Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire

Between 1519 and 1521, Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernán Cortés, overthrew the Aztec Empire. This event is called the **Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire**. Cortés helped old enemies of the Aztecs defeat them in one of the most important events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

The Spanish conquest was devastating to the Aztec people.  By 1680, 94% of the Aztec population had died (due to diseases and viruses).  Even when the Spanish made Montezuma II a prisoner, the Aztecs stayed friendly.

However, soon, while Cortés was away, Spanish soldiers attacked and killed many Aztecs during a festival.  When Cortés got back, he got Montezuma II to tell the Aztecs to stop fighting the conquistadors. By this time, though, the Aztecs had made Montezuma II's brother, Cuauthemoc, the king. Nobody did what Montezuma II said. They kept fighting the conquistadors, and they killed two out of every three Spanish soldiers. In July 1520 the Spanish survivors fled to Tlaxcala, where enemies of the Aztecs protected them.

For weapons, Aztec warriors had a few choices:

### Religion
As early as the 1520s, many writings have propagated the politically productive and widely repeated colonial narrative that the Aztecs and Montezuma II thought Hernán Cortés was the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl who had been prophesied to return.  However, more recent scholarship has called into question the authenticity of this narrative. According to Encyclopedia Britannica:Some 21st- century historians, however, questioned not only whether the Aztecs thought Cortés was a god but whether the legend of Quetzalcóatl was really a part of the Aztecs’ belief system. They suggested the well-known version of this story was a Spanish creation that was subsequently incorporated into Aztec lore.This reframing acknowledges the "white gods" story as "a dehumanizing narrative that equates technological with intellectual and moral superiority".

### Other causes
Some historians say that the Spanish conquistadors were not the only reason the Aztec Empire fell apart.  By 1519, the Empire had other problems that made it easier for Spain to take it over.  For example:  They made it easier to change from Aztec rule to Spanish rule by letting many Aztec nobles become Spanish nobles.

The conquistadors rewarded people who had helped them defeat the Aztecs.  Many received an Encomienda, a village full of Aztecs who were forced to work for them.  This was not much different from what many serfs had done during the Aztec Empire.  However, workers were badly abused, and many died.  Because of this, a Spanish bishop named Bartolomé de las Casas suggested using African slaves to work in New Spain instead.  Later, when he saw how much worse African slaves were treated, las Casas changed his mind about this.

By 1680, 94% of the Aztec population had died.  This happened for a few reasons:
* Disease, especially smallpox, which the conquistadors had brought from Europe
* Being forced to work too hard with too little food, which caused malnutrition
* Famine (not being able to grow enough food for themselves, because they were being forced to grow food for other people)
* Abuse from the people who were forcing them to work

After taking over the Aztec Empire, the Spanish conquistadors moved on to take over other parts of Mesoamerica.  During the same 160 years  from 1520 to 1680  between 85% and 95% of Mesoamerica's native population died.

File:Aztec smallpox victims.jpg|Aztec drawing of smallpox victims.  This disease killed many Aztecs

File:Cultivo con uictli Códice Florentino libro X f.28.jpg|Aztecs being forced to work under the Encomienda system

File:Spanish genocide1.jpg|The Spanish burn Aztecs at the stake

File:Aztec fire dance recreation.jpg|Aztec culture continues today.  This woman is doing a fire dance in Aztec clothing

File:DrummerAmeca.JPG|A modern Aztec drumming in traditional Aztec clothing

File:AzDanceMusDoc.JPG|Aztecs celebrate a festival in Mexico City in traditional clothing

## Related pages 
* Aztec
* Aztec Empire
* Spanish Empire
** Conquistadors

## References