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Why Did Montezuma Welcome Hernan Cortes

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Why Did Montezuma Welcome Hernan Cortes
"I shall be the last ruler of this land." (Flowers, p. 10) Montezuma made this predicament after one of his advisors foresaw "the end" in the sun. After generating of one of the greatest empires in the Americas, Montezuma 's decision to welcome Hernan Cortes with open hands, turned out to be a fatal one for the Aztec Empire. Montezuma had to make one of two choices, allow the "gods" to come in to their land or to rebel against them. Unfortunately he did not make the right decision, many of his people died. If not murdered, than they died of disease. Montezuma 's judgment of Cortes and his faction, proved to be fatal for him and his people.

When Montezuma first heard of Cortes he though he might be Quetzelcoatl, the God of Wisdom, who hated human sacrifice and, according to legend, was due to return to Mexico after being banished by wizards, rulers of the land. Several of Montezuma 's priests noticed that the planet Venus, scared to Quetzelcoatl, had cast a shadow on thee sun, as it does only once every three hundred years. This was an omen of things …show more content…
Works Cited

Baquedano, Elizabeth. Aztec, Inca & Maya. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.

Conquistadors in the New and Old World. {Online} http://linux1.tlc.north.denver.k12.co.us/%7Egmoreno/gmoreno/Conquistadors.html, May 13, 2002

Flowers, Charles. Cortes and the Conquest of the Aztec Empire. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, 2001.

Miller, Robert Ryal. Mexico: A History. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985.

Modern History Sourcebook: Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. {Online} http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/aztecs1.htmlB, May 15, 2002

PBS: Conquistadors - Cortes. {Online} http://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_a00.html, May 13, 2002

Stein, R. Conrad. Mexico. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1984.

Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.

Warburton, Lois. Aztec Civilization. San Diego: Lucent Books,
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