Hernán Cortés, a coercive
and ruthless Spanish conquistador, conquered the Aztec Empire with the finesse
of a serial killer aided by many native allies. In fact, only 5% of the
conquering soldiers and warriors were Spaniards. The stakes were high due to
his personal debt and his need for admiration. The takeover of the empire took
approximately two years because of the heavy resistance the Spanish conquistadors
faced from the heavily populated city. At first Cortés was welcomed and
showered with gifts and admiration because of a prophecy that he may be the Smallpox
and more advanced weaponry paved the way for the takeover. The splendor of Tenochtitlan,
a city of palaces, aqueducts, canals and so much more amazed the conquistadors.
Cortés left a mark on Mexico as he became the first ruler of the colony of New
Spain and other places he conquered and ruled. A country filled with various
tribal communities became a country in which the inhabitants predominantly
speak the Spanish language. Cortés made a major impact concerning the history
of the Americas.
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro
Altamirano started his life in 1485 in Medellin, Extremadura, Spain. His
parents belonged to a lower level of nobility and his father was a hidalgo (a
gentleman). Hernán attended the University of Salamanca in 1499 to study law at
the age of 14 for two years. What he did learn during the two years of college
was how to negotiate with the Spanish Crown concerning his share of wealth from
the land he conquered across the ocean and to justify his claims of the land he
conquered. Bored and restless, he left Spain to explore life at the Caribbean
colonies.
When Cortés arrived at Hispaniola in 1504,
he did not get the reception Columbus did 12 years earlier. The native
inhabitants, tired of the extreme barbarism and cruelty of the Spaniards, took
up arms against the intruders. Cortés participated in expeditions against the
native inhabitants who haven’t been subjugated. Through his military
involvement they gained control over hundreds of native people. After filling
the role of running a plantation and working as a notary, he participated in
the conquest of Cuba in 1511. He did not achieve the fame and glory he desired.
In his mid 30s, he was motivated to open up the New World. Not only for fame
and gold but to serve his spirit of evangelism since he was a profoundly
religious man.
Cortés planned on evangelizing the native
inhabitants and forced them to except Christianity or suffer the consequences.
Religion proved to be useful to him in a multitude of ways. It permitted him to
sanctify his actions which seemed motivated by his ego and greed. In Spain the
most justified reasons for conquests was to spread the faith. Many natives
understood that to accept the conquerors’ rule was to accept their god.
Religion provided a rationale for inflicting violence. When the native people
refused to let go of their beliefs, Cortéz attacked and killed them. Cortés
behavior in war was considered blatantly un-Christian and cowardly that even
the king of Spain did not readily accept his rationale.
The Governor of Cuba, Diego Valázquez de
Cuéllar, had ordered several expeditions to explore the coast of America. The
explorers reported that there were strange monuments made of stone and the
native people traded fine gold items. The possibility of discovering uncharted
peculiar territories and potentially vast quantity of treasures enticed the
governor. He organized another expedition with Cortés as the chief magistrate.
Valáquez became suspicious of Cortés’ immense scale of preparations.
Eleven ships, packed with 500 soldiers and 100 sailors, appeared to be a major
undertaking for someone who was not general material. Cortés performed like a
gentleman who relied on other gentlemen to provide him assistance with making
decisions and had little to no military experience. Cortés was a man of many
contradictions. He was a devout Catholic, a bigamist, an imperialist, an opportunist,
and someone who would betray any given organization or country if said agent
did not follow his wishes. A renegade who followed his own agenda without
consideration for others’ needs.
The Aztec civilization had been flourishing since 1345 in Mesoamerica.
The empire covered approximately 71,000 square miles with a population of
around 11 million. Their empire, which held on by a thread, functioned by their
use of military coercion, the taking of hostages and through the extraction of
payments from those they have conquered. However, they had not conquered anyone
and ended up making a lot of enemies due to their sanctions. This set up the
Spanish, the country Cortéz served, to amass valuable allies. The Tarascans and
Tlaxcalans prodded the borders of the Aztec Empire to see if they could take it
over. The Spanish also gave them an opportunity to possibly realize that goal
(Cartwright, 2022).
