Clash of Cultures: Two Worlds Collide

The Aztec empire was large and powerful. It stretched across central Mexico and had a population of 5 million people. Montezuma was the king of the Aztec empire from 1502 to 1520 CE.

During this same time, explorers from Spain came to the Americas. Christopher Columbus was the first Spanish explorer to come to the Americas. He and the other explorers were looking for gold. They also wanted to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Another Spanish explorer to come was Hernán Cortés. He arrived in the Aztec empire in 1519. By 1520 he had killed Montezuma, and in 1521 he conquered the Aztec empire.

How was he able to take control of the Aztec empire so fast?  

Cannons vs. Clubs

The Spanish army was the best on earth during this time. It had not lost a single battle for 150 years. The Spaniards had cannons and arquebus (simple guns). These weapons scared the Aztecs because they had never seen them before. The Spanish also had horses. This allowed them to travel easily. The Aztecs didn’t have horses. The Spanish also had strong and deadly swords. The Aztecs’ main weapons were only wooden clubs.

Aztec warriors had several opportunities to kill Cortés. However, it was their custom to capture their enemies alive. Each time they tried to capture Cortés alive he escaped. The Spaniards, on the other hand, killed their enemies as quickly as they could. When an Aztec leader was killed, the other Aztec soldiers lost hope and ran away. 

Conflict

Many Aztecs disliked Montezuma because of the taxes he forced them to pay. These Aztecs supported Cortés.  When Cortés attacked and conquered the Aztec capital, he had only 900 Spanish soldiers, but he was joined by 150,000 native Aztecs.

Disease

The Europeans also brought with them diseases such as measles and smallpox. The American tribes immediately became sick. The diseases spread quickly and killed many Aztec leaders and millions of other people.

Superstition

Montezuma was also superstitious. When Cortés landed in the Aztec empire, Montezuma thought he might be the feathered snake god, Quetzalcotl. This god was thought to have vanished into the eastern ocean long before. Montezuma half-believed that Cortés was this god returning from the sea. This made Montezuma afraid and respectful of Cortés.

Battle

When Cortés and his army of 500 Spanish soldiers faced off with Montezuma, they had actually been invited into the city. This was a big mistake because Cortés kidnapped Montezuma. Montezuma was killed a couple months later, although it’s not clear who killed him. Cortés then left the city, but came back several months later with a larger army and conquered the city on August 13, 1521.

The combination of good weapons, internal conflict, disease, and superstition helped Cortés conquer the Aztec empire.