How Did Hernan Cortes Achieve The American Conquest

The Conquest of the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadores changed world history according to Gomora. The Spaniards conquered the Aztec and Inca Empire against all odds. Did the Conquistadores achieve the conquest because they were superior or something else needed to happen? Hernan Cortes expedition was to conquer the great empire of the Aztecs. One of his companions, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, wrote a probanza, or account, of the conquest. In the journey, Bernal talks about the journey that would lead to reaching the Aztec Capital, Tenochtitlan. The early accounts tell a battle between the Spaniards and the enemy [indigenous group]. Bernal states, “The battle lasted over an hour, and the Indians fought all the time like brave warriors, until the horsemen came up” (Bernal, 103). The battle seems that the large amount of Indians gave trouble to the Spaniards and wouldn’t give up. It all changed when the cavalry came in and scared the Indians away from the Spaniards. One point is that the Indians were fighting off the Spanish; in retaliation, the Spanish …show more content…
Throughout the trip, Bernal can’t believe what he is seeing. He explains, “and some of our soldiers even asked whether the things we saw were not a dream”(Bernal, 104). Bernal was astounded with the advanced civilization they were encountering. They were just regular soldiers who were experiencing great cities from the indigenous people. The Aztecs were people that were well advanced with no interaction from the outside world. The trip of Bernal was one that he wouldn’t forget for the different experiences he had in the New World. Bernal and his men for the most part were regular Spaniards that wanted to get wealthy and create a name for them. Furthermore, they were given benefits such as advances weaponry when in combat with the natives. Essentially, they took a risk and luck to survive their trip to the heart of the Aztec