Why Did The Spanish Conquered The Aztecs

The Spanish had superior weapons and technology which was a vital aspect in the defeat of the Aztecs. The Spanish had muskets, spears, cannons, gunpowder, horses and firearms but it was the use of the steel Toledo swords and chainmail armour by the Spanish that allowed them to win. The Toledo sword was the primary weapon used by the Spanish and was one of the finest swords manufactured in Europe at the time. The Toledo sword was highly flexible and strong. Although the Aztecs used obsidian which could inflict critical wounds on unprotected body parts, the obsidian was very fragile and would shatter against steel swords and armour. This rendered the obsidian weapons useless as the Spanish used steel in the majority of their weapons. A Spanish

The Aztecs, part of modern day Mexico, were once the epitome of fine culture. They began their rule of southern and central Mexico during the 14th century and practiced an incredibly wealthy lifestyle. Nonetheless, this rule began to deteriorate when Spanish explorers disembarked at Tabasco and Vera Cruz on April 21st 1519. When the Spanish voyagers first arrived, they were welcomed warmly, respectfully and received Godlike treatment. Montezuma, the ruler at that time, believed that the Spanish military leader, Hernán Cortés, was the great god Quetzalcoatl. The Spanish took advantage of this Aztec belief and conquered Mexico within two years. By 1521, the Aztec culture was officially eradicated and a new culture, consisting of a

Portilla starts out by giving a thorough background of the culture and religious beliefs. The reader can draw many theories on how this carried over to the Aztecs way of thinking and fighting. In addition to the religion and culture, Portilla shows the technology advantages the Spanish had over the

Miguel Leon-Portilla author of Broken Spears- The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, tells the story of the Spanish conquest over the Aztecs from the Aztec point of view. It is more familiar in history that the Spanish led by Hernan Cortez defeated the Aztecs with a powerful army and established an easy victory all while having intentions to gain power and greed. However, Leon-Portilla focuses on the Aztec Empire and their story. Leon-Portilla does a great job giving readers the real occurrences and events from Aztec members. This paper argues that history must be told from all sides. It is more common to hear about the Spanish conquest

Portilla starts out by giving a thorough background of the culture and religious beliefs. The reader can draw many theories on how this carried over to the Aztecs way of thinking and fighting. In addition to the religion and culture, Portilla shows the technology advantages the Spanish had over the

The author argues that the Spanish were completely at fault for the total destruction of the Aztec Empire. In Broken spears, the author explains how many factors other than Spanish power contributed to the downfall of the Aztecs. Not only did the Spanish have many advantages over the Aztecs, but also they also exploited them and took advantage of the cultural difference. The main key aspects to the Spanish victory, is that the Spanish were viewed as gods at first because of their appearance, the Aztecs welcomed the Spanish with gifts and festivities, which showed the Spanish had total control of people. The Aztecs also held a ritual ceremony for the arrival of the “god” that included a human

The Spanish Conquer The conquer of the Aztec Empire is viewed as a bloody battle. The Aztec Empire had placed trust in the Spaniards, but were overthrown by their allies. The thought of greed and disbelief created the distrust. The three ways of success that contributed to the Spanish conquest of Aztec Empire in the early 1500s began with the trustworthy relationship between the two leaders Moctezuma and Cortez, the trust began to falter with the Spanish due to the thought of losing everything if the alliance diminishes, and then the defeat of the Aztec Empire was very brutal and savage.

Spanish swords were fast and easy to swing around. They could stab and do deadly damage. The Aztecs didn’t have steel, so their shields and armor were not made to withstand the sword. Aztec war clubs were very sharp, as they were made from obsidian, but so heavy that a warrior needed to use both hands to swing it, and was not as strong as Spanish steel. Cortes brought horses, which easily outran Aztec foot soldiers. The gun was the biggest advantage that the Spanish had. According to one source, when Moctezuma had sent ambassadors to greet the Aztecs, Cortes fired his guns to impress them, and the ambassadors leaped into the sea from the shock of seeing the gun. The Aztecs had slings and spears, which could travel long distances and were very accurate, but were not as deadly as guns, which could fire fast and accurate with deadly results. Because Cortes brought these weapons, he is the reason the Aztec empire

They made a loud clamor as they marched. this quote shows they had better weapons than the Aztec Empire, because the Aztec Empire only has weapons to kill animals and the occasional person. “For their coats of mail and their weapons clashed and rattled. Some of them were dressed in glistening iron from head to foot; they terrified everyone who saw them.” The spaniards were very intimidating to the Aztec empires eye, as is states in the text they were terrified, which they actually really felt. While this reason shows why the spanish won there is also another reason, and this reason states that the Aztec Empire got Sick from all the diseases that the spaniards brought over to the new world. The spaniards had brought over all kinds of diseases that the Aztec empire was not immune to. “But

In regards appearance, the Spanish wore chain mail, iron helmets; they were essentially covered from head to toe with iron. Even the weapons that the Spanish carried were covered in iron. The Aztecs had never before seen the type of armor that the Spaniards wore. In regards to the

One common reason people associate with Spain being able to conquer the Aztecs is simply the fact that they were more technologically advanced. While this is one reason that Spain was able to conquer the Aztecs it is not the sole reason. There were conquistadors before Cortes that had access to the same technology and yet failed to conquer the Aztec Empire. Hugh thomas wrote “Like Hernandez de Corboda, he had arquebusiers. Like Grijalva, he had artillery.” (Hugh Thomas,

The Aztecs may have been strong militarily when it was just them against the other Native American tribes, but they were no match against the might of the Spanish army. Europe as a whole was more technologically advanced than the Native Americans. As stated by Aztec History, “The tactics of the Spanish army certainly played a role...Cortes used clever tactics which brought about the fall of the Aztec Empire.” The quote is mainly saying that the Spanish army used warfare in a different way than the Aztecs. The Aztecs just weren’t used to the foreign way of

The Spanish was interested in taking over Tenochtitlan, which is the Aztec capital, after learning intel about great treasures supposedly being there. In response, Spain sent Hernando Cortez with a small expedition of about six hundred men to defeat the Aztecs. At first, their attempt was a failure, but they were successful in spreading diseases such as smallpox to the Natives whom had no immunity against them. This allowed Cortez

     A second major theme, which played a very important role in this event, was the incredible advantage given to the Spanish due to their technology. The Aztecs were an advanced civilization with a large infrastructure, an organized system of government and many artistic and cultural achievements. However, they severely lacked many important advantages that were common in Europe at that time. The Aztecs had no iron tools or weapons,

The defeat of the Native Mexicans (or Aztecs) can be believed to have verified the Spanish that they had political and social superiority over all Indigenous Americans. However, the idea of superiority is subjective and the views of both parties involved about the colonisation of New Mexico will be noted. Although the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan were conquered by Hernando Cortes and his Spanish army there is a great amount of evidence to support the idea that it was not a simple feat. In the case of Cortes’ conquest we are offered the opinion that the Spanish were justified in colonizing and dominating Mexico. In saying that, the views of the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan and other surrounding Aztec societies should be taken into consideration when assessing the validity of the previous statement.