 Today's video is an overview of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, which took place in the first half of the 16th century. Before we start, let's quickly run through what we're going to cover during this video lecture. We'll start with a brief introduction to the Aztec civilization. Then we'll cover the Spanish arrival and the conquest of the Yucatán Peninsula, followed by a study of the role of conquistador Hernán Cortés. Then we'll cover the events that led up to the Aztec Empire and the creation of New Spain. We'll also review some of the original sources currently available to us. And lastly, we'll finish with some final conclusions. As I explained before, today's video is an overview of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, which took place between February 1519 and August of 1521. So, why do we not start by explaining who the Aztecs were? Now, if you remember, in subunit 1.3.1, you'll learn about the Amerindian civilizations, which included the Mexica Aztecs. So, as a quick reminder, the Aztecs were a nomadic tribe from northern Mexico that arrived in the valley of Mexico in the 14th century in Mesoamerica, and spent most of the 15th century conquering neighboring territories, expanding until the height of the power to the area that you can see on this map. At the center of the Aztec Empire was this capital city, the mighty Tenochtitlan. As you see in this image, the city was located on an island in Lake Texcoco and was connected to the mainland by several bridges. The city, which included several markets, temples and public buildings, was a wonder of the ancient world. The Aztecs achieved many impressive cultural and scientific accomplishments. Still, the pinnacle of Aztec civilizations was their contributions to astronomy, particularly their solar calendar. Now, even though Spain had been exploring and conquering new territories in the new world since the end of the 15th century, it was not until the March of 1517 the Spanish explorers reached the Yucatan Peninsula. Now, this peninsula was the home of another very important Amerindian civilization, the Mayans. So, why and how did the Spanish encounter with the Mayans shape the fate of the Aztecs? Well, because of this ill-fated Spanish expedition to the Yucatan, it proved that there were highly advanced civilizations in the Americas. And the richness of Mayan architecture, art and cultural development somehow led the Spaniards to believe that these new territories were abundant with gold. 1519 marked a crucial moment in the history of Mexico. On the 21st of April, a Spanish expedition commanded by Hernán Cortés landed on the island of San Juan de Ulua. Hernán Cortés was an experienced conquistador who had participated in campaigns in the Española and on Cuba. Cortés orders were to explore and secure for colonization new lands in modern-day southeastern Mexico. And soon after his landing, with approximately 550 men in the Yucatan Peninsula, he quickly moved to Tabasco, in the Gulf of Mexico. It was there, in Tabasco, where he would meet a crucial figure in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, a native woman known as La Malinche, who years later would become the mother to his child, Martin Cortés. La Malinche knew Aztec and Maya language, and quickly learned Spanish, which enabled Cortés to communicate with a large number of different indigenous tribes. In fact, it was thanks to La Malinche that Cortés learned from the native Tabascan tribes about a great and rich inland empire, the Aztecs. At the same time, news of the arrival by sea of bearded fair-skinned manbeasts had reached the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs interpreted the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors as the final and ultimate realization of an ancient prophecy, the return of the god Quechal Cuatal, to reconquer his kingdom. Now, legend described Quechal Cuatal, also known as the Feathered Serpent, as a white bearded god. The news of the arrival of the pale strangers combined with several bad omens, such as flooding and the appearance of comets in the sky. After receiving a letter from Cortés, asking to meet with him, the Aztec king Mochatzuma II warned the Spaniards of the many dangers of the road to the Aztec Empire and sent Cortés many gifts, hoping his thirst for wealth would be placated and that he would cease his conquest to conquer the Aztec Empire. Unfortunately, the gifts only served to fuel Cortés' appetite in conquering the Aztec Empire. Surely afterwards, Cortés began his journey towards the Aztec capital, Tenok Titlan. His first move was to ally himself with a Totonax, a tribe from the eastern coast of Mexico. The Spaniard offered them protection and freedom from Aztec dominance in exchange for over a thousand native soldiers. Then, he moved into the kingdom of Tlaxcala. After several hostile encounters and small battles, the Spaniards were able to reach in line with the Tlaxcalans. And after Tlaxcala, the Coquistadors traveled to Cholula, where the Spanish forces raged fury on the city, killing thousands