Genocide according to the United Nations means actions committed with the intent to destroy, in-whole or in-part, national, ethnical, racial, or religious groups. The killing of the Aztecs was not Cortez's ultimate end, but rather the means to obtain wealth. At first this blinded me, but I quickly realized that Cortez was guilty of genocide against the Cholultecas. According to the Aztecs the Spanish were encouraged to destroy Cholula by their allies the Tlaxcaltecas.

Cortez's main motivation was gold and wealth. “The truth was that they longed and lusted for the gold. Their bodies swelled with greed., and their hunger was ravenous; they hungered like pigs for that gold” Leon-Portilla, The Broken Spears, p.51. The extent of his actions was unacceptable. Cortez was peacefully greeted by the Aztecs, and they freely gave him gold and gifts. This shows that the Aztecs did not intend to fight. However, due to Cortez's greed for more gold, he went to the extreme destroying the great city of Tenochtitlan and killing more that 240,000 Aztecs.

The Aztecs were a warrior race, but this is what led to their destruction. After the Spaniards were driven out of Tenochtitlan the Aztecs believed that the Spaniards would never return. However, when the Spaniards did return they were even more ruthless with the intent to attack Tenochtitlan and destroy its people. There were constant battles between the Spaniards and the Aztecs, and in many cases the Aztecs’ resistance was strong causing the Spaniards to retreat. The Spaniards quic

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