Mesoamerica 1

Fall of the Aztec Empire

Smallpox, 1519-1520

Smallpox was a European disease brought over by the Spanish

The disease killed 5 to 8 million Aztecs

Subtopic

Spanish invasion of Tenochtitlan, 1521

Hernán Cortés invaded, seized and
destroyed the Aztec city. He claimed
Mexico for Spain

Cortés and 600 of his men reach the Aztec capital
and conquer it

Spanish were aided by allies who were
previous controlled by the Aztecs

Death of King Moctezuma II

He was killed during the early stages of the
Spanish Conquest of Mexico

Reports of his death widely vary. Cortés reports that
his countrymen simply stabbed him to death. Other accounts
include being hit with stones and darts while standing on
his balcony

Allies of the Spanish Image

this image depicts a battle between the Otomies and the Spanish

the Spanish are fighting with their Tlaxcllan allies

The Spanish participated in many battles similar to this as a way to gain allies. This helped them during the capture of Tenochtitlan

La Malinche Image

This image shows Cortés and his interpretor, La Malinche,
meeting Montezuma

Each man is sat in a chair facing one another.
They are depicted as though they are making
conversation.

Created by the Tlaxcalan people as a way to remind the Spanish of their loyalty as well as their own importance during the Conquest.

Question: Whose perspectives are being ommitted?

The perspective of Hernán Cortés is not fully
represented. His true intentions were to invade
and capture the Aztec capital. Here he is shown
being friendly with the King in order to be accepted
and gain access to what he needs.

Question: What are the big ideas?

The big ideas are that the Spanish were very clever in their plan to invade and Capture the Aztec capital. They planned to gain allies because they knew they would be outnumbered during the siege.

Question: What questions can this
source help me answer? What can
it not?

I can answer the question, "how did the Spanish capture the Aztec capital with less men than the people they were invading?" The answer is, they used forces that the Aztecs had never seen before. Smallpox was introduced, firearms were used and horses were brought over. The indigenous Aztec people did not know how to combat these things and were left powerless to stop them despite having more people than the Spanish.

this source cannot help me understand why the Spanish would do this. I can understand the 'Who', 'What', 'When', 'Where' and 'How' but not 'Why'. Why did the Spanish need more land? Why did they need to make "New Spain"? These questions cannot be answered through this source.