In March of 1519, Cortés arrived on the Tabasco coast, part of the
American coast, at Potonchan. To prevent the Spaniards of entertaining thoughts
of going home, he had their ships destroyed. They either had to conquer or die
at Mesoamerica. Cortés gained an upper hand as soon as he captured Malintzin
(aka Marina, Malinali, or La Malinche), a Mayan woman who spoke the Nahuatl
language of the Aztecs and also the local Mayan language. One of Cortés men was
also familiar with the latter language. The interlopers could communicate with various
tribal communities. Malintzin gave birth to Cortés’ son, Don Martin. He later
had a son with Doña Juana Ramirez de Arellano who was the daughter of a Spanish
count from Cuernavaca. However, Cortéz favored his first son who went with him
to Spain and Cortés ensured he was invested as a knight in the prestigious
Order of Santiago (Cartwright, 2022).
Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, learned the Spanish were in the area and he
suspiciously waited to see further developments. Cortés established a battalion
at Veracruz on the coast. He refused to return to Cuba per the king’s orders and
instead sent a large quantity of treasures he had acquired along with letters
to request royal support from the king of Spain, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
He went against the authority of Velásquez, who was placed in charge of
conquering territory in the name of the king. A struggle occurred between
Cortéz and Velásquez which did not end well for Velásquez, who was removed from
office. Cortés was permitted to continue his conquest. By August of 1519, the
conquistadors marched inland in Mexico and battled against the Tlaxcala. With
Cortés diplomacy he managed to convince the Tlaxcalans to join the Spaniards in
their war against the Aztecs. By November of the same year, the Spanish and
their newly acclaimed allies marched on to Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital
(Cartwright, 2022).
Tenochtitlan, located on the shore of Lake Texcoco, had over 200,000
inhabitants, the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas. It covered
approximately five miles. Three causeways ran north, east and west which
included openings traveled as a result of removable bridges to permit boats to
pass. The Aztecs used a considerable amount of water for bathing and washing
their streets. They had a scrupulous way of controlling waste. No solid waste
was emptied into the lake. It was used as fertilizer. The great temple sat at
the center of the city with adjacent homes for the king and elite warriors. The
streets were laid out in a grid pattern intermingled by canals in each of the
quarters (Beatriz, 1992).
On November 8 the combined conquistadors and Tlaxcalan force of
thousands entered the city. Tenochtitlan was probably larger than any city in
Europe. The Spanish marveled at the magnificent grand plazas, temple pyramids
and floating gardens. The meeting between the Aztecs and conquistadors was
meant to be peaceful. When Cortés and Montezuma met, valuable gifts were
exchanged between the two leaders. The Aztec ruler felt some reluctance because
he was aware of the Spanish military victories. He did not know what to expect
from the Spaniards. Cortés brought 16 horses with them and the Aztec people
were not familiar with them and were frightened of the beasts. To also add to
the confusion, a series of unexpected coincidences led Montezuma to believe
that Cortés may be the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, who promised to return one day
to reclaim his kingdom (Cartwright, 2022).
Diplomacy went by the wayside when Cortés took Montezuma hostage on
November 14th and he used
Montezuma as the fake ruler while Cortés was actually running the empire. During
the awkward weeks after the kidnapping of Montezuma the city of Tenochtitlan
returned somewhat back to normal. Montezuma continued to hold meetings, dine in
his noble fashion, he continued to participate in nightly incursions at the
summit of the Great Temple for prayer and sacrifice. The practice of sacrifice
displeased Cortés but he begrudgingly tolerated. Cortés feared a civic
rebellion if he forbade the practice. Women came and went from Montezuma’s
rooms daily and he continued to host huge feasts. Even though Montezuma lost
some of his regal air, he remained a courteous host. He took small groups of
Spaniards along with Cortés, on outings into the countryside, where they were
able to hunt rabbits and deer. Montezuma provided instruction on how to use
native blowpipes, while the learned about the advanced weaponry of the
Spaniards (Levy, 2009).
The Spanish demanded treasure and the Aztec ruler claimed himself a
subject of the king of Spain. The city suffered indignities when a crucifix was
erected on the top of an Aztec pyramid, the Templo Mayor.
Some of the Spanish expedition explored the city looking for gold. They
fired one of their cannons which caused great confusion and fear with the
inhabitants of Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards issued orders to Montezuma for
various food and he gave orders to his staff to provide it to the
conquistadors. This angered his staff and they felt their leader was dishonored
and giving into to a group of barbarians. The Spaniards questioned Montezuma
about the city’s resources with their primary goal of locating gold. The
conquistadors led Montezuma to the Aztec treasury after it’s location was
reported. They surrounded the Aztec ruler with armed men. When they were shown
the various emblems and shields made of gold and feathers, they grabbed them as
if they were their own and stripped away the gold from the items. The Spanish
only wanted gold. The Aztecs believed the quetzal feathers contained great
value. The conquistadors demanded Montezuma show them his personal treasures.
