Mythical Conquest of Mexico
For centuries many stories have circulated in regards to the Spanish Conquest of The Aztecs. How is it possible that an empire of millions were taken over by only hundreds of Spaniards? The theories are endless in regards to this hostile invasion that even most historic scholars find it impossible. What real evidence do we have that shows that this “Mythical Conquest of Mexico” really happened.
First, let’s take a look at the timeline the Spaniards have documented the “Mythical Conquest of Mexico”. Before the arrival of the Spanish, Mexico was a land of varied cultures. The people shared the Nahua family language which was dominated in the North. Trade and war brought different people and cultures of Mexico…show more content… When they would take over a new tribe or culture they would often adopt the new tribe’s gods into the Aztec religion. The sun was considered to be one of their most important gods. They would call themselves “People of the Sun”. Another important god to the Aztecs was Huitzilopochtli the most fearsome and powerful Aztec god. He was the god of war, sun and sacrifice. He is often drawn with feathers and holding a scepter made from a snake. The god of rain and water was named Tlaloc, this god helped with the Aztecs crops and plants to grow. Quetzalcoatl was the god of life, the Aztecs referred to Hernan Cortez as this god when he first arrived to the Aztecs. The priests were highly regarded people in the Aztec society. They were responsible for the human sacrifice ceremonies were carried out correctly so the gods would not become angry with Aztecs. The human sacrifices were done every day because the Aztecs believed it was necessary in order to rise each day. The Aztecs didn’t just believe in afterlife but believed that were different levels of heaven and the underworld. It all depended on how you died, for example: death by battle you went to heaven, death by drowning you would go the underworld. People were selected to impersonate the gods. They would dress like them and perform Aztec mythology. When the Aztecs would go to war the captives were almost always sacrificed. They held a many religious ceremonies and festivals…show more content… How any of is this possible when the Spanish arrived by water they only landed with 500 soldiers and 16 horses? The Aztec Empire in 1519 was a very powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time. The island city of Tenochtitlan had over 300,000 citizens. The Aztec Empire ruled over about 80,000 square miles of territory from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and southward to Oaxaca. An empire of 15 million people living in thirty eight provinces and the Emperor received a tribute of 489 communities. History books show that possibility of their extinction may have been the Spaniards but thru illness small pox and syphilis. Illnesses they were not accustomed to because of their location and the way of living off the land. The Aztec was resilient against the Cortes army but because of shortage of food and supply they gave up and surrendered on 08/13/1521. It’s hard to believe that the Spaniards were able to kill over 240,000 Aztecs and about 30,000 Tenochtitlan who fought alongside the Spaniards. The empire took centuries to build and in only a matter of days or months the Spanish were able to conquer and destroy. I highly think this was the case unless each and every indigenous tribe turned against one another and decided to let the Spanish colonize there soldiers and