Why Did Such A Big Civilization Get Conquered By The Aztecs?
The Aztecs were an Native Indian tribe, located in modern day Mexico,who ruled a huge part of Mexican territory from the 1400’s to the 1500’s, before they were conquered by Hernando Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors. The Aztecs had one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas and built cities as large as any in Europe at that time. They had a very unique culture compared to the Spaniards, for example they practiced a religion that affected every part of their lives and featured human sacrificed. Their impressive empire was destroyed by the spaniards in the year 1521, but the Aztecs left a lasting mark on Mexican life and culture. One might ask, how did such a big civilization get conquered by such a small group of conquistadores?
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With advanced weaponry and strategic alliances, a conquest is very much possible. The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs succeeded because of their advanced weaponry, the diseases of smallpox and finally because of the trust that the Aztec leader, Montezuma, gave to Hernan Cortez and the conquistadors. Before the Spaniards even discovered America, the Aztec empire was a thriving civilization, ruling over ten million subjects and dominating a far flung kingdom of city states. In the 16th century during the reign of Montezuma the second, Tenochtitlan was a beaming metropolis bigger than any city in Europe. The city and the people were extremely smart, modern nothing like the Spanish have expected it left them in awe, “For the Spaniards seeing Tenochtitlan, the effect was more than the senses could bear, they believed they had fallen into the make believe world or heroic romances and legend” (Tsouras). The aztecs were master ecologist, they established an accurate calendar in order for them to calculate when they should plant and harvest. Aztec medicine was also highly sophisticated with hundreds of herbal remedies for overwhelming illnesses, as well as their creative genius they viewed every aspect of life for an opportunity of creative expression, in their military, music, poems, sculptures etc. The Aztecs were very religious they used human sacrifices to show how devoted they were to their gods. Their religion also played a key role in their being conquered by the Spaniards. The strong attachment to their gods and the legends they were told, were the supposed appearance of the Spaniard and with them the weaponry, which led to the belief that their gods had arrived on the shores. In the year 1519, Hernan Cortez, and his conquistadors sailed from Cuba and arrived on the shores of Mexico, with the desire of an empire expansion, against the orders of his superiors.
Cortez brought along with him men, weapons, horses, dogs as well as a few hundred slaves, and some of which carried diseases. When Montezuma got the news of Cortez, he didn’t believe it was the god they were waiting for, so he sent them gold and other treasures for them to leave. However this did not push Cortez away but rather pull his greed for more gold towards the city. He soon told the indigenous Mexicas “I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold” (Schwartz), this is a small example of what lengths Cortez went to get what he wanted. Slowly Cortez was gaining the trust of neighboring tribes that hated Montezuma in exchange for military alliance, as well as telling Montezuma he would help him subjugate the rebels. One of those tribes were the Totonacs, they didn’t like how Cortez was doing things so they killed one of his conquistadors. Showing Montezuma as proof that the Spaniards were men and not gods. Many times Montezuma asked the Spaniards to leave and go back to where they came from, he didn’t want any military confrontation and tried to avoid it at all costs, but the Spanish
refused. The conquest of the Aztecs came at a very sad price where many lives were lost. Cortez being hunted by Narvaez for not following his superiors, captured Montezuma to make sure that while he left there wouldn’t be an attack on the Spanish. However when he came back, the man he left in charge, Pedro Alvarado has done a horrible thing that brought conflict for the Spaniards. The Aztecs didn’t do anything at first out of for their respect for their gods, however that all changed the day of the massacre in the main temple, where Spaniards killed dozens of highly respected people, such as priests and warlords, during a holy celebration. When Cortez returned he came back with reinforcements, more men, more guns and more horses, but he found that the people of the city had turned on the Spaniards, and now there were open attacks towards them. As a way to cease fire Cortez uses Montezuma to tell his people to stop them from attacking the Spaniards, but in this case the people were not having it and ad already elected a new leader. Seeing how Montezuma was useless to Cortez, the Spaniards killed him, “a king so powerful, so feared and served, so obeyed by the whole of this new world, who came nevertheless to an end….so that even in his last rites there were none who spoke or bewailed him” (Prescott). After this the Spanish is constantly under attack and when they try to flee they lost hundreds of soldiers during la noche triste, Cuitlahuac the new king of Tenochtitlan, was determined to get rid of the Spaniards.
Cuitlahuac being a great leader and king that he was, he was not indestructible and contracted smallpox months after taking power. This shows the significance of disease here when smallpox was brought in the Narvaez expedition that was sent to arrest Cortez, and just as Cortez suffer this massive defeat on la noche triste; smallpox arrived in the city. Thousands of people died from the smallpox epidemic, at that point it had been over a year since the spaniards had arrived, while the epidemic hit the city the spanish were regrouping with Tlaxans, the enemy of the Mexica, and gained more soldiers for the final battle. The final battle has tens of thousands of soldiers on either side, however the on the spanish side there is a small percentage for Spanish, and one of the reasons for the spanish victory was because the had so many natives fighting with them. Over two years since Cortez left Cuba, after siege and battle the Mexicas finally surrendered and secured the surrender of the king, The Spanish and Tlaxans destroyed Tenochtitlan, and new leaders began their rule over Mexico.
