Hernan Cortes Gracelyn

Here Come the Spaniards! In the early 1500s, Spanish explorers arrived in Central America and South America in search of silver, gold, and new lands to conquer for Spain.

Hernan Cortes A Spanish explorer

In 1519, Hernan Cortes entered Mexico with an army of about 600 soldiers. When he first encountered Cortes, Aztec ruler Montezuma II thought he was a god. He welcomed the Spanish in Tenochtitlan and even let them stay in one of his palaces.

Montezuma II

The Aztec were frightened by Spanish horses, guns, and booming cannons. Many of them thought the soldier and his horse were actually one creature! The Spanish also brought something else with them– the disease called smallpox.

The Aztec people had never been exposed to this disease. In 1520, thousands died in a massive smallpox epidemic that spread throughout southern Mexico.

The Aztec People

Montezuma soon realized that the Spanish were after gold. Battles began and he was killed. Cortes eventually conquered the Aztec by 1521.

Tenochtitlan

The Spanish destroyed Tenochtitlan and established their capital Mexico City in its place. They used the city as a base for further conquests in the Americas.

Where Tenochtitlan is located now known as Mexico City

Hernan’s route

Hernan Cortes’ soldiers

Closing Hernan Cortes kidnapped Montezuma II. He was a Spanish explorer. He led 600 soldiers to Mexico and destroyed Tenochtitlan. Hernan Cortes kidnapped Montezuma and told him if he gave them gold they would let him live, however he still killed him.