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Conquest of Mexico by Cortes

 

            
            
            
            
             Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec God of creation and brother hood. One day, a lesser God named Tezcatlipoca (smoking mirror), convinced the other devils to visit Quetzalcoatl and bring him a gift. When the gift was presented to him, the curious god opened it up to find that he had a face, which gods are not supposed to have. It was a human face; a product of his own creation. That night, the depressed god got really drunk and had sex with his sister. Then next morning, realizing what he had done. Quetzalcoatl shamefully made a raft of snakes and left his kingdom, vowing to return to reclaim his treasure on the day "Ce Acatl," the day of the reed on the Aztec Calendar (Fuentes, 1992).
             News of the "New World" had spread rapidly across Europe, many became eager to travel there to find the many riches of gold and spices Columbus had described (Fuentes, 1992). Hernan Cortes was asked to lead an expedition. He left with 500 soldiers, 11 ships, 16 horses, and 10 brass guns (Parkes, 1969). With everything planned and supplies packed up, Cortes and his crew sailed to the New World not knowing what to expect.
             On the day Ce Acatl - the day of the reed - Cortes had arrived in Mexico. It was the same day Quetzalcoatl had vowed to return. Cortes had similar features to the god such as light skin, a dark beard, and blue eyes (Fuentes, 1992). The Aztec emperor of the time, Moctezuma, was hearing many messages that light-skinned men with strange animals (the horses) had landed in Mexico, which worried Moctezuma. He believed that Quetzalcoatl had come back to retake his treasure and his kingdom (Fuentes, 1992; Von Hagen, 1961).
             Cortes soon began to receive gifts from tribes whom wanted to befriend him. The Tabasco Mayan tribe sent him 20 women, one being a slave named Marina (Malinche), who happened to speak the Aztec language of Nahuati. Cortes decided to keep her as a personal interpreter (Parkes, 1969). .
             As the Spaniards kept hearing of the powerful tyrant emperor named Moctezuma of Tenochitlan, they also found that all the tribes hated and feared the Aztecs.


Essays Related to Conquest of Mexico by Cortes

1. Spain and the Conquest of Mexico

The conquest of Mexico in the early 16th Century is clearly one of the crucial events in world history. The history of the conquest of Mexico is not written exclusively by the winners, but it is a progressive compilation of views from both the Spanish and Native Mexicans. The history of the Spanish conquest of Mexico is presented to the world only from the Spanish point of view because they were the record keepers. However, the book Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico by Stuart B. ... Schwartz starts out with an introduction about how the Europeans expande...

  • Word Count: 1756
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Conquest of Mexico

Undoubtedly the most glorified and heroically portrayed of these figures of the European conquest of the New World were the conquistadores, the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century. ... Under the rule of Itzcoatl, and for eighty years afterwards, the Aztecs proceeded to subjugate the remainder of the Valley of Mexico and then further beyond--from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf coast in the east and from central Mexico in the north to present-day Guatemala in the south. ... Cortes later participated in the conquest of Cuba with Diego Velazquez, the future governo...

  • Word Count: 5323
  • Approx Pages: 21

3. The Encounter of Cortes and Montezuma

With the intent of conquest and exploration, Cortes and the conquistadors landed at Veracruz on Good Friday of 1519. ... Some myths say that upon landing in the Gulf of Mexico Cortes burned the remaining ships. ... With these new men underfoot of Cortes' rule, there were often battles of conquest, such as the Massacre at Cholula. ... November 8, 1519 Cortes, along with his men and Aztec allies, reached the Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. ... With these new recruits under his wing, Cortes' men returned to Tenochtitlan to continue with the conquest. ...

  • Word Count: 2285
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Discuss the Relative Importance of Military, Religious and Political Factors in the Rapid Spanish Conquest of Mexico

Cortes and his followers had only landed in Mexico in April 1519. ... The campaign waged by Cortes was so successful that all ensuing campaigns were modelled upon the Aztec conquest. The question posed is how was the conquest of Mexico achieved in such a small space of time? ... Cortes himself appears to exercise the use of Mexican politics expertly. ... Religion certainly played a major part in the Conquest of Mexico. ...

  • Word Count: 2016
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography

5. Cortez

The factors can help understand and explain the conquest of Mexico. ... All together these reasons allowed Cortes to have the upper hand in the conquest of the new world. ... The Spanish brought smallpox to Mexico, which caused great suffering to the Aztecs. ... Dona Marina greatly helped Cortes in his conquest of the Mexican Empire. ... Cortes had Tlaxcalans backing him up for the re-conquest of Tenochtitlan, as well as other Indians allies. ...

  • Word Count: 1683
  • Approx Pages: 7

6. The Mexica and Spanish Accounts Of the Conquest of Mexico

When it comes to the tales of the Conquest of Mexico, there are two different accounts of what actually happened. ... Cortes went to see what the cause of the alleged rebellion was. ... Cortes and his other captain's rode ahead of the warriors to escape all of the fighting. Some of the warriors managed to make it out alive and meet up with Cortes. ... Finally Cortes and the couple of men that survived made it to safety far away from where they were first attacked. 2 3 The Mexica version of La Noche Triste portrayed the Spanish as fleeing Mexico by night. ...

  • Word Count: 817
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. How was the Spanish Conquest possible With So Few Numbers?

What was seemingly impossible was achieved by Cortes and later Pizzaro. ... Likewise, Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru which was a process that extended over some 35 years would have been impossible without the active military support of the rival Indian clans. The Native American peoples were almost always complicit in the process of conquest. ... Cortes conquest of Mexico in 1519 illustrates the role disease played in the European domination of the Americas. ... After a seventy-five day siege, Tenochtitlan again fell to Cortes. ...

  • Word Count: 486
  • Approx Pages: 2

8. Differing Religious Perspectives

One case where the idea of perceptions of religion played a significant role is in that of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Through looking at accounts of the conquest by both the Spanish and Nahua people, the perception of the native religion by both the Spanish conquistadors and the native Nahua people themselves, had a negative effect on the position and in the portrayal of the Nahua during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. ... Cortes and the Spaniards used this aspect of the native religion to their advantage. ... By declaring them gods, though they inadvertently subjugated themselves to ...

  • Word Count: 1380
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Mexican History

Even though they had conquered the Mexican world, the Aztecs were not prepared to face the Spanish in February 1519 with the arrival of Herman Cortes. ... The Conquest of the Aztecs and the Rise of New Spain In 1519, a conquistador named Hernan Cortes landed in present-day Mexico with eleven ships, six hundred men, sixteen horses, and a few light cannons. Cortes founded the city of Veracruz and continued inland. ... Cortes named his newly acquired land New Spain. In 1528, Cortes established an audencia, or royal court. ...

  • Word Count: 2473
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School