The Fall of the Aztecs

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The Fall of the Aztecs
Presentation by Robert Martinez Primary Content
Americas History, James Henretta, David Brody
Lynn Dumenil Images as cited.
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• Hernan Cortes conquered an empire and
  destroyed a civilization. Cortes came from a
  family of minor status in Spain, and, seeking
  military adventure and material gain, sailed to
  Santo Domingo in 1506.

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• Ambitious and charismatic, he distinguished
  himself in battle, putting down a revolt and
  serving in the conquest of Cuba.

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• Eager to increase his fortune, Cortes jumped
  at the chance in 1519 to lead an expedition to
  the mainland. He landed with six-hundred men near
  the Mayan settlement of Potonchan (Mexican
  coast), which he quickly overpowered.

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• Then Cortes got lucky. The defeated Mayans
  presented him with 20 slave women to act as
  servants and concubines, among them Malinali, a
  young woman of noble birth.

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• Not only was she of pleasing appearance and
  sharp-witted and outward-going, the words of a
  Spanish soldier, she also spoke Nahuatl, the
  Aztecs language.

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• Cortes took her as his mistress and
  interpreter, and soon she became his guide. When
  the Spanish leader learned from Malinali the
  extent of the Aztec empire, his goal became power
  rather than plunder.

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• Cortes would overthrow its king, Montezuma,
  and take over his empire.

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• Of Malinalis motives for helping Cortes there
  is no record. Like his Spanish followers, she may
  have been dazzled by his powerful personality.

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• Or, more likely, she may have calculated that
  Cortes was her best hope for escaping slavery and
  reclaiming her noble status. Whatever her
  reasons, her loyalty to her new master was
  complete.

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e.jpg
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• As the Spanish marched on the Aztec capital of
  Tenochtitlan in 1519, she risked her life by
  warning Cortes of a surprise attack in the city
  of Cholula and served as his translator as he
  negotiated his way into the Aztec capital.

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• Without her, concluded Bernal Diaz del
  Castillo, the Spanish chronicler of the conquest,
  we would have been unable to surmount many
  difficulties.

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• Awed by the military prowess of the Spanish
  invaders, Montezuma received Cortes with great
  ceremony, only to become his captive.

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• Montezuma may have believed that the
  Conquistadors were returning gods from ancient
  Aztec legend. Maybe Cortes was the powerful
  Quetzalcoatl?

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• The sight of the Spaniards in full metal
  armor, with guns that shook the heavens and
  inflicted devastating wounds, made a deep
  impression on the Aztecs, who knew how to purify
  gold but not how to produce iron tools or weapons.

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• Moreover, the Aztec warriors, fighting on foot
  with flint-tipped spears and arrows, were no
  match for mounted Spanish conquistadors wielding
  steel swords and aided by vicious attack dogs.

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• Nevertheless, the Aztecs attacked Cortess
  forces and killed Montezuma, whom they felt
  betrayed his people.

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• Although heavily outnumbered and suffering
  great losses, Cortes and his men were able to
  fight their way out of the Aztec capital.

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• The Aztec emperor could easily have crushed
  the Spanish invaders if he had ruled a united
  empire. But many Indian peoples hated the Aztecs,
  and Cortes exploited that anger.

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• With the help of Malinali, now known by the
  honorific Nahuatl name Malinche, he formed
  military alliances with tribes whose wealth had
  been taken by Aztec nobles.

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• .and whose people had been sacrificed to the
  Aztec sun god.

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• The Aztec empire collapsed, the victim not of
  superior military technology but of a vast
  internal rebellion instigated by the sly Cortes.

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Roman Catholic Cathedral in Mexico City today.
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