Spanish Conquest essays

Spanish Conquest essays On November 8, 1519 Hernan Cortez landed in the great city of Mexico accompanied by six hundred Spaniards and a great amount of native allies. Cortezs arrival in Mexico City was welcomed by the friendly Aztec people, who mistakenly believed that Cortez was one of their gods, Quetzalcoatl, who was characterized by light skin, red hair, and light eyes. They were willing to share all their wealth and happiness with the Spaniards, but the Spaniards wanted more than what the Aztecs were willing to share, they wanted to rule their beautiful land. As Cortez and his men became more familiar with the land the realized that the Aztecs were less amendable than they thought. Hernan Cortez became determined to conquer the whole kingdom. The Spaniards were coarse, ignorant of local customs, and rude. Hernan and his men tried to convert the Aztecs to Christianity, but the Aztecs did not understand the language so many were brutally killed or enslaved by the Spanish. It didnt stop there though, the Spanish were killing Aztecs by the thousands, sometimes just for the fun of it. They brought down the Aztec Empire and brutally murdered their people with war and European diseases, such as smallpox. A large portion of the Aztec culture was destroyed in the battles they fought with the Spaniards. The Spanish had no right to destroy their whole population as well as their history, the Aztecs did not know of weapons or armor, they werent immune to small pox, and they devoted polytheist as well. The Spanish although outnumbered, had the technological advantage of steel weapons, armor, horses, and cannon. Upon his arrival in Tenochtitln, Cortez was initially welcomed and treated well, in part because the Aztec may have thought him to be a God. Soon Cortez decided to capture the Aztec ruler named Montezuma and held him hostage for a vast treasure in gold. The fighting was fierce, now both sides were clamoring for the blood...