Concerning the chronology of human beings, there always has been a place for wars, conquests, invasions, and subjections. The driving force of progress and development of human civilizations has always been the displacement of the weak by the stronger. Unfortunately, based on the experience of humanity, any civilization comes to an end. Either a conflict arises within a civilization and it breaks up into different parts, or conquerors come and subjugate its people.
One of these conquerors was Hernan Cortes, a Spanish explorer, who arrived in the 16th century to the Mexican land. In seek of gold and glory, Cortez headed to Mexico with his mercenary army. He subdued the local Indian tribes, accepting gifts and captives from them. In addition, Cortez created the Royal city of Vera Cruz on the gulf coast, which had been only a bare beach.
The Aztec king Montezuma tried to placate the Spaniard conquerors to chase them away, as he mistook them for the returned god named Quetzalcoatl. This decision was a fatal mistake in the fate of the Aztec tribe. But Montezuma’s plan backfired, his gifts of gold only wetted the Spaniard’s appetite (Mexico: God. Gold and glory, 2021). Thus, Cortez almost destroyed the Aztec tribe, plundered their gold, killed their king, and turned the rest of the indigenes into slaves of Spain.
The Spaniard’s advantage over the Aztecs in military strength was evident. The Aztecs were frightened by the Spanish military powers. The Aztecs had never seen horses, and they saw the flash of steel swords for the first time and fell to the ground at the thundering sound of cannon (Mexico: God. Gold and glory, 2021). Despite their strength and cruelty, the Aztecs could not resist such a weapon. The Aztecs were not able to confront the swords and pistols of the conquerors. They fiercely defended their civilization and sacrificed about 60 soldiers from the enemy army (Arciniega, 2021). However, the armor of the adversaries was too strong, which made them almost invulnerable.
The Spaniards outnumbered the Aztecs in cunning, tactics, numbers, and strength. In addition to Spaniards’ great military advantage of having swords and canons and gun powder, Aztecs had heard they were on horses – a soldier could just trample over four or five, or ten Aztecs that were on foot (Mexico: God. Gold and glory, 2021). Eventually, Aztec warriors had no chance against the Spaniard conquerors, though they fought desperately for their lands.
The once-powerful tribe of the Aztecs has always kept the neighboring tribes in fear. Their gory sacrifices and rituals frightened off enemies. It is hardly surprising that Cortez was unable to conquer this tribe the first time. To defeat the Aztecs, Cortez enlisted the support of the neighboring Tlaxcala tribe. The bloody and brutal battle brought a precious experience of the further strategy of warfare to Cortez. Having faced the Aztecs before, Cortez further adjusted his fighting strategy to having the Spanish attack from a distant front line, using their long-range weapons to knock down the Aztec charging warriors (Arciniega, 2021). In addition, Spain took all the riches and gold treasures of the Aztecs. Hernan Cortes built a city from the wreckage of a defeated civilization called Mexico City, which later became the main political center of Spain.
Summarizing Cortez’s campaign and his conquest of Mexico, it would be fair enough to claim that Hernan Cortez achieved his goal and became the greatest of the Conquistadors. The battles for the Aztec Empire became crucial in the historical development of Spain and Mexico. Only a small number of indigenous people survived after the war and diseases. The remnant of the Aztec nation became the slaves of Europeans. Internal conflicts, the great plague, outdated gory rituals, and brutal European invasions led to the fall of the great Aztec Empire.
References
Arciniega, M. (2021). Born and bred in blood: The fall of the Aztec Empire. Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference. Web.
Mexico: God. Gold and glory [Video file]. (2012). Web.