Ch. 9
Spain &
Aztec
Collide
th
15
century: SPAIN
• claimed the Canary Islands and Christopher
Columbus had landed on islands in the Caribbean
• The Spanish were:
establishing a large empire to compete with Portugal
building national unity
increasing its colonies and gaining wealth from the
new lands
converting non-Christians in other lands to Catholics
th
15
century: Aztec
• conquered most of Meso-America and
created a unified civilization.
• The Aztecs were:
 expanding the empire for the glory of
their God, Huitzilopochtli
 receiving payments of generous tribute &
taxes
 profiting from trade throughout the
empire
 taking captives to be sacrificed
What did the Aztec think
of the Spanish before
they met
• Described their ships as floating towers
• Men with light skin, long beards and
hair that came only till their ears
(Gods)
• Aztec had experienced omens that
warned of a disaster (8 omens)
• Belief that Queztcoatl was returning
What did the Spanish
know about the Aztec
• Hernan Cortez knew he could not defeat the Aztec army
on his own
 WHY? He only had 500 men
• He would have to use political
rivalries to his advantage
 WHY? Many city-states did not
like being controlled by the Aztecs
and wanted independence
• SO…for 8 months, he gathered many allies by using fear
(killing nobility), force (using the firepower of weapons
like muskets and canons), or trickery
Spanish: Information
& Communication
• Cortez had 2 valuable interpreters
– La Malinche (Dona Marina)
– Spanish sailor (Geronimo de Aguilar)
• To Communicate:
Cortez
Aguilar
Dona Marina
Aztec
REVIEW
• What were the 8 omens that the Aztecs
experienced prior to the arrival of Spanish?
• Mocetzuma thought Cortez was the God
_____________
• Why did the Aztec think the Spanish were
Gods?
• How did Cortez communicate with the MesoAmericans?
Aztec & Spanish Meet
• Mocetzuma send gifts to Cortez because he hoped
that it would convince Cortez to leave
 WHY? Whoever offered the richest gift was the
most powerful
• Moctezuma sent Cortes the clothing of the god
Quetzalcoatl, which Cortes put on
 SO? The Aztec believed that Cortes was the
returning God
• Mocetzuma sent Cortes food containing human
blood because a God would eat the food , but Cortes
refused
 WHY? Cortes thought it was poisoned
Spanish Allies
• Tlaxcalans were enemies with Aztecs
• never been conquered by the Aztec
• Because their attack on the Spanish failed,
they made an alliance with Cortes to defeat the
Aztec
• Moctezuma told Cortes to travel to Cholula
where he planned to ambush them.
• But Cortes & the Tlaxcalans attacked them
first and caused heavy loss
• So , the Cholulas agreed to join with Cortes to
regain independence from the Aztec
The Spanish Arrive
• Mocetzuma addressed Cortes as though he was a
God
• Moctezuma treated Cortes and his men royally
 prepared a palace; gave them tours of the city
• One week later, Cortes took Moctezuma hostage
 Cortes replaced all the idols in the palace &
temple with Catholic saints
•
Massacre of the Unarmed
Aztecs
After 6 months of being in Tenochtitlan, Cortes left to deal with the
governor of Cuba. He left Pedro de Alvardo in charge of
Tenochtitlan
• At the annual feast of Huitzilopochtli, Alvardo and his men
surrounded and massacred the unarmed worshippers
including nobles & priests
• Aztecs were angry and fought back against the
Spanish. They trapped the Spanish in Cortes’
palace away from the center of the city
• When Cortes returned, he ordered Moctezuma
to speak to the Aztec to allow the Spanish to return
• The Aztecs mocked & hurled stones at Moctezuma
• He was seriously injured and died a few days later
• Cuitlahuac was elected as the new huey tlatoani
What lead to the downfall
of the great Moctezuma?
• Could not decide if Cortes was a god or an
enemy
• Did not understand the Spanish motives or
Cortes’ ruthlessness
• Could not deal effectively with the Spanish
– kept trying to deal with Cortes in a
gracious manner
Noche Triste
• June 1520: Spanish try to leave
the city in the middle of the
night
– Aztec surround them on the
causeways, attacking them from
all sides
– Spanish were carrying stolen gold
and could not move quickly, so
many were killed or drowned
Death toll: approx 700 Spanish &
2000-3000 Tlaxcalans
Run
away
Now
GET
OUT
The unforeseen enemy:
SMALLPOX
• Aztec began to die from the smallpox
HOW? Brought over by the Europeans
who had immunity to this disease
BUT…the Aztecs had never been
exposed to this virus, so their body had
no resistance
• In 5 months, approx. half the city
population may have died due to this
epidemic
• Cuitlauac died from smallpox (reign
lasted only 80 days)
• Cuauhtemoc was elected huey
tlatoni
REVIEW
• What were the items Mocetzuma sent Cortes as
gifts?
