Conquest of the Aztecs empire
The Spanish under Cortes had now set their eyes upon conquering the people of the mighty Aztec empire and if Cortes could manage to pull of the destruction of the Aztec empire it would not only make him powerful but it would also make the Spanish empire very powerful .
When Montezuma II heard of the arrival of the Spanish under Cortes he was gravely concerned partly because he believed that Cortes was the God Quetzalcoatl . Montezuma believed that Cortes was the God because he fitted the description of the God ( the god was said to have white skin and a black beard ). Rather than attack the God Montezuma sent emissaries with rich gifts and a message for the Spaniards to leave . This plan failed because the gifts had convinced Cortes that there were great riches in the Americas and because of this he stayed in the Americas . Now the Spaniards started to march to Tenochtitlan and by November of 1519 they had reached the capital .
When Cortes and his men entered the city they were welcomed by the Aztecs because they did not want to anger a God but Cortes was not interested in just being in the city he wanted to conquer it . So he decided to take the king hostage and demand a huge ransom from the Aztecs . The Spanish now started to take control of the city and they started to steal the many treasures of the Aztecs and they tried to stop the Aztecs religious ceremonies .
In June 1520 the Aztecs rose up against the Spanish . After a week of fighting the Spanish attempted to sneakily leave the city but they were spotted trying to flee and many of the Spanish died in their attempts to leave the city . During these battles the king of the Aztecs Montezuma died . The Spanish had fled the city and they found refuge in the nearby city of Tlaxcala .
In October a small pox epidemic broke in the the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan . The disease was brought by the Spanish and because the people of the new world had never encountered it before the had no immunity . This epidemic spread like wild fire and many thousands would die and because of this epidemic the Aztec empire was weakened and Cortes had perceived his time to return to the Aztec capital had now come .
Cortes then returned to Tenochtitlan in December and he arrived with an army of Spanish and a huge army of Indians that held a grudge against the Aztecs . By May 1521 the Spanish forces had surrounded the Aztec city and they had cut of the cities food and water supplies . The Aztecs fought fiercely but their ranks were decimated by battle , sickness and starvation and so in August the new Aztec king Surrendered the city .
Cotes sent some of his army to take over the rest of the Aztec empire . Some of the Aztecs resisted but a majority of the empire surrender to the Spanish . The Spanish after their conquest of the Aztec empire destroyed many of their cities and they also started to wipe out all traces of the Aztec religion because they believed that the Aztec religion was inspired by the Devil . Also as a direct result of the Spanish conquests of the Americas the native population suffered under many diseases and over 90% of the populace had been killed by the Spanish by 1600 AD.
When Montezuma II heard of the arrival of the Spanish under Cortes he was gravely concerned partly because he believed that Cortes was the God Quetzalcoatl . Montezuma believed that Cortes was the God because he fitted the description of the God ( the god was said to have white skin and a black beard ). Rather than attack the God Montezuma sent emissaries with rich gifts and a message for the Spaniards to leave . This plan failed because the gifts had convinced Cortes that there were great riches in the Americas and because of this he stayed in the Americas . Now the Spaniards started to march to Tenochtitlan and by November of 1519 they had reached the capital .
When Cortes and his men entered the city they were welcomed by the Aztecs because they did not want to anger a God but Cortes was not interested in just being in the city he wanted to conquer it . So he decided to take the king hostage and demand a huge ransom from the Aztecs . The Spanish now started to take control of the city and they started to steal the many treasures of the Aztecs and they tried to stop the Aztecs religious ceremonies .
In June 1520 the Aztecs rose up against the Spanish . After a week of fighting the Spanish attempted to sneakily leave the city but they were spotted trying to flee and many of the Spanish died in their attempts to leave the city . During these battles the king of the Aztecs Montezuma died . The Spanish had fled the city and they found refuge in the nearby city of Tlaxcala .
In October a small pox epidemic broke in the the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan . The disease was brought by the Spanish and because the people of the new world had never encountered it before the had no immunity . This epidemic spread like wild fire and many thousands would die and because of this epidemic the Aztec empire was weakened and Cortes had perceived his time to return to the Aztec capital had now come .
Cortes then returned to Tenochtitlan in December and he arrived with an army of Spanish and a huge army of Indians that held a grudge against the Aztecs . By May 1521 the Spanish forces had surrounded the Aztec city and they had cut of the cities food and water supplies . The Aztecs fought fiercely but their ranks were decimated by battle , sickness and starvation and so in August the new Aztec king Surrendered the city .
Cotes sent some of his army to take over the rest of the Aztec empire . Some of the Aztecs resisted but a majority of the empire surrender to the Spanish . The Spanish after their conquest of the Aztec empire destroyed many of their cities and they also started to wipe out all traces of the Aztec religion because they believed that the Aztec religion was inspired by the Devil . Also as a direct result of the Spanish conquests of the Americas the native population suffered under many diseases and over 90% of the populace had been killed by the Spanish by 1600 AD.