A DEADLY mEETING How might difference in worldview contribute to the dominance of one culture over another?

Moctezuma had just spent a sleepless night. Several months ago Moctezuma had sent officials to investigate reports of mysterious strangers in nearby territories. Now the officials had returned bringing stories of men in odd clothing and sailing boats as big as mountains. They rode animals that looked like giant deer and they carried sticks that shot fire. They were gathering supporters from surrounding tribes and heading toward Tenochtitlan. Moctezuma decided to send a small group of Aztecs to greet the strangers and give them valuable gifts, including a mask made of turquoise and a fan of quetzal feathers.

Cortes, The Conquistador The man who was leading Spanish troops toward Moctezuma was Hernan Cortes He was an adventurous and ambitious young man. He had heard people talking about the gold that Columbus brought back from the Caribbean islands He believed the Caribbean islands would be a good place to make his fortune

The Conquistadors' formula 1.) An expedition would set out from a recent formula 2.) After landing in a new region, the Spanish would try to meet peacefully with the first groups of Indigenous people they encountered. Their aim was to discover which group in the area was the most powerful. 3.) The Spanish would invite the leader of that powerful group to a meeting to exchange gifts. Then the Spanish would seize the leader and threaten to kill him unless his followers obeyed their orders. 4.) If they did have to fight, the Spanish would try to do so on open ground. Their horses, armour, and weapons gave them a huge advantage. 5.) The leader of the expedition would remain a governor of the new colony and his second-in-command would organize the next expedition. The Indigenous peoples would be forced into slavery.

Cortes had conquered Cuba but eventually grew restless. He heard of a civilization in an unknown area that was stronger, more advanced, and wealthier than any group of people the Spanish had yet encountered

How Did the Spanish conquer the Aztecs The Spanish brought with them a kind of weapon that took the Aztecs completely by surprise…what was it? The horse was also used as a weapon, the Aztecs had never seen this type of animal before The Role of Disease – disease gave the Spanish the advantage. A smallpox epidemic broke out in Tenochtitlan, killing vast numbers of Aztecs and weakening their ability to resist the Spanish assault

The MARCH TO Tenochtitlan Each group that Cortes met, viewed the arrival of the Spanish differently He would either make and agreement our conquer the surrounding areas

Aztec Strategy Moctezuma decided to wait and see what Cortes was going to do When they arrived Cortes and his forces were taken and shown the glories of the city They saw evidence of golden treasures – they hungered for that gold The Spanish placed Moctezuma under house arrest. They looted gold from royal palaces. They then forced Moctezuma to make himself a Spanish rule The people of Tenochtitlan were in an uproar and threw stones at Moctezuma. He eventuall died, possibly as a result of those injuries. The Aztecs attacked the Spanish and their allies, killed many of them, and drove the rest out of Tenochtitlan By the time Cortes returned and attacked Tenochtitlan, the smallpox epidemic had killed of 25% of the Aztec population The Spanish cut the aqueducts to the city and after a siege of about 80 days the Aztecs were defeated The Spanish tore down the city as they captured it