Chapter 10

Hernan Cortes  “conquistador” means “conqueror”  He was a troubled youth  Only interested in gold  His story inspired “Pirates of the Caribbean”

The Deadly Formula 1. Set up a colony 2. Meet Aztecs to find out who was the strongest 3. Exchange gifts with leader, then capture and keep him hostage 4. Fight on open ground 5. Set up, move on to the next group, and force natives into slavery

 P. 218 Romeo Dallaire  P. 219 Cortes

 Cortes was always hungry for more land/power  When he gained control, he would move on  His goal: the Aztec Empire

An Unequal Fight  Weapon #1: P. 223  The Spanish weapons and armour was vastly superior to the Aztec’s  Just like in North America, European guns (“muskets”) completely surprised the Aztecs Read the “Exploring Sources” on p. 224

An Arms Race…  _from=PL&index=1 _from=PL&index=1   P. 225 The Atomic Bomb Einstein, who created the bomb, said: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” “The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker.

 Weapon #2: Horses (p. 226)  Gave the Spanish size, power, mobility  Spanish could fight while riding them Read the “Exploring Sources” section

 Weapon #3: Disease  The Europeans brought with them diseases, such as smallpox, which created an epidemic – the Aztecs had no defense against it Read the “Zoom In” Section on p. 227 And “Fast Forward” on p. 288

The Invasion 1. The Spanish Strategy: Befriend or Conquer  Everywhere Cortes travelled, he met small groups of natives  After conquering one village, he met a woman named “Malinche”  She was given to Cortes for marriage, and quickly learned Spanish

 She became an intermediary: a link between Cortes and Moctezuma  Without her, Cortes would not have succeeded  Even today, many Mexicans believe she was “two-faced” (p.229)

 When Cortes met new groups, he did one of three things: 1. Befriend them and form alliances 2. Conquer them and force them to fight with him 3. Kill them all if they would not cooperate

2. The Aztec Strategy: Fight or Wait?  Moctezuma didn’t know whether to attack the Spanish, or to wait and see how strong they were  He decided to wait  P.231

The Battle  The Spanish didn’t take long to start the fight  Moctezuma was killed, and a battle started  Many Spanish died – they lost the battle and were driven out of the city

 6 months later, Cortes returned with more soldiers  Smallpox had already killed most of the Aztecs  80,000 Aztecs died – the Spanish cut off the aquaducts. The city was won in 80 days