They piled the accumulated treasures on a nearby patio.
Malintzin called a meeting with the Aztec nobles and ordered them to
help the Spaniards. To bring them food and water. She asked them why the Aztecs
tried to stay away from the conquistadors and if they were angry with them.
They reported they were too frightened to approach them and feared them like
they were wild beasts. They did not deny them food and water but approached
them with fear (Beatriz, 1992).
The conflict with Valázquez was not resolved. He sent a battalion under
the command of Pánfilo de Narváez to Veracruz to capture Cortés. Cortés
begrudgingly left Tenochtitlan to meet his competitors who wanted to get their
hands on the valuable treasures Cortés collected from the Aztec. In May 1520,
he left Tenochtitlan under the command of Pedro de Alvarado and a small Spanish
force. Alvarado and his men showed no respect for an Aztec human sacrifice
ceremony when they massacred members of the Aztec nobility. Infuriated, the
Aztecs killed a number of the conquistadors. At the same time, Cortés defeated
Narváez and convinced most of his troops to join him. The entire group returned
to Tenochtitlan on June 24th and discovered only a few Spaniards
survived during their absence.
On July 7, Cortés had to make a stop at Otumba on his way to
Tenochtitlan to win a great battle. It was an attempt by the Aztecs to defeat
the conquistadors before they reached the safety of the Tlaxcala territory. The
conquistadors conducted many campaigns after receiving reinforcements by sea. Several
cities were captured especially Texcoco on December 31 in 1520. Cortés had a
goal in mind, to conquer Tenochtitlan. A terrible enemy, smallpox, invaded the
city before they reached it which ended up killing 50% of the population from
September to November. Cuitáhuac lost his life to the disease and Cuauhtémoc
took over as the ruler. The smallpox epedimic was linked to a Spanish soldier
who introduced the horrible disease by possible happenstance. When Cortés advanced on the city of
Tenochtitlan his force included approximately 700 cavalry, 118 crossbowmen, 86
horses and 18 field guns. The most significant of their force was the native
allies which consisted of about 100,000 Tlaxcalans.
In the past, superior steel, gunpowder weapons, cavalry and forceful
combat tactics ensured Spanish victories against adversaries they conquered.
The Mesoamerican weapons and armor were primitive compared to that of the
Spaniards. The Mesoamericans had razor-sharp swords and clubs, bows, spears,
and dart throwers. They used padded cloth and wooden shields as a form of
protection which was no match against the metal armor of the conquistadors. The
tactics of the Mesoamerican warriors involved ritualistic warfare with the goal
of capturing their enemies. The warriors easily stood out with their
extravagant costumes. As time went on, they improved their tactics to include
ambushes on rough terrain. The cavalry proved on countless occasions to
overcome and conquer any number of Mesoamerican attackers. Despite the
Spaniards facing far greater numbers, they maintained military advantage.
In April of 1521, Cortés began his siege on Tenochtitlan. The Aztec
warriors fought fiercely and with admirable bravery to make up for the
deficiencies concerning their weapons and protective gear which was noted by
the Spaniards. On April 28, 1521, Cortés employed his military marvel of 13
specially constructed war ships that were rebuilt from the ones he had
destroyed a couple of years prior and new supplies from Veracruz. As a result
of these ships, Cortés was able to take out thousands of native canoes and
block three main causeways that were connected to the city and Lake Texcoco.
Each craft carried 25 men with crossbows and harquebusiers. Harquebusiers were
guns that were shortened and carried a smaller caliber. These heavy guns ran by
matchlocks or wheel-locks, and needed to be fired from a support. The use of
harquebusiers was the most common form of cavalry during this time period
throughout western Europe. To add to the strength of the brigade of ships, they
were led by a huge flotilla of canoes manned by their allies.
On the third day of the siege, Montezuma climbed onto the roof of the
palace to address the crowds. This angered the Aztecs and they called him a
coward and traitor. Montezuma fell to his death when hit with a sling stone and
arrows. The stone hit his head. Other stones hit his leg and arm. Different
reports exist about what happened that day. Another account said witnesses saw
Montezuma stabbed in the abdomen.
Cortés and his men felt forced to retreat since they were so outnumbered.
