How Did Hernan Cortes Conquer The Americas

Hernan Cortes was a hero that conquered the Aztec Empire. Hernan Cortes’ was an educated man. Military ran in his blood, his father was an officer in the Spanish army. He attended the University of Salamanca when he was only 14 years old. When Hernan Cortes was only 19 he joined Diego Velazquez and Nicola de Overdo on their voyages to the New World.

In all, this made it relatively easy for Cortés to capture the capital city of Tenochtitlan. The immune systems of the inhabitants of the Americas were completely unaccustomed to the diseases of the Old World. Thus, smallpox, a disease that the Europeans usually caught in their childhoods, wiped out up to ninety percent of the population of the Aztecs. The pestilence inhibited the Aztecs from even the smallest movement which made a great percentage of the population bedridden.

The Conquistador of the New World Cabeza de vaca had a purpose for taking sail in 1527. Cabeza de vaca wanted to establish settlements along the gulf coast. Cabeza de vaca's ship went off course so they had to build rafts and leave the ship after they left the ships a strong wind blew them out into the open sea. Some people say he landed in modern day galveston. Which he was healed captive as a slave for a tribe called charrucos, he was healed as a healer.

When moving into the city, diseases were being spread due to Spanish which made many individuals of the tribes to fall ill due to horrible immune systems. Cortes carried approximately 500 men with him during the time he began invading the area. The town was scared to see Cortes invading their area because each individual knew that their life would be destroyed within a couple of days. Cortes wrote to his king “They [the Aztecs] have a most horrid and abominable custom which truly ought to be punished...” (Marcus, 4) Cortes knew that he was capable of destroying the town since he had an army to back him up.

As you can tell, Hernando Cortes was a very important explorer in history. Cortes had a great impact on our world. Cortes discovered many things. His first successful expedition reached the Mexican Coast in 1519. He was mistaken for Quetzalcoatl, a god/king of the people’s land.

The strong tactics of the Spanish Conquistadors, the mistakes of Montezuma, and disease lead to the defeat of the Aztec army of 200,000 men. The Spanish Conquistadors had the advantage over the Aztecs, using the allies they had and the technology they used in battle. Montezuma, the ruler of Tenochtitlan made a mistake when the Spanish Conquistadors arrived, by thinking they were Gods.. The conquistadors also brought over diseases, which whipped out most of the Aztec army leading to a slight setback for the Aztecs. The Aztecs then, had no chance against the Spanish.

He came simply for exploration and stayed for the conquest of the Aztec empire from Montezuma, the ruler of

Hernan Cortes was born on 1485 in Medellin, Spain. Medellion was neighbored by Estramuda, which was known for the large amounts of conquistadors that hailed from there (Herrick 130). Estramuda and the surrounding towns were also known for being strong supporters of the estemadura shrine which was the original inspiration for the name Guadalupe. Hernan Cortes first landed on Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) in 1504, he came with 600 men with the sole purpose of setting an establishing position in the Americas (Hamnett 59). There three

The Aztec leader Montecuhzoma was a poor leader, he wasn’t concerned about the wellbeing of his people. In Broken Spears, readers will see that the Spaniards use nearby tribes to take over the Aztecs land, the Spaniards killed men, women and children. When the Aztecs hear about what the Spaniards have done they become furious and plan to retaliate but are quickly stopped by the diseases brought by the Spaniards. The Aztecs are exposed to small pox and measles but the Spaniards were unaffected by the diseases because they are well known in Europe and they are exposed to diseases

Cortes, as well as many other explorers during this time, was inspired by the Three G’s: God, gold, and glory. He planned to conquer the new lands for Spain, to convert the natives to Catholicism, and to obtain the riches of the land, mostly gold. Conquistador is basically a record of the last days of the Aztec civilization, as the two groups, the Aztecs and the Spaniards, clash, and the Spaniards ultimately come out on top.

The disease is believed to date back to the 3rd century BCE. (Center of Disease Control, n.d.) And only had its first analysis made in the 4th century CE which is near the end of the Aztecs and was only eradicated (not cured) in 1975 after several failed attempts. This shows that the disease could have been fairly mysterious to the Aztecs considering the first analysis was made about the time they ended in a country that would have had much more advanced technology in comparison to the Aztec’s. It also tells us that even if the Aztecs managed to figure out what was causing the suffering to their population they would have no means of stopping

Outnumbered and fearful of being overrun, Hernan Cortes captured and imprisoned Montezuma in 1520. Cuitlahuac to took over as Emperor retaliated. He led an offensive that drove the Spaniards out Tenochtitlan, Montezuma was killed during the revolt. Deadly small pox brought aboard by the Spanish, severely degraded the Aztec population killing thousands including Cuitlahuac.

They both killed in the name of religion, and both growing empires willing to do anything to gain more power. Cortés was sent on expedition to establish trading deals with the Natives in and around the Yucatan peninsula, under order of Diego Velázquez, who was the Governor of Cuba. Velázquez soon regretted his decision and to stop Cortés from ever leaving

As a child, Juan started accompanying his father in the raids against the Indians. Juan also led many campaigns at his own cost. When Juan was just twenty years old, he started defending and expanding Spanish settlements in the northern part of Mexico by conquering the Indian communities. Although Juan was born in New Spain, he never set his foot on the European land. Juan was a true Spaniard who devoted his life to the church, the king and the expansion of his empire.

The Spanish were able to colonize Mexico without much resistance.” After the smallpox epidemic, the Aztecs were even more vulnerable. The Spanish exploration and conquering of Tenochtitlan was to gain power for the Spanish empire, but the city’s people were somewhat considered rebellious, and consequently, Cortes needed to conquer/kill the people first. By taking down the people of the city, Cortes was exposed to the city’s great treasures for his reward of gold; he retrieved all the gold he could, and travelled back to Spain where he was labelled a hero for his acts of