Essay on Hernán Cortés and the Fall of the Aztec Empire

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés played a significant role for the fall of the Aztec empire. The Spanish conquest against the Aztec Empire was a triumph against all measures that led to the Spanish's revolutionary success in Mexico. Cortes Partnership with Aztec adversaries, and Cortes who exploited Spanish technology and tactics which were overall far superior to Aztec technology and tactics supremacy all contributed to the Aztec Empire's collapse. As a result, Cortes was crucial to the Spanish triumph over the Aztecs, but the effect of smallpox cannot be overstated.                                       

Cortes' advancement in technology was greatly beneficial. He used Spanish technology and tactics to great effect The horse was by far the conquestors greatest military edge. The Spanish usage of horses in battle presented them with a weapon that provided not only tactical and strategic benefits, but also a psychological advantage over the natives. Aztecs had little understanding of these creatures, let alone their usage as a weapon of war. For instance horses improve their techniques of forceful advance and swiftness. Having horses allowed the Spanish to cut down Aztec soldiers from above. They were fast and strong. They could move Spanish conquistadors to key areas in a battle and would trample enemy soldiers. Their sheer size was intimidating for the Aztecs and would have made them nervous. Steel swords, muskets, cannons, pikes, crossbows, dogs, and horses accompanied the conquistadors when they landed in Mesoamerica. The Spanish Conquistadors were more advanced in their technology for their weaponry, clearly as the Spanish Conquistadors had guns and iron swords while the Aztecs were fighting with their obsidian swords and bow and arrows. Aztec warriors had only cotton armour and shields made of wood or reeds to protect them. The Spanish had metal armour and shields. Compared to shields made of wood or reeds the spanish had far more protection causing less injuries. None of these assets had previously been employed in combat in the Americas. The Spanish had the strategy to kill the enemy, whereas the Aztecs took captives.

Cortes kidnapping Montezuma and forming alliances was pivotal. The way cotes went out of his way to gain the respect of rival tribes showed great commitment and determination. He fought and conquered the local natives. Here and elsewhere, he forced the Indians to convert to Christianity. If they refused, they were killed. He was aware that the Aztecs were a Bronze Age culture who lacked weapons and horses , and that they were an archaic and primitive society in the eyes of European society. So Cortes strode out into the deep, looking for methods to enhance his power - whether through persuasion, coercion, or violence. The collaboration with the Tlaxcalans was a pivotal event in the battle . More than European technological supremacy, it'd be Native American backing that would undoubtedly lead to Cortes' supremacy. Cortes would get 20,000 warriors from Tlaxcala, Huexotzinco, and Cholula in exchange for their assistance in defeating the Aztecs at the Siege of Tenochtitlan. Cortes and his soldiers were terrified in the Aztec capital because they were overpowered and distant from the surrounding sea of Mexico. Cortes thought that by kidnapping Montezuma, he might keep the people of Tenochtitlan loyal to a stooge and in the hope of preventing an Aztec onslaught. Instead, the Aztecs turned against Montezuma, who died later, and Cortés' forces were almost completely decimated. Instead, the Aztecs turned against Montezuma, who died later, and Cortés' forces were almost completely decimated. Clearly Cortes' capture of Montezuma and formation of allies was critical to the downfall of the empire.

Smallpox devastated the Aztec population of Tenochtitlan which made resistance to the Spanish and their allies extremely difficult. The Aztecs were engulfed in a full-fledged insurrection. Cortés and his troops escaped from the city. However, they stayed long enough to cause a smallpox outbreak at Tenochtitlan. Cortés' soldiers were infected with smallpox by a Cuban member of the force. During the Aztec insurrection, that soldier died, and when his body was plundered, an Aztec contracted the sickness, which spread quickly and killed the majority of them. More than 3 million Aztecs perished as a result of smallpox,  with such a severely depleted population, the Spanish were able to easily seize the Aztec empire. One third  of the Aztecs went blind and went into paralysis, Smallpox swept through the natives, impairing their ability to fight the Spanish. The plague ravaged the Aztecs, lowering their population drastically and killing an estimated half of Tenochtitlan's inhabitants.

Hernán Cortés undoubtedly had a significant influence in the Aztec civilization's demise. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a victory by any standard. Cortes' alliance with Aztec opponents, as well as Cortes' use of Spanish technologies and strategies that were much inferior to Aztec technology and tactics dominance, all led to the Aztec Empire's demise. Everything considered, he has proved himself to be undefeated, courageous and showed great determination, whether it be when he went out of his way to create alliances and gain respect or went to the extent of kidnapping montezuma. As a result, Cortes played an important role in the Spanish victory over the Aztecs, proving himself accountable many times indicating he was primarily responsible for the destruction of the Aztec Empire.