How did the Conquistadors conquer Mexico?
Spanish conquistadores commanded by Hernán Cortés allied with local tribes to conquer the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán. Cortés's army besieged Tenochtitlán for 93 days, and a combination of superior weaponry and a devastating smallpox outbreak enabled the Spanish to conquer the city.
How did the Spanish conquest affect Mexico?
Positive effects Spain's purposes to colonize Mexico and the other colonies were getting new land, resources, and to spread Christianity. As they conquered Mexico, they got new land. Spain plundered lots of resources from their colonies, opened up trade and get profits and spread Christianity.
Did Spain ever conquer Mexico?
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
What factors made Spain's conquest of Mexico possible?
Superior Weapons. Spanish weaponry was far superior to anything used by the Aztecs or Incas. ... Alliances and Experience. The invading Spanish forces also took advantage of internal divisions within the Aztec and Inca empires. ... The Power of Horses. ... Deadly Disease.
How did Spain influence Mexican culture?
The Spanish arrival and colonization brought Roman Catholicism to the country, which became the main religion of Mexico. Mexico is a secular state, and the Constitution of 1917 and anti-clerical law imposed limitations on the church and sometimes codified state intrusion into church matters.
What were the lasting effects of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs?
It Made Spain a World Power Although much of the original gold looted from the Aztec Empire was lost to shipwrecks or pirates, rich silver mines were discovered in Mexico and later in Peru. This wealth made Spain a world power and involved them in wars and conquests around the globe.
How did Spain lose Mexico?
Iturbide defeated the Royalist forces still opposed to independence, and the new Spanish viceroy, lacking money, provisions, and troops, was forced to accept Mexican independence. On August 24, 1821, O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, thus ending New Spain's dependence on Old Spain.
Who colonized Mexico first?
Hernán Cortés led a new expedition to Mexico landing ashore at present day Veracruz on 22 April 1519, a date which marks the beginning of 300 years of Spanish hegemony over the region. In general the 'Spanish conquest of Mexico' denotes the conquest of the central region of Mesoamerica where the Aztec Empire was based.
Who invaded Mexico first?
The Spanish conquistador led an expedition to present-day Mexico, landing in 1519. Although the Spanish forces numbered some 500 men, they managed to capture Aztec Emperor Montezuma II.
Why did Spain conquer the Aztecs?
The conquest of Mexico began with an expedition to search for gold on the American mainland. In 1519 Cortés led about 450 men to Mexico and made his way from Veracruz on the Gulf Coast to the island city of Tenochtitlan, the stunningly beautiful Aztec capital situated in Lake Texcoco.
Why were the Spanish able to defeat the Aztecs?
The Spanish were able to defeat the Aztec and the Inca not only because they had horses, dogs, guns, and swords, but also because they brought with them germs that made many native Americans sick. Diseases like smallpox and measles were unknown among the natives; therefore, they had no immunity to them.
Why did Spain want to conquer the Aztecs?
Cortes wanted to conquer the aztecs for gold glory and god. Because of these things, many people in the Aztec Empire were unhappy. Some of them helped the Spanish conquistadors take over the Empire.
What were the short and long term effects of the Spanish conquest on the Aztecs?
The population of the Aztecs decreased because of the Spanish. Encomienda, the system of having total control and protection over the natives, was introduced. The remaining Aztecs became slaves to the Spanish. Many died because they were not fit enough to work, resulting in the creation of 'the slave trade'.
How might Mexico be different if the Spanish had never conquered it?
How might Mexico be different if the Spanish had never conquered it? they would have continued their cultural way of life without the influence of the Spaniards.
What was the Spanish conquest of Mexico?
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas . There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the events by Spanish conquistadors, their indigenous allies, and the defeated Aztecs.
How long did it take for the Spanish to settle in Mexico?
For the Spanish, the expedition to Mexico was part of a project of Spanish colonization of the New World after twenty-five years of permanent Spanish settlement and further exploration in the Caribbean.
What was the role of cavalry in the Spanish Conquest?
In addition, aside from the infantry and the allies' role in the Spanish conquest, cavalry was the "arm of decision in the conquest" and "the key ingredient in the Spanish forces". Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before, including Cortés.
What happened in 1515?
1515 – Texcocan monarch Nezahualpilli dies; Cacamatzin succeeds to the throne; the rebellion of Ixtlilxochitl. 1517 – Expedition of Francisco Hernández de Córdoba to the Yucatán coast. 1517- City of Cholollan secedes from Tlaxcalteca Alliance, becomes a tributary state of the Aztec Triple Alliance.
What year did Columbus start colonizing the Caribbean?
1428 – Creation of the Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. 1492–93 – Columbus reaches the Caribbean; start of permanent Spanish settlements. 1493–1515 – Spanish exploration, conquest, enslavement, and settlement in the Caribbean and the Spanish Main.
