The Attempt of Spain to Secure Power in Aztec Civilization

The Siege of Tenochtitlan was one of Spain’s plots to secure power and property in the new world. It took place in 1521 under command of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, who gained alliances with many local tribes, and involved storming the capital city belonging to the Aztecs. Although there were numerous battles that consisted between the Aztecs and the Spanish, which was itself made principally out of many local tribes, the most prominent being the Tlaxcala tribe, it was the Siege of Tenochtitlan that truely prompted the destruction of the Aztec civilization and ensured the plot was successful. Eventually, Spain completely stole the land of the Aztecs and put it to good use. They used it as a way to gain generous access to the Pacific Ocean, which allowed the Spanish to, at last, accomplish its objective of participating in the Asian trade routes.

Cortes, however, was unaware that his arrival and presence concurred with a significant Aztec prophecy that had existed for many years. The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, whom they worshipped for creating all people and things, was supposed to make a marvelous return to Earth. Montezuma, the leading chief of the Aztecs, believed Cortes to be this god, so he sent out a party of messengers and noblemen to meet Cortes and his posse. They brought along with them bundles of gold and jewelry as gifts, which greatly pleased Cortes. Montezuma also ordered that his servants deliver the what was known as the penacho de Quetzalcoatl, a revered and sanctified headdress, to Cortes and have him wear it. As Aztec citizens in the capital began to receive word about the approaching outsiders, Montezuma became greatly on edge but accepted whatever the gods wished would happen. He cordially invited Cortes and his fleet into Tenochtitlan, but later drove them out because Cortes attempted to hold Montezuma captive, proving that Cortes was no god as first thought. This led to the Battle of La Noche Triste where both the Aztec and Spanish forces took substantial blows. The Aztecs, however, took an extremely heavy blow when a wave of smallpox rolled over the empire, annihilating a good portion of the people, therefore extremely minimizing their military power.

Cortes knew that invading the entirety of the Aztec empire would not be an easy task, so he sank his own ships to ensure his men would not back down from the expedition. He also utilized a strategy similar to the one used by a military official known as Governer Velazquez when he captured the territory of Cuba just years before. He fashioned a local government system and essentially chose himself to be the governer, therefore placing him directly under command of the King of Spain. Cortés opted to put his strategy into effect when he and his men established the fortress of Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, or more casually known, Vera Cruz. During this campaign, he came into contact with various tribes who hated Aztec rule. Cortés asserted to the leaders of the tribes that he had conversed with the king about completely removing the Aztecs from power, protecting their land, and establishing European military alliances. Cortés strived to persuade a large portion of these natives, among them profusely the great Totonacs and Tlaxcalans. They were extremely cautious and skeptical keeping up a solid resistance, holding back Cortes’ military on a peak for about fourteen days, but his pristine promises and numerically appreciable army at long last triumphed when the psyches of theTlaxcalans opened up to the thought of his unending ideas of harmony. Therefore, Xicotencatl, the elder chief of the tribe, furnished Cortes with ten thousand or more Tlaxcalan warriors under the direction of Chichimecatecle.

Cortes' general scheme was to trap and attack the Aztecs inside their capital. He proposed to do that fundamentally by expanding his capacity and versatility on the lake, while ensuring that his flanks were covered, beforehand one of his principle shortcomings. He requested the development of thirteen sloops in Tlaxcala, by his expert shipbuilder, Martin Lopez. Cortes continued to receive a constant flow of provisions from boats touching base at Vera Cruz, one ship from Spain arrived filled to the brim with large quantities of arms, gunpowder, and ammunition. Cortes additionally got one hundred and fifty officers and twenty steeds from the surrendered Panuco stream settlement. He planned to use these resources to create a blockade around the entirety of Tenochtitlan.

The Battle of Tlacopan, also known as the Battle on the Lake, was the initial battle between the Aztecs and the invading Spanish armada. The purpose of this battle was to cut off the Aztec’s water supply. They attempted to combat the Spanish brigantines with hordes of brute-filled canoes, but the sheer size of the brigantines put the Aztecs at a great disadvantage. They did however successfully invade a Spanish camp and killed two captains, slowing down Cortes’ plan, but in the end, they were unable to prevent their water and food causeways from being blocked. As the Spanish put into play more effective tactics, their vice on Tenochtitlan strengthened, and starvation started to tear away at the Aztecs. They were cut off from all available food routes and were running out of fresh clean water. Cortes additionally had the advantage for he was able to rely on more defensive strategies, unlike the Aztecs who were put in a position to attack. The Aztec powers were pushed back and eventually, Cortes had control of Tenochtitlan, and therefore the entirety of the Aztec territory. He tortured and enslaved the remaining Aztecs in order to acquire as much gold as possible. No one is completely sure how Montezuma eventually met his fate. There are theories that angered with him, the Aztecs battered him to the point of death. Others say that the Spanish simply executed him.

When the city had fallen, Cortés started constructing Mexico City on the outline of what remained. It rapidly turned into an important city in the Spanish empire and numerous Europeans came to live there. Cortes’ success led him to be anointed by the king as the new leader of what they called Mexico.