The Consequences of Violence

Using violence as a tool for economic growth has been a strategy in many societies over the years to gain power or better their country because they truly thought it was the right thing for them. Whether it was right or wrong is for us to judge individually. Two particular societies that used violence as an economic tool, was the Spanish conquistadors when they conquered the Aztec Empire. As well as The United States after World War II resulting in economic growth in many ways. Beginning in 1519 when the Spanish governor of Cuba, Diego Velasquez, ordered Hernan Cortez to explore the thought to be wealthy lands of Mexico. Although Diego Velasquez changed his mind shortly after the order for Cortez to investigate central Mexico, Cortez left anyway accompanied by a small army of soldiers and sailors. Early 1519 Cortez landed in Vera Cruz where he set flame to his ships to erase any thought of return in the heads of his soldiers. After gaining power of Vera Cruz, Cortez sent a letter to Charles V gaining his support. Continuing his journey, Cortez discovered the people of Tlaxcalan. Cortez and his army fought for two weeks leading to the surrender and alliance of the Tlaxcalan people. By this time Cortez had a much bigger army to take to the capitol of Mexico. When Cortez and the indigenous people arrived in Tenochtitlan, Montezuma II gracefully welcomed them with gifts such as gold, thinking that Cortez may have been an Aztec God known as Quetzalcoatl. Cortez took this as an advantage to capture the Aztec emperor and eliminate any chances of the Aztec people protesting against him. In the meantime Diego Velasquez had sent out another order to the Spanish army to arrest Cortez for disobeying his order to not travel to Mexico. Velasquez’s plan instead backfired and Cortez talked to Spanish army into joining forces with him in hopes to conquer the Aztec empire city by city. Cortez and his growing army did eventually take over the Aztec Empire leaving the Spanish with