The Spanish
The Spanish had many reasons to go
exploring like wealth and curiosity but one of their major motivations was to
gain new lands to colonise and turn the indigenous people into slaves.
The Spanish queen Isabella I also wanted to spread Christianity as she was a devout Catholic. Cortes was a talented but bored politician and a great land owner in Cuba. He decided to launch an expedition to Mexico in 1519. In 1519, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando Cortes attacked the Aztecs. Emperor Montezuma II welcomed them, believing Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl, but the emperor was taken prisoner. Aztec spears and clubs were no match for Spanish guns, and by 1521 the Aztec empire was at an end. Due to the violence the Spanish left the city for a short time and returned with additional troops and many native allies who hated the Aztecs. The Spanish had an invisible ally, disease. Smallpox killed many Aztecs and those who were left were vulnerable to further attacks. Smallpox was a contagious disease caused by a virus. Symptoms included a severe rash (resulting in scars), fever, headache, vomiting and diarrhea. Other diseases Europeans brought with them included chicken pox and measles. By 1521 any Aztec noble or priest who had survived the smallpox epidemic was killed by the Spanish. Cortes appointed himself the Governor of Mexico which was the name of the new city being built and as a result he became a very, very wealthy man. |