Spanish Arrival  & Conquest of the Aztecs In 1519, the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, sailed from Europe to land in what is now Mexico. After a difficult journey inland, Cortes and his men entered the Aztec capital city and met , the Aztec leader. Normally, the Spanish adventurers would have been captured and sacrificed immediately, because that is what the Aztecs did to invaders.  But the Spanish were lucky. They were allowed to enter the city, and welcomed as valued guests, all because of an old legend. This legend told of the god Quetzalcoatl. The Aztecs believed that the god of night had defeated Quetzalcoatl in a game of tlachtli. As the winner, the god of night could decide what to do with Quetzalcoatl. The god of night decided to banish Quetzalcoatl to the East. Quetzalcoatl had no choice but to leave. He vowed that some day he would return, when the end of the world was near, to save his people. The Aztecs were always worried that the end of the world was always near. That's why they sacrificed so many people. They wanted to keep their gods very happy, so they could save their people. When the Spanish arrived from the East, the Aztecs believed that Quetzalcoatl had kept his promise and had returned. They treated the Spanish as if they were gods.  The Spanish had no idea how lucky they were that the Aztecs misunderstood who they were and why they were there. The Spanish conquistadors were looking for lands to conquer, gold to capture, and people to convert to the Catholic religion.    The Spanish were amazed at what they found in the capital city of Tenochtitlan. Everything was clean. There were “eating houses” and hairdressers. You could buy medicines and herbs and all kinds of food. You could buy meat and game. There were streets that sold only pottery and mats.  Painters could buy the paints they needed for their art.  Cortes mentioned in one of letters home that he believed there were more than 60,000 people in the marketplace buying and selling wares. No one used money. Goods were bartered and small differences in value were evened up using cocoa beans.   Cortes wrote to the Spanish Emperor, back in the Spain, the following: “We lodged in the chief’s house, situated in the most refreshing gardens ever seen. In their midst flows a beautiful stream, beset with gay flower beds, an infinite number of different fruit trees, many herbs and fragrant flowers. Three hundred men had charge of these birds for their sole employment. Over each pool there were beautifully decorated galleries and corridors, where Moctezuma came to amuse himself by watching them. I do not mention the other diverting things Moctezuma had in the city, because they were so many and so various.”   The Spanish made themselves very comfortable in the Aztec capital city. As time went on, the Spanish became concerned that they might never leave, not alive anyway. And, as time went on, the Aztecs began to grow suspicious. The Spanish did not act like gods. They did not do the things that gods did. They even avoided the sacrifice ceremonies, which after all, were conducted in their honor. The Aztecs decided it was time to move the Spanish along. Carefully, so as not to upset the gods (just in case), the Spanish were expelled from the city. But they were allowed to leave. By the time they left, the Spanish had learned how lucky they were to be leaving alive.  The Spanish did return, but they were much better prepared to fight the fierce Aztec warriors. It was not the Spanish guns that won the day. It was the Spanish horses and dogs. The Spanish brought huge fierce mastiffs with them into battle. Their best weapon was disease.  The Aztecs had never been exposed to childhood diseases like measles. As well, the Spanish had help from the other tribes in the area. These tribes saw a chance to get even, and perhaps even to rid themselves of the feared and hated Aztecs.  By the mid-1500’s, the Aztec Empire had collapsed.  Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs - Interactive Fall of the Aztecs - Hernan Cortes Hernan Cortes Aztecs for Kids    All Rights Reserved    Clip Art Credit: Phillip Martin Have a great year!