Hernan Cortez was, simultaneously, both a builder of Spain's empire and a rebel. Cortez was not even supposed to be rewarded on Spain's conquest of Mexico when he was chosen to lead the expedition. But he was overwhelmingly underestimated and his ambition and cunning would lead him to have the glory and rewards all but to himself. .
After Spain's brief conquest of Cuba lead by Diego Velasquez, Velasquez was intent on conquering new lands in the name of the king to be rewarded with fame and profits. It was believed by the greedy Spaniards that the Americas were rich with gold and Velasquez soon sent an expedition to conquer the land of Mexico. Velasquez was faced with a problem; he could not leave Cuba so he had to find a soldier suitable to lead an expedition of this magnitude who was also loyal enough to return to Velasquez so that he could claim the glory for himself. Cortez was chosen to lead the expedition as Velasquez believed that he was not big enough to become his rival. Unknown to Velasquez, the cunning Cortez had persuaded his advisors to advise him to appoint Cortez and as soon as they set sail Cortez would never obey him again. Velasquez suspected him of being a rebel but it was too late and when he sent word to have Cortez arrested the men of Havana took no notice. This shows that Cortez was a rebel from the beginning.
As soon as he was appointed leader Cortez began to dress like a nobleman in order to gain the respect of his soldiers, although not substantial, this is early evidence of Cortez being an empire-builder. On reaching Mexico the Spaniards faced the Tabascan tribe who they soon conquered while losing only four men. Cortez claimed the land for the king and set about teaching Christianity to the natives. This shows that Cortez was still intent on building the Spanish empire and their culture. .
Cortez learnt of the Aztecs who lived inland and had conquered vast areas of Mexico and were hated by other Indian tribes for practising human sacrifice.
One can say that they could have accomplished lots of things, but Hernan Cortez, a Spaniard soldier came to Las Americas in search of gold and other riches. ... And also accompanied by Hernan Cortez, Francisco Pizarro, destroyed the civilization, and what is now Peru and other countries are almost on the line of poverty. ...
There are many casual factors to consider in answering questions on why the Aztec Empire was taken so quickly by the Europeans led by Hernan Cortes. ... Hernan Cortes was able to conquer the Aztecs for several different reasons. ... Hernan Cortes posed to eliminate the Aztecs it allowed him to appear as a rescuer from the tyranny of Aztec rule. A minor cause for Hernan Cortes" success was the issue of disease among the Aztecs. ... Dona Marina greatly helped Cortes in his conquest of the Mexican Empire. ...
Wealth and empire were two factors that nations like Spain were searching for. A conquistador's, like Hernan Cortes and Christopher Columbus, one goal would be to be that explorer able to find an empire and make it as wealthy as possible. ... Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who conquered the vast Aztec empire in Central America. ... When Cortes came to the Aztec empire, the Spaniards were welcomed. ... Hernan Cortes and Christopher Columbus were two of the most famous conquistadors that were able to conquer empires and gain wealth....
For the conqueror Hernan Cortez his motivation was no doubt more complex. ... Is Herman Cortez guilty of genocide, crimes against peace, and war crimes? ... The Tlaxcaltecas told Cortez, "Cholula is our enemy. ... Therefore it can be said that Cortez is guilty of Crimes against Peace. ... Cortez's main motivation was gold and wealth. ...
The Aztec Empire outnumbered the Spanish greatly, but somehow they were defeated. ... They had been conquered by the Aztecs and forced to pay taxes to the empire. ... Cortez now used Tenochtitlan's best defense against the city. ... After six more months of fighting, Cortez had managed to destroy all the buildings in the city and conquer the Aztec Empire. ... Though the Spaniards ultimately conquered the Aztec Empire, they were not alone. ...
It started around 2500 years ago in the Greek Empire. ... Nevertheless Hernan Cortes and his army battled their way through the Native American superpower of the Aztecs and further see their downfall to nothing more than history. ... Hernan Cortes came with 1,300 men to South America, whose population may have truly exceeded one million people; this was just statistically ridiculous to think about. ... Whereas the Aztec people literally welcomed Hernan Cortes and the Spanish into their city and paved the way for their own downfall because they were so reliant on their cultural and religious p...
The Aztec Empire The Aztecs roamed throughout the today, Central America, until they found their city at the Island of Tenochtitlan. ... During the same period as the Inca Empire, the Aztec Empire controlled Mesoamerican from Mexico to the territories of Salvador and Honduras for nearly 100 years. ... Around 1500 the Indian population was thought to have grown to 12.5 million and their empire reached from the modern day border of Guatemala to the coast of the Yucatan. On April 21, 1519 hernan cortez arrives on shore of Central America and burns all but one shit to prevent desertion f...
It goes over the first news of Cortez' and the Spaniards arrival. ... It goes over each single conquest That Cortez's troops made early. ... The empire expanded to include many people from numerous tribes. ... Aztec people saw this as a weakness and rebelled against Montezuma and the Spanish. ... This was the end of the Aztec empire. ...
Spanish Conquistadors In one of his speeches to his men, Cortez spoke of the great rewards that will come to them for their services. ... All in the same speech, Cortez has his men, as well as all scholars to come, understand their reasoning for being in the Americas. ... Aside from Cortez's speech telling his men of their personal wealth, Bernal Diaz described one of the promises that Cortez had made to his men as "would receive a share of the gold, silver, and riches to be gained." ... Cortez also presumed that there was nothing that could stop him from attaining his fame. Juan de ...