• With whom did the Spanish form alliances?
• How did Mocetzuma die?
• Who was elected as the new huey tlatoni?
• Why was the Noche Triste so sorrowful?
• What led to the death of many Aztec?
The Final Battle
• After the Noche Triste, Cortes and his men retreated to
Tlaxcala for 5 months to recover
• Cortes returned to Tenochtitlan with the Tlaxcalans and
warriors from Texcoco (used to part of the Triple Alliance,
but switched sides due to the strength of the Spanish)
• Aztec has no allies to support them and half the
population had died from smallpox but they
managed to hold off the Spanish for 75 days
• Cortes cut off all the water & food supplies from
reaching the city
• SO…people died from hunger & contaminated
water
• Aug 13 1521: Aztec surrender
• Cuauhtemoc was hanged
The Final Battle
• Spanish destroyed the once glorious city of Tenochtitlan
• Tore down pyramids, temples and palace
– used the stones to build new palaces &
cathedrals
• Set houses on fire & filled the causeways
with rubble & stone
• 1522: Cortes became the first governor & captain-general
of New Spain
New Spain: Slaves
– Conquistadors were given tracts of land (Haciendas) as a reward
» Aztec were forced to work as slaves/labourers
– 1512: King Ferdinand established laws that called for fair treatment of “Indians”
» Indians could not be used to carry goods on their backs
» Children under 14 & pregnant women were not to do
heavy work in the mine
» Spanish masters were prohibited from beating, whipping
or calling them dogs
– The Spanish attempted to wipe the Aztec culture
» Destroyed their religion, art & science
» Burned/Smashed the codices, sculptures & records
» Built the Spanish city of Mexico over Tenochtitlan
– Continued the tribute system to gain wealth from
other city-states
New Spain: Conversion
• Many of the indigenous people adopted the
Christian God as one of their many gods
• Over times, most of the citizens of New
Spain became devout Roman Catholics
• Franciscan & Dominican priests worked
closely with the Aztec survivors
– Converted the noble class first, so the
common people would follow their
example
– Established schools & hospitals
– Made sure each village had its own
priest & church
New Spain: Adapting to a
New Society
• Surviving Aztec nobles learned bookkeeping &
business practices and became merchants
– Brought goods from Spain & sold
them in Aztec colonies
• Learned to speak and write Spanish
– Allowed them to document Aztec
history & traditions as well as their
lives under Spanish rule
• Mestizos: Children of Spanish & Aztec descent
Why Did Moctezuma & Cortes Make the
Decisions they did
Factor
Religion
Aztec
• Thought that Cortes
was the returning God
Quetzacoatl
• Omens created a sense
that bad luck was
coming
• Mocetzuma did not
want to show
disrespect – so he
welcomed Cortes & his
men into the heart of
the city
Spanish
• Believed that the only
way to salvation was the
Roman Catholic Church
• Was their duty to spread
Christianity & convert
non-believers
• Appalled/disgusted by
the practice of human
sacrifice
Why Did Moctezuma & Cortes Make the
Decisions they did
Factor
Worldview
Aztec
• Did not understand
the Spanish
worldview
• Aztecs had only
conquered societies
that had a similar
worldviews
• Aztecs believed that
had to be gracious –
they welcomed the
Spanish and tried to
negotiate with them
Spanish
• God, Glory, Gold
• Wanted to claim the
gold, jewels &
wealth from the
Aztec civilization
Why Did Moctezuma & Cortes Make the
Decisions they did
Factor
Aztec
Warfare
Tactics: negotiating first, then
war (with specific rules)
Wounds: injure enemy
warriors, not to be life
threatening
Warriors: to be captured alive
for sacrifice
Civilians: to be captured alive
to be used as slaves
Property: not to be destroyed
in order to receive tribute
Killing: shows disrespect for
human life – human life should
only be sacrificed to the Gods
Spanish
Spanish
Tactics: Use existing
political rivalries to their
advantage
- Planned surprise attacks
to ensure victory
Warriors: kill as many as
possible to defeat them
Property: destroy & look
so that the survivors
would be at their mercy
Killing: Necessary to
ensure victory &
dominance