defeat the pious Aztecs. The main five factors consist of the, Spanish Worldview, Aztec Worldview, Military Technology, Military Strategy, Spread of Disease. However, out of all of these factors, the most important would be Military Technology due to all the advantages it gave the Spaniards and Cortes. Just some few examples can explain the incredible benefits they gained.…
Cortes was on a mission to search for gold, to claim land and to convert people to christianity. Cortes was welcomed into the city. The aztecs did not know what he was a normal person or a god to claim the throne. Cortes' men killed some preastes in the middle of a sacrifice to their gods. Cortes held there emperor captive hoping that it was stop attacks on them…
The worshiped a war-god, called Huitzilopochtli, which he was identified with the sun and their war god. Their religion has them human sacrifice, and it has a huge role in war as well, the Aztecs would not fight to kill, but they fought to capture. While the Spanish were ready to kill. The Spanish had a full advantage in technology, since they were the side that were fighting to kill they had the equipment to do so. They had cannons on their ships and carried shields and swords, while the Aztecs had spears and wooden shields. Although technology was a major reason of the defeat, another reason for the defeat was the lack of…
Hernan Cortes was a Spanish In Fall of 1518, Cortes was to set on his own voyage to the Aztec empire. He set sail for Mexico with less than half of a thousand men and eleven ships. His soldiers had far more superior weapons and they had horses. The Aztecs were very afraid of the horses because they had never seen anything like them before.…
The Spaniards allied with the Tlaxcalan indians and marched into Tenochtitlan. Montezuma welcomed in Quetzalcoatl’s men with open arms, but Hernan Cortes seized power of the empire by using Montezuma as a figurehead against his will, while Cortes made all the real decisions. Cortes acted as a secret leader until 1520, when events caused tension to escalate, and Cortes demanded Montezuma command his people obey the Spaniards. The Indians didn’t like this at all, and showered their leader in stones, he then went on to die days later in June of 1520. The spanish originally went to Mexico to search for land and gold, or other plunders because they had no prosperity back home in Spain. When they reached Mexico, they discovered the Aztec people and the native indians of the land, and decided to try to eliminate them and their ways (cannibalism, human sacrifices, etc. didn’t appeal to the Spanish, and they didn’t want people like that inhabiting the same land as…
Hernanando Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who is known for conquering and bringing the downfall of the Aztec empire. He lead the first expedition into the new world for France and claim land all across. After all of Cortes’s conquests, he was made governor of New Spain for a brief time. Cortes was successful in his conquests of the New World because of his courage to explore new lands, find riches, and his resources available to him. Though, he may seem interesting, his life was actually quite normal until his expedition into the new world.…
Cortes came to this new land with weapons and soldiers therefore they didn’t come to make friends they came for conquest and war. A man coming with an army is coming looking for war not looking for peace. The Spanish have also had a horrible record of violence against the Aztecs one being the Massacre at the festival of Toxcatl. One Aztec wrote of the account of what took place “Once they had done this, they entered the Sacred Patio to kill people. They came on foot, carrying swords and wooden and metal shields. Immediately, they surrounded those who danced, then rushed to the place where the drums were played. They attacked the man who was drumming and cut off both his arms. Then they cut off his head [with such a force] that it flew off, falling far away. At that moment, they then attacked all the people, stabbing them, spearing them, wounding them with their swords. They struck some from behind, who fell instantly to the ground with their entrails hanging out [of their bodies]. They cut off the heads of some and smashed the heads of others into little pieces” (Aztec Account of Massacre at the Festival of Toxcatl)…
Some critics might argue that the Aztec Empire had an extensive amount of people in comparison to the few Spaniards, that the Aztecs could have developed a systematic plan to avoid Spanish conquest if they did not welcome or misbelieved the Spanish were retuning gods reclaiming their rightful empire. However, the Aztecs were still going to encounter the Spanish, as they were already settled in areas in New Hispaniola in the Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish sought to increase their chances of wealth and fortune and would try to find those riches. Also, the forced tributary system and capture of slaves as sacrifice created resentment and hatred toward the Aztec empire, which was a strategic advantage for the Spanish as they could form enemy allies…
The Aztec empire was of immense population and size which benefited from a central control. Cortes had discovered that his conquest of Mexico would not be as easy as Pizarro’s conquest of the Incas. The process the leadership being killed after gradual trade would not be possible in Mexico. It was the religious beliefs of the Aztecs that gave Cortes and his men the opportunities necessary for conquest. Thesis.…
The relationship between Cortes and the Aztecs was fake. The Aztecs thought Cortes was a god who came to fulfill a promise. Tenochtitlan (the Ancient capital city of the Aztec empire) was a very wealthy city. They had tons of gold and silver. Cortes and his soldiers wanted to have all the gold.…
Taking place in the Americas and China from the 16th and 17th century, European experiences in these foreign lands greatly resembled and differed in many ways. Although one would expect the same victorious outcomes that many European groups did result in while conquering different worlds, these operative strategies did not always work for all. Different countries and civilizations clearly have different views and beliefs on the world around them; therefore when the Europeans did not account for this, a cultural collision, when one or more cultures are integrated into one environment causing disruption, was produced. While geography helped the Spaniards conquer the Incas/Aztecs militarily, geography for the Portuguese led to false assumptions…
The main people who were involved in the fall of the Aztecs were Montezuma the Aztec king, and Hernan Cortes- a Spanish conquistador. Hernan and his soldiers came in search of gold and riches in the new world. When they stumbled upon the Aztecs, Montezuma believed Cortes was a god and gave him precious stones and feathered crowns. The greedy Cortes wanted more and marched into the capitol. The Aztecs soon realized he was not a god, for a god would have preferred the feathered crowns more than the gold. Thus, the Aztecs were able to drive Cortes and his men out, only to kill Montezuma in the confusion. Cortes, furious, came back with many things on his side, including alliances, weapons, horses, geography, and disease. In 1521, the Aztec rein had finally come to an…