Cortes Research Paper

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Hernando Cortes Hernando Cortes was a military genius. In 1519 Cortes set sail from Cuba to find gold in Mexico. "In 1519 the bold 34-year-old Cortes landed on the coast of Mexico with 550 soldiers, 16 horses, and 10 cannons."1 With this force Cortes conquered the Aztec empire. Now this was no easy feat to conquer an entire empire with such a small force. Cortes managed this feat because he brought disease, fear, and superior weapons. The Spanish came from Europe. Europe has had sickness in it for years so the people of Europe developed immunities to these sicknesses. When Cortes landed on Mexico he and his me brought their sicknesses with them. As for the Aztecs they never had any of these sicknesses before the Spanish came. The diseases kill thousands of Indians. Which reduced the number that Cortes' men had to fight. The Aztecs thought that Cortes was a god because they were awaiting the gods second coming. The emperor of the Aztecs was a man named Montezuma. "Montezuma was a fervent believer in the religious mythology which believed in the god Quetzalcoatl. His second coming was expected. Most importantly, one of his representations was that of a white bearded man."2 With this thought the Aztecs didn't want to anger the man they thought to be a god. When they realized that Cortes wasn't a god they were furious and prepared for war. Cortes also had another thing that drove fear into the hearts of the Aztecs, which was horses. The Aztecs living in Mexico had never seen a horse before and when the Spanish came riding into their towns on their horses the warriors there fled thinking that they were evil demons. The best advantage that Cortes had was the weapons of the Spanish. " There were two sorts of Spanish conquistadors: horsemen or cavalry and foot soldiers or infantry. It was the cavalry that would usually carry the day in the battles of the conquest." ("Armor and Weapons of the Spanish Conquistadors." About.com Latin American History. 09 Sept. 2013 ). The Spanish cavalry had two different types of weapons. The first was a lance, which had a wooden shaft with a iron or steel tip on the end. The other weapon was a sword that was about three feet long and sharpened on both sides. "The Spanish city of Toledo was known as one of the best places in the world for making arms and
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