Compare And Contrast The Spanish Conquest Of The Aztecs

Being known as the milestone victory, the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs by Hernán Cortez in 1521 was critical for the development of America and led to many opportunities for the Spanish monarch. Consequently, the conquest of the Aztec Empire has been the historical subject of many debates.

The Aztec Empire was grown from Tenochtitlán founded in 1325 A.D. by a tribe of hunters and gatherers wandering on islands in Lake Texcoco. Thanks to the advanced agricultural system, the empire developed to be an influential center of Mexico and reached its greatest extent to the south in 1502.

Hernán Cortez is a Spanish conquistador. Being born around 1485, he was the only son of a noble family in Spain. When he was a young boy studying law at the University of Salamanca, he was interested in the New World exploration stories of Christopher Columbus. To seek the fortune in the New

World, Cortez left Spain in 1504 to travel to Santo Domingo.

After several years of serving as a notary in Azúa, he joined Diego Veláxquez’s expedition to Cuba in 1511.

In 1518, being inspired by the rumors of gold and the large, sophisticated cities in Mexico, Cortez wanted to set sail for Mexico, but Velázquez, the governor of Cuba, changed his opinion at the last minute and decided to rescind. However, Cortez disregarded the order. With more than five hundred men and eleven ships, he started his expedition to Mexico and reached the Mexican coast in February 1519. On the way to Tenochtitlán, they fought the native people who were forced to pay taxes to the Aztec Empire. However, after knowing that Cortez planned to conquer the Aztec Empire, many of them who hated Aztec rulers later became Cortez’s allies. Cortez and his men marched to the Aztec capital and took Montezuma II, the Aztec emperor, hostage. Learning that Spanish soldiers were coming to arrest him for disregarding the orders of Velázquez, Cortez decided to leave the city.

However, after facing off again the forces of Velázquez, Cortez returned to Tenochtitlán. He found that the rebellion was in progress and Montezuma was killed. To save his life and the lives of his men, he had to fight his way out of the city after the Aztecs rebelled against the Spanish. In 1520, two hundred Spaniards eagerly joined the army of Cortez. At the same time, Cortez received the large ship from his father carrying lots of needed supplies including muskets, crossbows, and horses. Also, the Spaniards unknowingly brought the Mexico smallpox which killed many people in Tenochtitlán. In 1521, Cortez returned to the valley of Mexico, won allies around the lake for the final attack of Tenochtitlán. Cortez cut off the city from supplies outside. His army also made daily raids into the city. While Cortez’s strategy crippled the Aztec, smallpox continued to ravage the population and the Aztec was prevented from getting food and supplies from the outside. In 1521, the Aztec Emperor was captures and Cortez became the conqueror of Mexico.
There are many reasons that it was so easy for Cortez and his men to conquer the Aztec Empire. Firstly, in comparison with the native people, Cortez had superior weapons, such as muskets, crossbows, and cannons. Additionally, they had armor and steel. Secondly, they gained alliances with the other enemies of the Aztec. Thirdly, he had bull mastiffs trained to kill that shocked the native people because they had never seen dogs trained to attack human. Furthermore, they had horses which scared the Aztec people who had never seen horses before. Last but not least, it is the unexpected weapon – smallpox, which killed a lot of people in the Aztec capital.
Cortez was crucial in reshaping the world. His successful conquest of Aztec Empire opened chances for the Spanish governor to the new lands. Moreover, it led to further exploration, conquests, and acquisition, such as the Central of America to the south and California to the north.