The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés became best known for the conquest of the Aztec Empire between 1519 and 1521. Hernán Cortés was born in 1485 in Medellín, a town in the Spanish Extremadura region. After studying law at the University of Salamanca, he left for the great adventure to the New World in 1504. He participated in the conquest of Cuba by Diego Velázquez and was subsequently appointed as a schout. Aztecs were part of a unique era in which they fought with great pomp and circumstance to stick out above other tribes. After having defied a lot of tribes they proved to be the stronger ones. Names like Montezuma, Tenochtitlán or Teotihuacan are mentioned in many history books. They were therefore of great importance during Aztec superiority. How was it that this strong tribe eventually disappeared? What was the cause of their fall? The advantages Cortés used were alliances, better weaponry, and the diseases the Spaniards brought with them.
Cortés made an advance with his army of adventurers and greedy gentlemen towards the center of the Aztec Empire. To achieve this, one had to cross the mountains and high plains of the region. In the mainland he settled with the Tlaxcalans. They were an independent tribe within the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs were an old enemy of the Tlaxcalans. When the Tlaxcalans were overrun by the Spaniards, they made an alliance with the Spaniards against the Aztecs.2 Gradually the Aztec Empire began to fall apart. The alliances' success in such a short period of time troubled Montezuma II. As they approached his kingdom, he tried to appease the strangers by giving them great gifts. These great gifts consisted of prisoners; these prisoners had an instruction with them for the foreigners. Thus, the Spaniards had to kill the prisoners and drink their blood according to the instructions. In addition, Montezuma II also sent food to the Spaniards. This gift too was sprinkled with blood.
When Montezuma II realized that he could no longer stop the advance of the Spaniards, he insisted on a meeting with Cortés and his men. They agreed to meet outside the city walls of Tenochtitlán. The Aztec leader was brought in full comfort in his sedan chair. When Cortés wanted to embrace him, he was stopped by the nobles under the Aztecs. They did not allow their ruler to be touched. Although this caused some resentment, one could still speak of a miraculous meeting. It was the first time that the leaders of the two civilizations looked each other in the eye. Every civilization was separated for thousands of years and had endured its own development. Now they saw each other for the first time and this was accompanied by a ritual exchange of gifts. Then Montezuma II invited Cortés to the royal palaces in the center of the city. The latter turned out to be a big mistake. The Aztecs were not accustomed to deception and lies. When Cortés arrived with his men, the Aztecs had no idea what would follow. As soon as Cortés entered the city and insisted on a meeting with the king, they conquered Montezuma II. His men and him declared that Montezuma II was now their prisoner. That must have been a shock to the Aztecs. It was inconceivable to them that their highest ruler was captured and taken hostage. In the months that followed Montezuma remained in the hands of the Spaniards. He was allowed to continue to govern his kingdom, but he had to tolerate the Spaniards being allowed to do what they wanted in the city. This led to great indignation of the citizens and the nobles of Tenochtitlán. Disorder grew among the Aztec citizens. When Cortés was not in town, a ritual ceremony took place. After the ritual ended, thousands of Aztecs were slaughtered by Cortés' men. Montezuma II tried to maintain order among its subjects. His attempt was unsuccessful because he had lost the respect of the Aztecs. In his attempt to maintain peace, he passed. How exactly this happened is unclear. Some sources say he was attacked and stoned by his own subjects while other sources claim that the Spaniards killed him. No matter how it happened, the last real prince of the Aztecs was dead. Soon new leaders emerged who fiercely fought the Spaniards in the city. Although the Spaniards succeeded in keeping their assailants in control, they realized the dangerous situation. They could not possibly stay in the capital of the Aztec Empire where they were surrounded by hostile civilians so they took off. When the Spaniards came back almost a year later, they brought a huge army of allies who hated the Aztecs. This time the forces were more closely matched. On both sides, perhaps a quarter of a million men were present. Cortés and his allies besieged Tenochtitlán that fell on August 15, 1521 after four months of war. This meant the end of the Aztec Empire.
One can wonder how it was possible that 530 men could beat an empire of 11 million people? Not only alliances were the cause of this. The Spaniards had much better weapons such as cannons, muskets, swords and metal armor. This gave them an advantage over the Aztec warriors. The Spaniards also had horses, which were unprecedented animals for the Aztecs. When they saw them for the first time, they thought that horse and rider were separate parts of the same being. It was thought that this being was half human, half animal and they were afraid of this animal.
The diseases that the Europeans brought with them, however, they could not overcome. When Cortés undertook his last attack on Tenochtitlan, the population had to contend with a smallpox epidemic. Their healers did not know how to treat this strange disease. Moreover, they had no natural resistance to this contagious and fatal disease. The consequences were therefore disastrous. It is said that the one Spanish soldier who got the smallpox caused half of the indigenous population to be halved within the year.
Due to the alliances that the Spaniards used, the major difference in weaponry, and their inability to overcome the diseases, the Aztec resistance collapsed. Their cities were burnt to the ground and their sculptures chopped into pieces. Their temples were destroyed, and their idols burned. Like the Olmecs and the Toltecs before them, their civilization died due to catastrophe and violence. It is one of the most remarkable cultures that ever existed on earth.