With advanced weaponry and strategic alliances, a conquest is very much possible. The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs succeeded because of their advanced weaponry, the diseases of smallpox and finally because of the trust that the Aztec leader, Montezuma, gave to Hernan Cortez and the conquistadors. Before the Spaniards even discovered America, the Aztec empire was a thriving civilization, ruling over ten million subjects and dominating a far flung kingdom of city states. In the 16th century during the reign of Montezuma the second, Tenochtitlan was a beaming metropolis bigger than any city in Europe. The city and the people were extremely smart, modern nothing like the Spanish have expected it left them in awe, “For the Spaniards seeing Tenochtitlan, the effect was more than the senses could bear, they believed they had fallen into the make believe world or heroic romances and legend” (Tsouras). The aztecs were master ecologist, they established an accurate calendar in order for them to calculate when they should plant and harvest. Aztec medicine was also highly sophisticated with hundreds of herbal remedies for overwhelming illnesses, as well as their creative genius they viewed every aspect of life for an opportunity of creative expression, in their military, music, poems, sculptures etc. The Aztecs were very religious they used human sacrifices to show how devoted they were to their gods. Their religion also played a key role in their being conquered by the Spaniards. The strong attachment to their gods and the legends they were told, were the supposed appearance of the Spaniard and with them the weaponry, which led to the belief that their gods had arrived on the shores. In the year 1519, Hernan Cortez, and his conquistadors sailed from Cuba and arrived on the shores of Mexico, with the desire of an empire expansion, against the orders of his superiors.
Cortez brought along with him men, weapons, horses, dogs as well as a few hundred slaves, and some of which carried diseases. When Montezuma got the news of Cortez, he didn’t believe it was the god they were waiting for, so he sent them gold and other treasures for them to leave. However this did not push Cortez away but rather pull his greed for more gold towards the city. He soon told the indigenous Mexicas “I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold” (Schwartz), this is a small example of what lengths Cortez went to get what he wanted. Slowly Cortez was gaining the trust of neighboring tribes that hated Montezuma in exchange for military alliance, as well as telling Montezuma he would help him subjugate the rebels. One of those tribes were the Totonacs, they didn’t like how Cortez was doing things so they killed one of his conquistadors. Showing Montezuma as proof that the Spaniards were men and not gods. Many times Montezuma asked the Spaniards to leave and go back to where they came from, he didn’t want any military confrontation and tried to avoid it at all costs, but the Spanish
refused. The conquest of the Aztecs came at a very sad price where many lives were lost. Cortez being hunted by Narvaez for not following his superiors, captured Montezuma to make sure that while he left there wouldn’t be an attack on the Spanish. However when he came back, the man he left in charge, Pedro Alvarado has done a horrible thing that brought conflict for the Spaniards. The Aztecs didn’t do anything at first out of for their respect for their gods, however that all changed the day of the massacre in the main temple, where Spaniards killed dozens of highly respected people, such as priests and warlords, during a holy celebration. When Cortez returned he came back with reinforcements, more men, more guns and more horses, but he found that the people of the city had turned on the Spaniards, and now there were open attacks towards them. As a way to cease fire Cortez uses Montezuma to tell his people to stop them from attacking the Spaniards, but in this case the people were not having it and ad already elected a new leader. Seeing how Montezuma was useless to Cortez, the Spaniards killed him, “a king so powerful, so feared and served, so obeyed by the whole of this new world, who came nevertheless to an end….so that even in his last rites there were none who spoke or bewailed him” (Prescott). After this the Spanish is constantly under attack and when they try to flee they lost hundreds of soldiers during la noche triste, Cuitlahuac the new king of Tenochtitlan, was determined to get rid of the Spaniards.
Cuitlahuac being a great leader and king that he was, he was not indestructible and contracted smallpox months after taking power. This shows the significance of disease here when smallpox was brought in the Narvaez expedition that was sent to arrest Cortez, and just as Cortez suffer this massive defeat on la noche triste; smallpox arrived in the city. Thousands of people died from the smallpox epidemic, at that point it had been over a year since the spaniards had arrived, while the epidemic hit the city the spanish were regrouping with Tlaxans, the enemy of the Mexica, and gained more soldiers for the final battle. The final battle has tens of thousands of soldiers on either side, however the on the spanish side there is a small percentage for Spanish, and one of the reasons for the spanish victory was because the had so many natives fighting with them. Over two years since Cortez left Cuba, after siege and battle the Mexicas finally surrendered and secured the surrender of the king, The Spanish and Tlaxans destroyed Tenochtitlan, and new leaders began their rule over Mexico.