What was the key event in the formation of the Spanish Empire overseas?
The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices. The fall of the Aztec Empire was the key event in the formation of the Spanish Empire overseas, with New Spain, which later became Mexico .
What was the Spanish weapon used for?
In the words of Restall, "Spanish weapons were useful for breaking the offensive lines of waves of indigenous warriors, but this was no formula for conquest... rather, it was a formula for survival, until Spanish and indigenous reinforcements arrived.".
When did the Spaniards descend into Mexico?
In early November 1519, with Cortés in the lead, they filed across the southern causeway into the magnificent Tenochtitlán.
What was the name of the island where the Spanish sailed on April 21, 1519?
On that day a fleet of 11 Spanish galleons sailing along the eastern gulf coast dropped anchor just off the wind-swept beach on the island of San Juan de Ulúa. Under the command of the wily, daring Hernán ...
What did Cortes do to quell the hostilities?
Upon his return, Cortés tried to quell the hostilities by persuading Moctezuma to mount the roof of Atzayacatl’s palace and appeal to his people for peace. Their response was to shower the emperor with insults, stones and arrows, inflicting physical and mental injury that soon resulted in his death.
What happened to Lake Texcoco?
First, despite fair weather, the waters of Lake Texcoco had suddenly boiled up, flooding the island of their capital city. Then an inexplicable conflagration had consumed the temple of their chief god, Huitzilopochtli. The voice of a woman wailing in the night had repeatedly disturbed the city’s slumber.
What was the name of the settlement that Cortes founded?
Cortés wasted no time in staking a claim for God and King, ceremoniously founding a settlement on the coast that he christened Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, in reference to the fleet’s arrival on Good Friday to what he believed to be a vast land of plenty. The Spanish Conquest had begun.
Who engaged the Spaniards in battle?
Suspecting the odd strangers to be agents of Moctezuma the Tlaxcalans promptly engaged the Spaniards in battle. Superior weaponry and military tactics, added to internecine rivalry between Tlaxcalan generals, helped Cortés prevail despite the fact that his troops were greatly outnumbered.
What was the role of Aguilar in Cortes's life?
Aguilar proved an invaluable asset to Cortés, acting as his personal interpreter of both native language and culture. Communication problems arose anew, however, as the Spaniards sailed farther north, encountering natives who spoke a different tongue.
Why did Hernan Cortes go to the University of Salmanaca?
His parents tried shipping him off to the University of Salmanaca in central Spain to get their wild child to settle down and become a lawyer . But their hopes were dashed after two years when Cortes flunked out and returned home. Cortes had plans of his own to become a soldier and head to the New World in search of gold.
What is the city of Tenochtitlan?
There are four artificial causeways leading to it, and each is as wide as two cavalry lances. The city itself is as big as Seville or Córdoba. The main streets are very wide and very straight; some of these are on the land, but the rest and all the smaller ones are half on land, half canals where they paddle their canoes. All the streets have openings in places so that the water may pass from one canal to another. Over all these openings, and some of them are very wide, there are bridges. . . . There are, in all districts of this great city, many temples or houses for their idols. They are all very beautiful buildings. . . . Amongst these temples there is one, the principal one, whose great size and magnificence no human tongue could describe, for it is so large that within the precincts, which are surrounded by very high wall, a town of some five hundred inhabitants could easily be built. All round inside this wall there are very elegant quarters with very large rooms and corridors where their priests live. There are as many as forty towers, all of which are so high that in the case of the largest there are fifty steps leading up to the main part of it and the most important of these towers is higher than that of the cathedral of Seville. . . ."
What was the conquest of Mexico?
The conquest of Mexico was a great event in 1521 in which the Mexican people were subdued by a small group of Spaniards who had the support of an important alliance of indigenous peoples .
Characteristics of the conquest of Mexico
Cortés forced the Spanish troops that traveled with him to fight the Aztecs.
The death of Moctezuma
On August 13, 1521, the capital of Tenochtitlán was conquered by the Spanish.
Who conquered Mexico 500 years later?
500 Years Later, The Spanish Conquest Of Mexico Is Still Being Debated The meeting of Aztec Emperor Montezuma II and Hernán Cortés and the events that followed weigh heavily in Mexico half a millennium later.
Who conquered Tenochtitlán?
So far, Spain has rejected that request. The story of the Spanish conquest, as it has been commonly understood for 500 years, goes like this: Montezuma surrendered his empire to Cortés. Cortés and his men entered Tenochtitlán and lived there peacefully for months until rebellious Aztecs attacked them.
What did the Aztecs believe?
As Barrera explains, the Aztecs had deep, complex rituals around death. Aztecs believed their gods needed nourishment to survive and made them offerings of people and animals. For example, offering warriors — primarily prisoners of war — ensured the sun would continue to shine and the Aztecs would be successful in war.
