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Why Did Such A Big Civilization Get Conquered By The Aztecs?

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Why Did Such A Big Civilization Get Conquered By The Aztecs?
The Aztecs were an Native Indian tribe, located in modern day Mexico,who ruled a huge part of Mexican territory from the 1400’s to the 1500’s, before they were conquered by Hernando Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors. The Aztecs had one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas and built cities as large as any in Europe at that time. They had a very unique culture compared to the Spaniards, for example they practiced a religion that affected every part of their lives and featured human sacrificed. Their impressive empire was destroyed by the spaniards in the year 1521, but the Aztecs left a lasting mark on Mexican life and culture. One might ask, how did such a big civilization get conquered by such a small group of conquistadores? …show more content…
Cortez brought along with him men, weapons, horses, dogs as well as a few hundred slaves, and some of which carried diseases. When Montezuma got the news of Cortez, he didn’t believe it was the god they were waiting for, so he sent them gold and other treasures for them to leave. However this did not push Cortez away but rather pull his greed for more gold towards the city. He soon told the indigenous Mexicas “I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold” (Schwartz), this is a small example of what lengths Cortez went to get what he wanted. Slowly Cortez was gaining the trust of neighboring tribes that hated Montezuma in exchange for military alliance, as well as telling Montezuma he would help him subjugate the rebels. One of those tribes were the Totonacs, they didn’t like how Cortez was doing things so they killed one of his conquistadors. Showing Montezuma as proof that the Spaniards were men and not gods. Many times Montezuma asked the Spaniards to leave and go back to where they came from, he didn’t want any military confrontation and tried to avoid it at all costs, but the Spanish
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