Hernán Cortés

saying that the fall of Tenochtitlan forced the Aztecs to spread out and this may be when they mixed with the Incans and Mayans. Primary source three (Staff, Cadbury.com) states that on his way back to Spain after the conquest of Tenochtitlan, Hernán Cortés…

messengers closely observed the Spanish to see their reactions to the gifts. The Spanish began were lustful for gold and were full of greed. The Spanish arrived in the city of Texcoco near Tenochtitlán, where Montezuma went to introduce himself to Cortés. The Spaniards told the king that he had nothing to fear or worry about, that they were all friends. When Montezuma brought the Spanish to his capital, the Spanish immediately put him in their custody and guarded him. The Aztec people were…

This doesn’t mean that Cortés was incapable of showing good-will towards the natives he conquered. There were indeed a few rules Cortés stuck by that can be considered honorable rules of engagement, and so good-willed. An example of these rules is that Cortés does not let his soldiers pillage the people they come across. Castillo tells of a time when the Sempoallans under Cortés’ control had plundered a local town unbeknownst to him. His reaction was…

introduction of a short but decisive episode in the history of Mexico. On the day of April 21, a fleet of almost a dozen Spanish galleons dropped anchor just off the coast of the island, San Juan de Ulúa. Under the command of the then ‘heroic’, Hernán Cortés, the vessels bore over five-hundred Spanish soldiers and sailors, as well as approximately sixteen horses, the first of the species to tread the American continent. The natives did not know it at this point, but this momentous event would…

population of Aztecs living in current day Mexico, who were adversely damaged. The downward spiral that Aztecs experienced is the result of many intentional and unintentional acts by Spanish conquerors of the 1500’s , called conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortes. These include:…

that the great chronicle of the Spanish conquest of Mexican was written by Bernal Diaz del Castillo” (Schwartz 14). Diaz wrote his book “The True History of the Conquest of New Spain” as a way to provide the truth. He wrote this in response to Hernan Cortes’ biography. Diaz took it upon himself to offer the “truth”. Diaz’s account outlines his recollection of the events, but also includes the political and personal struggles. The importance of communication and translators is also stressed…

such as smallpox and the plague. Corn, chocolate, and hemp were some goods that the Europeans got from the Americas. Most Spanish men were obsessed with three things: Gold, God, and Glory. To obtain these things, they had to go to the Americas. Hernan Cortes, a Spaniard, heard about El Dorado and went to Mexico in 1519 to find it. He ran into a native girl named Malinche, who can speak in the Aztec and Mayan language. She also learned how to speak Spanish very quickly, so she acted as a…

Alfajores Alfajores are cookies sandwiched with a little bit of caramel in the middle. These cookies were originated from Spain, and brought to South America. Now, every country in South America has their own version of Alfajores. They’re essentially cookies that are sandwiched together with a little bit of caramel in the middle. Trace back to the history of Peru It all traces back to the 1520s, when Peru was first discovered by the Spaniards. One of the Spaniards named Francisco Pizarro,…

In 1519, Spanish explorers, under the leadership of Hernán Cortés, set foot on what is now modern-day Mexico in search of gold and land in the Aztec Empire. Although the Spanish initially had no intentions (or orders from Cuban governor Diego Velásquez for whom they made the voyage) to colonize the Aztec Empire, they sought to communicate with the inhabitants and spread their Christian faith. However, the end of 1521 saw the mighty Aztec Empire practically cease to exist, its emperor Montezuma…

On the dawn of the 16th century Spain along with many other countries set out to go explore across the ocean. Spain went exploring for God, glory, and gold. They became fully Catholic in the late fourteen hundreds and they went out to spread the word of God. They were able to voyage to other lands due to advancement in technology during the 1400’s like the magnetic compass. Another big factor in going across the ocean was for trade purposes because they were looking for a more direct path to…