Aztec Empire and Cortes
It seemed Cortes faced unbelievable odds when he aimed to conquer the Aztec empire. The shear numbers of the natives were overwhelming. Although it would seem that he should have been defeated the records of history clearly state his impressive victory. At this point one must ask if the Aztecs had a chance. Could Montezuma have resisted the terrible assault of Cortes? He could not. The mental state of all the Natives combined with tactical expertise as well as the technological superiority of Cortes created a condition optimum for the downfall of the Aztec empire. It can be clearly understood why the Aztecs could not have overcome their foe.When Cortes arrived in Mexico, the main disadvantage of Montezuma had already begun. Aztec religion required mass human sacrifice. Thousands of people a year where killed at altars of the gods. Many of them were women and children. A majority of the people sacrificed were from neighboring tribes. This caused many natives to hate Montezuma and the Aztec society. Cortes became a final hope to overcome this mass sacrifice. Thousands of natives quickly joined his army. This was what allowed Cortes to overcome the Telaxcalans and create a powerful alliance between them and the Spanish. The Tela
Technologically, Cortes’s men had a great advantage over the Aztec army. The Spanish armor was comprised completely of steel. This alloy was much stronger and durable than the local metals. Because they wore this armor around their entire body it was near impossible to deliver mortal wounds in close range as well as distance fighting. The native army wore little to no armor in battle. This allowed the European casualties to be few and the Aztec casualties to be many. Once again the firearm served as a great tool for victory. Firearms had great range compared to the natives distance weapons which consisted of arrows and spears. They also required much less training and experience to be used efficiently in battle. The Spanish were also equipped with crossbows. They where double the range of the native’s bows as well as double the power. They too required less skill than the bow. Cortes was also equipped with cannons. These cannons, called falconets, had a range of up to 2km from the Spanish war ships. Because horses are not native to America the Europeans had cavalry units. These units offered a quick and deadly asset to the Spanish army. The cavalry were equipped with 4 meter lances. This provided more range and speed compared to the Aztec army. Collective style of battle too played a large role in the victory of Cortes. The European style of fighting consisted of close knit formations. These formations promoted units to support each other in combat. The Aztec style of fighting promoted single combat. This allowed the Spanish to single out and overpower the native units one by one. With centuries of experience and development, European combat was far superior to anything the Aztecs could muster. xcalans made a great contribution Cortes’s force. They were a fierce tribe who had been at war with the Aztec’s for almost a century. They provided Cortes with immense knowledge and manpower, both necessary to overcome Aztec rule. Montezuma himself had str
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Approximate Word count = 1330
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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