Hernan Cortes Essay

In 1519, Hernan Cortes left Cuba with only a small fraction of his huge army, 11 ships, 500 men, and 15 horses. After Cortes came to a halt for a series of short stops in Yucatán where gold was rare to find, instead he found a gift with no price worthy of it of translators, one "La Malinche" who later became his wife and also made legendary. She was an Aztec girl that was traded into Mayan slavery; another translator he found was a shipwrecked Spanish man who had also lea rned the Mayan language after seven years of slavery. He then soon learned that the land was ruled by a great leader in the city of Tenochtitlán. Then ambassadors from the Aztec Emperor, Moctezuma II arrived with gifts, in attempt of keeping him at a distance and preventing him from attacking by satisfying Cortes with gold.

It became clear to Cortés that he was a suspect of being Quetzacoatl or an emissary of Quetzalcoatl, he was seen as a legendary man-god. The Aztecs believed that one day he would come back win back his city in a "One-Reed year on a cylindrical calendar."

The Aztecs also believed that Quetzacoatl would come save them nearing the world, and as the Aztecs always thought the end of the world was near, they thought Cortés had come to save them. This is why the Aztecs sacrificed so many people, to please their gods and have them postpone the end of the world. The Spaniards were extremely lucky that the Aztecs didn't attack them immediately because they perceived Cortés as a God and an Aztec wouldn't dare attack one of their gods. The Spanish entered Tenochtitlan in search for gold and people to convert to the Catholic