What was the first place the Aztecs brought the Spanish to?
Eduardo Verdugo/AP. "After they arrived here on Nov. 8, it's likely that the first place the Aztecs brought the Spanish was here to the Great Temple ," says Carlos Javier González González, former director of the Great Temple project. "Symbolically, the Great Temple was the center of the universe to the Aztecs.
How many Spanish conquistadors were there?
About 500 Spanish conquistadors — ragged from skirmishes, a massacre of an Indigenous village and a hike between massive volcanoes — couldn't believe what they saw: an elegant island city in a land that Europeans didn't know existed until a few years before.
Who led the expedition to Mexico?
An artistic rendering of the retreat of Hernán Cortés from Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital, in 1520. The Spanish conquistador led an expedition to present-day Mexico, landing in 1519. Although the Spanish forces numbered some 500 men, they managed to capture Aztec Emperor Montezuma II.
When did the Spanish capture Tenochtitlán?
They bravely laid siege to Tenochtitlán for months and finally captured it on Aug. 13, 1521, with the Spanish taking their rightful place as leaders of the land we now know as Mexico. Conquest accomplished.
What was the Spanish rule in Mexico?
Expansion of Spanish rule. After taking possession of the Aztec empire, the Spaniards quickly subjugated most of the other indigenous tribes in southern Mexico, and by 1525 Spanish rule had been extended as far south as Guatemala and Honduras. The only area in southern Mexico of effective indigenous resistance was Yucatán, ...
Who were the first Spanish settlers in Mexico?
Throughout much of the north, the first Spanish settlers were Franciscans and Jesuits who established missions.
Where did the Spaniards find silver?
In order to complete the subjugation of the indigenous peoples, the Spaniards began to move into Zacatecas, where in 1546 they found immensely valuable silver mines. After similar discoveries in Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí, Spaniards occupied most of the north central region.
What was the major change in the governance of New Spain?
A fundamental shift in the governance of New Spain occurred as a result of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–13) , when the house of Bourbon replaced the Habsburgs on the Spanish throne.
What was the occupation of northern Mexico?
The occupation of northern Mexico, which was thinly populated and largely arid, proceeded more slowly than did that of central and southern Mexico.
When did Hidalgo capture the Granary?
Hidalgo captured the granary on September 28, but he quickly lost control of his rebel army, which massacred most of the Creole elite and pillaged the town. Reports of the chaos in Guanajuato fed the support for the viceroy’s efforts to crush the rebellion, lest a full-scale caste war ensue.
Where was the execution of Francisco Goya?
Francisco Goya: The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid, or “The Executions”. The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid, or “The Executions,” oil on canvas by Francisco Goya, 1814; in the Prado, Madrid. Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain/Giraudon, Paris/SuperStock.
What did the conquistadors find?
In Mexico, conquistadors found great golden treasures, including great discs of gold, masks, jewelry, and even gold dust and bars. In Peru, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro (1471–1541) demanded that the Incan Emperor Atahualpa (ca. 1500–1533) fill up a large room once with gold and twice with silver in exchange for his freedom. The emperor complied, but the Spanish killed him anyway. All in all, Atahualpa's ransom came to 13,000 pounds of gold and twice that much silver. This did not even count the vast treasures taken later when the Inca capital city of Cuzco was looted.
What were the advantages of the Spanish Conquistadors?
The Spanish conquistadors had many military advantages over the New World natives. The Spanish had steel weapons and armor, which made them nearly unstoppable, as native weapons could not pierce Spanish armor nor could native armor defend against steel swords. Arquebuses, smoothbore precursors to rifles, were not practical firearms in a fight, as they are slow to load and kill or wound only one enemy at a time, but the noise and smoke caused fear in native armies. Cannons could take out groups of enemy warriors at a time, something natives had no concept of. European crossbowmen could rain down lethal bolts on enemy troops who could not defend themselves from missiles, which could punch through steel.
How many men survived the Panfilo de Narvaez expedition?
Cortes' men always believed that he hid massive quantities of treasure from them. On some other expeditions, men were lucky to get home alive, let alone with any gold: only four men survived the disastrous Panfilo de Narvaez (1478–1528) expedition to Florida, which had begun with 400 men.
How much gold did Pizarro get?
The common soldiers in Pizarro's army did well, each of them getting about 45 pounds of gold and twice that much silver from the emperor's ransom. The men in Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes' (1485–1547) forces in Mexico, however, did not make out nearly as well.
What did the Conquistadors believe about the New World?
