Hernando Cortes on Meeting Moctezuma & Destroying the Aztec Empire In the early 1500’s, people traveled their whole lifetime, all across the world, just to find two things, gold and property. Gold, the world basically revolved around it and you would do anything to just get your hands on it. It determined who you were in life, your social status and what kind of life you lived. You also wanted to own as much property as you could for multiple reasons. Having more land, led to more people, creating bigger cities, dominant armies, and basically power to one.
Starting out with very small possessions and little to accompany him in his journey, Hernando Cortes, a Spanish conquistador, traveled halfway across the world searching for these precious items. He would write to his king during his expedition, informing him of conquering city by city and gaining more power by the day, all in favor of fulfilling his dreams. Hernando Cortez was a Spanish conquistador that is mainly known for defeating and conquering the Aztec Empire. He was born in Medellin, Spain in 1485 from a high class family with low wealth, but that did not stop his big ambitions and dreams.
Cortes spent most of his early years as a farmer, although he did go to a prestige university to study law and Latin at age 14. Soon after this, he wanted to conquer his dreams of finding the New World. He missed his first chance of capturing his dreams when he was late to board the ship due to injury, having an affair with a local lady. Hernan soon became a soldier and boarded a ship with the famous and ambitious Alonso Quintero. In Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, you have to be eighteen years old to purchase land to farm and to start a building plot. Cortes, just meeting the requirement, went right along and started building his colony.
Over the next few years, he earned slaves from the governor and took part in conquests in Hispaniola and Cuba, which earned him more native slaves. Eventually, Hernando started to get a name for himself, becoming a notary and a governor of a small town. The great Spanish conquistador stayed in Cuba for almost fifteen years and gained loads of experience in government and took many expeditions. Cortes continued to build a reputation as a courageous and brave leader. He served many political positions during this time. He started out being a treasurer and ending up commanding an army as captain eneral. Having an enormous reasonability and leadership, he gathered up eleven ships, five hundred soldiers, a hundred sailormen, seventeen horsemen, and a large armory of weapons. After getting married to the governor’s sister in law and growing older, Cortes was preparing for the biggest mission of his life. In 1518, Hernando travels to Mexico to explore the interior of Mexico for colonization and money. Governor Velazquez was getting curious of his intentions and goals and cancelled his commission, just before he set sail. Cortes ignored Velazquez and set out for his mission.
Knowing that the first Spaniards to arrive in Cuba were given land and Indians to use as slave labor, he quickly gathered many friends and an undersized army to accompany him. He quickly ran into multiple unknown territories and various types of cultures. For instance, the Mayans, all sharing cultural characteristics such as a complex writing system and a highly complicated calendar, the Spaniards have never seen such intense mathematics before. Meeting a handful of new people from different lifestyles and religions, they helped him translate and get adapted to the new world.
Although learning new languages, he found abandoned slaves that were accustomed with routes and quickly enlisted them for their exploration abilities. With his good fortune and luck, Cortes found it almost effortless to hire new workers and soldiers. Defeating city by city as they travel, rapidly gaining authority and power, his army continues to populate as if it originated in Mexico. Fighting numerous battles, the Spanish conquistador quickly finds out where and who had the power and wealth around Mexico.
Tenochtitlan, capital city of the great Aztec empire ruled by Moctezuma, appeared to be one of the biggest cities in the world at the time. Having a population of 210,000 on average, only Paris, Venice and Constantinople seemed larger. Hernando and his people, soon enough, were off to this grand capital city and ready to claim the gold and power he had been looking for. Since now he is trying to conquer his own missions to acquire the Spanish crown and to become wealthy, he is dismissed from the Governor of Cuba and following commands for the Spanish King, Charles V.
With no turning back now, facing time in prison or death for disobeying a governor has no other choice but to continue with his expedition. Cortes started his new journey in Cempoala, modern day Veracruz. He promptly got on good terms with the Totonacs, and convinced the chief to revolt with him against the Aztecs. If you were offered the position of an adelantado, military leader, in a city, you were automatically free form authorities from the past. Cortes quickly establishes a settlement in the city with the help from his men and the Totonacs, and creates a town council.
