Although many the conquistadors came from Spain, not all of them were Spanish. Columbus inspired many poor nobles to go to the America’s in search of fortune. One of the Spanish explores that followed in the footsteps of Columbus, was Hernan Cortes. He also played an essential role in the Spanish invasion. Before the arrival of Cortes, Montezuma II had a dream about the invaders showing up. The odd part is that the Aztec welcomed their doom because they thought that the white Europeans were gods. They gave Cortes a secret weapon which was A Mayan woman named Malintzin who could speak the Aztec language. With that, Cortes could forge incredible alliances. “Cortes killed faster than he could purchase or commandeer” (Stannard 81). The invisible
As we all know, Christopher Columbus set sail into the unknown in 1492. His efforts and findings sparked a time period of exploration, trade, colonization, and even new alliances. Years before, another explorer, although lesser-known was born. Their name was Juan Ponce de Leon. Juan Ponce de Leon is a Spaniard conquistador and explorer.
Hernan Cortes. Spain’s savior, nightmare for the Aztecs. The man who brought gold and glory to Spain, at the cost of the destruction of a rich, thriving civilisation. Hernan Cortez was a cunning, manipulative, intelligent conquistador and he and his army single handedly took down one of the greatest civilizations of all time by forging, advanced weaponry, alliances and the Conquistador’s Formula. Some may argue that Dona Marina is most responsible because she advised and told Cortes what the enemy was planning, but she was merely a pawn in Cortes’s grand scheme of conquering the Aztecs, as Cortes was the true mastermind and defeated the Aztecs for these reasons: First Cortes and his army has more advanced weapons such as Halberds, crossbows,
1.) Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador whose expedition led to the conquering of the Inca Empire. He was born around 1476 in Trujillo, Spain. He and his family lived in an area of poverty and he did not even have the ability to read. Francisco and along with Vasco Nunez de Balboa, discovered the Pacific Ocean.
Sandra Nava-Martinez P.5 Chapter 2 questions Section 1: 1. The conquistadors came to the Americas to continue the tradition that is “God, Gold, and, Glory.” They wanted to get all the riches that were on the land that they were conquering. Along with this they wanted to teach the people that were on the land about their religious views, and they wanted the glory that they would receive when they returned to their home. 2.The cortes’ conquered the Aztecs by knowing that the native americans that lived in that area hates the Aztecs.
The key people and their reasons for coming to America were all different. They have all been through hardships including controlling the vast area called the Americas. Some of the people that had a huge influence on the future of Spain were Hernan Cortez, Francisco Pizzaro, and Juan Ponce de Leon. During this time Spanish solders were very poor and lived in harsh conditions. Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador searching for wealth and went to present day Mexico in 1519.
The Aztecs were alarmed by their religious practices. At the time of the arrival of the Spanish, Moctezuma II was the leader. He had his people to not associate or trade with Cortés and his men. He told Cortés to not enter the Capital and sent gifts to influence them not to go (“The Spanish
Eventually people began to realize it is not him, because he lacks the generosity and sincerity of Quetzalcoatl. Cortes just takes and takes and takes, and gives nothing back to the people. Eventually Cortes and the Spanish conquer the Aztecs. The history of the Aztecs is heavily incorporated in the myth of Quetzalcoatl and also had a lot to do with the events that occurred after the Spanish
All the Spaniards had done was killing of innocent lives for personal greed and acquiring as much goods as they could for their Majesty, doing so for the money was their justifications for killing the natives. Then we have Cortes, who instead of killing off the Natives of Tenochtitlan, he opened their eyes to the horrors of their religious ways and gave them the revelation of Christianity. Cortes didn’t mention any genocide of the natives, he spoke about the geography and religious views of the natives. He stated, “I will simply say that the manner of living among the people is very similar to that of Spain, and considering that this is a barbarous nation shut off from a knowledge of true God or communication with enlightened nations, one may well marvel at the orderliness and good government which is everywhere mentioned” (SB, 8). Cortes is only praising the natives and their life style because he feels the people have everything figured out in terms of being dominant and true government but, lacked in religion which he left them
The author gives insight on how many ways the Spaniards used their power to assist in the downfall of the Aztecs. The reason why the Spaniards became victorious, was because the Spaniards were looked upon as if they were gods because of their outer appearance. The Aztecs broke bread and welcomed the Spaniards with gifts and parties. The Aztecs triggered their relationship with the Spaniards by holding a ritual for the arrival of the god which included a human sacrifice. The Spaniards didn’t agree with the rituals and began to despise the Aztecs.
When Cortes and his men first arrived on the island of Cozumel in 1519, they were unaware that a complex and advanced civilization was just beyond the shores of Mexico. Although, as stated, the Aztecs were a rather advanced civilization, when compared to the Spaniards that invaded their city, they were lacking in technology. Cortes used this to his advantage, stunning the natives with displays of cavalry and horses, as he
They both killed in the name of religion, and both growing empires willing to do anything to gain more power. Cortés was sent on expedition to establish trading deals with the Natives in and around the Yucatan peninsula, under order of Diego Velázquez, who was the Governor of Cuba. Velázquez soon regretted his decision and to stop Cortés from ever leaving
Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes were both famous Spanish adventurers during the Age of Exploration. When the explorers came upon land, they encountered two different cultures. In 1492, Columbus encountered the Taino people, and in 1520, Cortes encountered the Aztecs. The two cultures that the men encountered were different in more ways than they were similar in regards to how the natives treated the men, what weapons they had and their war-like behavior, their technologically advancements, their housing and architectural structures, and even their religion.
As a child, Juan started accompanying his father in the raids against the Indians. Juan also led many campaigns at his own cost. When Juan was just twenty years old, he started defending and expanding Spanish settlements in the northern part of Mexico by conquering the Indian communities. Although Juan was born in New Spain, he never set his foot on the European land. Juan was a true Spaniard who devoted his life to the church, the king and the expansion of his empire.
The Spanish were able to colonize Mexico without much resistance.” After the smallpox epidemic, the Aztecs were even more vulnerable. The Spanish exploration and conquering of Tenochtitlan was to gain power for the Spanish empire, but the city’s people were somewhat considered rebellious, and consequently, Cortes needed to conquer/kill the people first. By taking down the people of the city, Cortes was exposed to the city’s great treasures for his reward of gold; he retrieved all the gold he could, and travelled back to Spain where he was labelled a hero for his acts of
Where would we be without conquistadors? Somewhere in our native land? Would we even exist? Maybe. Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes are two of the greatest Spanish conquistadors of their time.