They even believed much of it, and it affected their perception of New World reality. It began with Christopher Columbus himself, who thought he had found the Garden of Eden. Francisco de Orellana saw women warriors on a great river and named them after the Amazons of popular culture. The river still bears the name to this day. Juan Ponce de Leon (1450–1521) is said to have famously searched for the Fountain of Youth in Florida (although much of that is a myth). California is named after a fictional island in a popular Spanish chivalry novel. Other conquistadors were convinced they would find giants, the devil, the lost kingdom of Prester John, or any number of other fantastic monsters and places in the unexplored corners of the New World.
Why did the Caribbean population die?
In the Caribbean, most of the native populations were completely wiped out due to Spanish rapine and diseases . In Mexico, Hernan Cortes and Pedro de Alvarado (1485–1581) ordered the Cholula Massacre and the Temple Massacre respectively, killing thousands of unarmed men, women, and children.
How much gold did Atahualpa take?
The emperor complied, but the Spanish killed him anyway. All in all, Atahualpa's ransom came to 13,000 pounds of gold and twice that much silver. This did not even count the vast treasures taken later when the Inca capital city of Cuzco was looted. 04.
Overview
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the events by Spanish conquistadors, their indigenous allies, and the defeated Aztecs. It was not solely a contest between a small contingent of Spa…
Significant events in the conquest of Mesoamerica
Historical sources for the conquest of Mexico recount some of the same events in both Spanish and indigenous sources. Others, however, are unique to a particular primary source or group narrating the event. Individuals and groups laud their own accomplishments, while often denigrating or ignoring those of their opponents or their allies or both.
Sources for the conquest of Mesoamerica
The conquest of Mexico, the initial destruction of the great pre-Columbian civilizations, is a significant event in world history. The conquest was well documented by a variety of sources with differing points of view, including indigenous accounts, by both allies and opponents. Accounts by the Spanish conquerors exist from the first landfall at Veracruz, Mexico (on Good Friday, 22 …
Spanish expeditions
The Spanish had established a permanent settlement on the island of Hispaniola in 1493 on the second voyage of Christopher Columbus. There were further Spanish explorations and settlements in the Caribbean and the Spanish Main, seeking wealth in the form of gold and access to indigenous labor to mine gold and other manual labor. Twenty-five years after the first Spanish settlement in …
Further Spanish Wars of Conquest
After hearing about the fall of the Aztec Empire, Irecha Tangaxuan II sent emissaries to the Spanish victors (the Purépecha empire was a contemporary an enemy of the Aztec Empire). A few Spaniards went with them to Tzintzuntzan, where they were presented to the ruler and gifts were exchanged. They returned with samples of gold and Cortés' interest in the Tarascan state was awakened.
The Aztecs under Spanish rule
The Council of the Indies was constituted in 1524 and the first Audiencia in 1527. In 1535, Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor (who was as the King of Spain known as Charles I), named the Spanish nobleman Don Antonio de Mendoza the first Viceroy of New Spain. Mendoza was entirely loyal to the Spanish crown, unlike the conqueror of Mexico Hernán Cortés, who had demonstrated that he was independent-minded and defied official orders when he threw off the authority of Governor …
Cultural depictions of the Aztecs
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire is the subject of an opera, La Conquista (2005) and of a set of six symphonic poems, La Nueva España (1992–99) by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero.
Cortés's conquest has been depicted in numerous television documentaries. These include in an episode of Engineering an Empire as well as in the BBC series Heroes …
See also
• Aztec warfare
• Aztecs
• Aztec influence in Spain
• Historiography of Colonial Spanish America
• History of Mexico City
The Role of Hernán Cortés
- Hernán Cortés led the expedition to conquer Mexico. Hernán Cortés wasthe Spaniard who led the conquest of the Mexica Empire and his role was crucial, since he persuaded and forcedseveral indigenous peoples to join in their armed struggle against the Aztec Empire. Cortés abandoned his university studies in Spain, embarked for Cuba to serve Governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar…
Characteristics of The Conquest of Mexico
- Cortés forced the Spanish troops that traveled with him to fight the Aztecs. The conquest of Mexico was characterized by being a bloody attack of extreme violence commissioned by Cortés, who achieved his objectivethrough various strategies: 1. He disobeyed the orders of his superior, Governor Velázquez. 2. He established alliances with some indigen...
Cortés’s Goal
- Cortés sought to invade territories and keep the gold. Cortés’s objective was to invade the Aztec territories by force,carrying out repeated battles to destabilize the power of Governor Moctezuma of the capital Tenochtitlán. Moctezuma ended up offering Cortés gold as a negotiating strategy, but that further fueled the greed of the Spanish who, in addition to invading the Mexican territori…
The Death of Moctezuma
- On August 13, 1521, the capital of Tenochtitlán was conquered by the Spanish. The death of the Aztec governor Moctezuma ended up consecrating the Spanish conquest. It was a consequence of the repeated attacks by the Spanish that the people of Tenochtitlán were enraged by a speech by the governor in which he tried to calm their anger. The Aztec people stoned him and he was s…