The Totonacs grant Hernando the position of an adelantado and he continues with his attempt to conquer the Aztec Empire with his new allies. Hernan comes across with tributaries of Moctezuma in Veracruz and tries to come to an agreement so the two can meet. He denies the meeting, making Cortes everything but satisfied and renounced. On his way to Tenochtitlan, the Spanish were stopped by the Tlaxcalans and they quickly went to battle. After being surrounded and about lose everything he has worked for, they somehow come to agreement to become allies fighting against the Aztecs.
Cortes and his people spent a month there getting to know and becoming friends with the Tlaxcalans. The poor city had no items to contribute to the Spanish but their people and army. Hernando decided he should try to scare and intimidate the Aztecs before approaching them. Cholula, a bordering city and an Aztec influence, was one of the most important cities of Mexico. It being a poor, deprived city based on religion, it was one of the most prestigious places for the Aztecs. The Spanish start by killing some of the low class nobles, then threatening important people in the society.
After no reaction, Cortes and his army slaughter every person in their sight and burn the city. He bluntly told Moctezuma that the people disrespected him and not to be scared if he welcomes him with reverence and gold. The Spanish, after trying to teach a lesson and three long months since being here, were ready to enter the largest city in the world. Hernando Cortes was about to approach his biggest adventure yet, the Aztecs. The Aztecs were widely known for their rich, complicated mythological and religious ways, more so they were identified for their defeat to the Spanish.
Although, the empire particularly dominated Mesoamerica during the time, their strong qualities were unfortunately part of the downfall too. On November 1519, Cortes and his people marched into Tenochtitlan with strong ambitions, nothing to lose and everything to gain. Even though he had no information to fall back on, but rumors from other Indian tribes, he keeps going forward with his mission of gold on his mind. Moctezuma supposedly had multiple houses with walls and carpets filled with gold, even to talk to the Aztec king you had to have some kind of royalty.
During Cortes’ expedition as he appeared unexpectedly, making enemies and allies, people talked about him and his unique ways as being a god of some sort. Unaware of the spiritual allusions, his arrival in Mesoamerica, matched up perfectly with the predicted return of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztecs main god. Quetzalcoatl, the worship of a feathered serpent deity, was one of the most important gods to the Aztecs. He was also the supporter god of learning, knowledge, priesthood, and related to other essential gods.
On the “Great Causeway”, in Tenochtitlan, Hernando Cortes and Moctezuma finally meet, drawing an unbelievable crowd. The Aztec king surprisingly greets Cortes with great honor and respect, with handpicked flowers from his own garden and abundant gifts of gold. Confused and questioning why Moctezuma is so generous at first, he realized the Aztecs must have mistaken him as some sort of God. The King permits Hernan to enter his kingdom, giving him full honors with delicious food and his golden houses, until receiving proper rest.
Having an enormous golden palace between his 3000 allies and him, requesting orders left and right and receiving gold like no tomorrow, he decides to seize Moctezuma in his own palace and take him prisoner. Cortes, having everything under control and an empire at his hands, requests his prisoner to swear adherence to Charles V. During his whole expedition, Cortes wrote many letters, “Five Letters”, to his Spanish king informing what exactly was happening. In “Five Letters”, he provides immense details about Mesoamerica and the way of life over there.
He describes all of his battles and the troubles he runs into. Hernan illustrates to Charles V all about Moctezuma, his trip conquering Tenochtitlan and the Aztec empire, and his abundance of gold he is sharing with him. Weeks later after the Aztecs tried to come together and assign a new king, Cortes demands Moctezuma speaks to his people trying to let the Spaniards leave uncontested. People threw stones and rocks at the Aztec king, injuring him badly, dying a couple days later.
The Spanish had to flee before they got killed, trying to get to Tlaxcala. After fighting a couple battles and losing a lot of people and weapons they successfully made it to Tlaxcala. With help of their allies, they received reinforcements and some from Cuba. Cortes then started to plan strategic warfare attack on the Tenochtitlan by cutting of their allies and supplies. After destroying the city and capturing the ruler, the Aztec Empire slowly went downhill and soon enough disappeared. Hernando Cortes was a man of incredible abilities.
As a conquistador, he displayed leadership, tenacity, and tactical skills. He was more than a conqueror; he had a vision of a “New Spain”. His leadership skills were influential in laying its foundations. Cortes was a man who accomplished many things, but he was mainly a Spanish Conquistador who defeated and conquered the Aztec Empire. At times, he was very wealthy and own lots of land in Mexico. Hernando Cortes began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas and is one of the most important people in his time.