They did so during the night. The Aztecs killed many of the conquistadors. Some
drowned while trying to cross the causeways, heavy with all their loot. The substantial
rain and thunderstorms added to their dilemma. By the time Cortés reached the
lake, he lost most of his men and the treasure that was collected. His goal of
keeping Montezuma on the throne while he ran things behind the scenes failed
miserably. He had to come up with another plan. By the time they reached
Tlaxcla, nearly 900 Spanish soldiers and more than a thousand native allies
perished. The Spaniards ended up at a weaker bargaining position with their allies.
Cortés gave into his allies’ demands of control of Aztec territories which were
part of the tributary regions and partial control of Tenochtitlan. Many of the
allies had more at stake and morale had risen.
The Aztecs celebrated what they thought stood as a win against the
Spaniards and they thought the barbarians would not return to their city.
Cuitlahuac, Montezuma’s brother, became the new ruler. Aztec rulers had to
prove their prowess by leading an army and taking captives which ended up being
sacrificed to their gods. As a result of
a lack of demonstration of his military skills, his authority was in question.
Given the time of year, most abled bodied men needed to be harvesting food
rather than fighting. During the winter months a large military force could be
established.
Cortés had to build up his quantity of ammunition, cannons, guns, allies
and soldiers in order to take on the Aztecs at Tenochtitlan He managed to
greatly enlarge the number of native allies, and obtained hundreds of
reinforcements from Cuba. After much effort, he accumulated a large supply of
arquebuses, cannons and gunpowder. Great stealth came into play as he
established more alliances and subdued cities and towns where necessary. He
wanted to isolate the Aztecs and prevent them from summoning reinforcements.
The strategic tactics paid off, and the Aztec population suffered from
divisions and was plagued with a smallpox epidemic. Half the population of
Tenochtitlan lost their lives due to the
epidemic (Beatriz, 1992).
Through
the months of May and June Cortés and his men and allies attacked with
fierceness the Aztec positions. Forced into smaller core groups at the center
of Tenochtitlan. Cortés was actually captured during one of the battles and
rescued by his men. Some of the men were not as lucky. They ended up being
sacrificial victims. The Spaniards and their allies continued to blow up
buildings throughout the siege. On August 13, after 93 days of resistance and
out of food and weapons, Cuauhtémoc surrendered. He ended up being taken as prisoner
and then executed. Unbelievable violence, acts of revenge, and looting against
the Aztecs followed the end of the siege. The total number of deaths was
uncertain, however, Aztec casualties including deaths of warriors in battles
and deaths due to illness, starvation, and massacres of civilians reached
hundreds of thousands. After the siege, the great city of Tenochtitlan ended as
a pile of ashes. Out of the ashes the capital of Mexico arouse and was later referred
to Mexico City. It became the new capital of the colony of New Spain.
Cortés ended up serving as the governor in May 1523.The Spaniards
continued to systematically conduct campaigns against the Mesoamericans until
the Mesoamerican way of life was almost erased. Portions of their land parceled
out to the conquerors (Cartwright, 2022).
When Cortés became the new governor of the new colony, he had no
scruples about cheating the native allies and going back on his promises to
them. He treated his own men as poorly after they expected to and were enticed
by promises of wealth. They ended up in debt to him. He charged them for their
use of weaponry he had provided and they were charged for food, drink and
medical care. The disappointment of those who served Cortés created conflict
and tension. His dishonor of his soldiers weakened the governor’s authority.
Several of his officers set out on their own conquering expeditions striving to
recoop their losses establish themselves independently as Cortés has done. The
result of Cortés’ plunder was the king relieved him of his governorship, he was
exiled from the territory he had conquered, and he was sent back to Spain to
face his humiliation (Beatriz, 1992).
Cortés may have appeared to be a hero during his lifetime, someone who
conquered those with a pagan religion that involved human sacrifice. He
supposedly paved the way for Christianity. During modern times he has been
revered as an opportunist and an imperialist whose hunger for gold and
misguided belief in Christianity, led to almost annihilating the Mesoamerican
culture. His success as a conqueror could be contributed to his ability to
break even the most basic rules of decency in order to achieve political and
military victory. Throughout his entire career as a conqueror and ruler, he
cheated, deceived, and manipulated groups and individuals he wished to gain
advantage over. He demonstrated that he was willing to use deadly force against
unarmed and friendly inhabitants of the places he conquered. The Aztec warriors
put up a good fight and in the end, they were mutilated, tortured and robbed.
As a result of Cortés’ actions, the colony of New Spain was established. He began
the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas and had a hand in
changing the world as a result of his efforts. However, he never managed to completely
erase the Aztec culture. It happens to be in existence today.
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