and raising the city to the ground. Finally, in November 1519, the Spanish forces joined by a large number of native soldiers. Mostly Totonax and Tlaxcalans reached the Aztec capital city, Tenok Titlan. There, King Montesuma was waiting for the Spaniards with gifts and banquets. Obviously, as large as it was, Montesuma's anxiety for the arrival of these strangers, showing hostility toward the man who could, in theory, be the incarnation of the god Quechacral, was unthinkable. Cortes was aware that the Aztecs could learn at any given moment that the Spaniards were not gods. And if that realization were to occur, then they were largely outnumbered. So he decided to take the king Montesuma as captive. A few months later, one of the Spanish commanders, anxious by the large number of Aztecs that were gathering for religious celebration, gave orders for an attack on the natives, which resulted in the death of a large number of them. Then, fearing another uprising, Cortes ordered the still captive king, Montesuma, to address his subjects and appease them. However, his subjects showed no respect for the king, as they believed he was nothing but a puppet for the Spaniards, and they attacked him with stones and arrows. And shortly thereafter, Montesuma died. Cortes, trying to avoid an uprising, supported the appointment of Montesuma's nephew, Quitaluac, as the new king. Unfortunately, Quitaluac would die of smallpox 80 days after taking the throne. Now, believing that the Spaniards had killed their king, the Aztecs launched an attack against them. Outnumbered, the conquistadors and allies tried to escape. However, most of the forces were massacred in what they called La Noche Triste, the sad night. One of the lucky survivors was indeed Cortes, who then retreated to Tlaxcalan. Then, in January of 1521, after regrouping his soldiers and receiving reinforcements, Cortes once again led a conquering force into the valley of Mexico. By May, Cortes was at the border of Tecnotitlan, ready to conquer the city once and for all. After an 80-day siege, Tecnotitlan fell, and their conquistadors burned it to the ground. The date was August 13, 1521, which marks an end of the Aztec Empire. After the destruction of Tecnotitlan, Anan Cortes became the governor of what was to become New Spain. One of Cortes' first orders was the destruction of any reminders of the Aztec culture and the reconstruction of the city, this time as Mexico City. A few of Cortes' other orders, including the Christianization of the natives, as well as the implementation of the Encomienda labor system and the transport of African slaves to the territories he governed. Thus, the Aztec Empire had been fully assimilated into the Spanish Empire. There are several contemporary sources describing the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Firstly, we have Anan Cortes' personal letters, five letters addressed to King Charles V of Spain relating his campaign that have survived to our days. You can read one of these letters translated in English in subunit 2.1. These letters were clearly written by a conquistador. They contain a number of interesting observations regarding the geography of the region, as well as their religious customs and the daily lives of the inhabitants. Another source is the narrative of some things of New Spain and of the great city of Temestitian, written by an anonymous conquistador, probably one of Anan Cortes' companions. This account offers readers detailed descriptions of the Aztec civilization before the Spanish arrival and a course of Anan Cortes' campaign. This source is considered by historians as a very realistic account. When looking for accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, sometimes readers come across a book titled Espana Víctrix by Francisco López de Gomara. This narrative is not considered a reliable source. The author did not participate in Cortes' expedition. In fact, he did not even visit the Americas. His account was based on the stories told by Cortes and other conquistadors upon their return to Spain. Thus, the book is full of errors and exaggerations. So little is of historical accuracy and even at its own time it was considered an unreliable source. Probably the best and most accurate account of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire is Bernan Diaz de Castillo's True History of the Conquest of New Spain. You can read an excerpt in subunit 2.1. This is a first-person account of Anan Cortes' 1520 campaign in Mexico, which includes not only fascinating descriptions of the military operations of the Spanish conquistador but also detailed material on the natives that were encountered, Aztec as well as non-Aztec, such as their clothing, housing, food and habits. Finally, there are a few Nahuatl language accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Again, you can read a few of these excerpts in subunit 2.1. As mentioned before, the Spaniards burned most of the Aztec records in the process of destroying any remains of their civilization. However, a few survived thanks to the Spanish missionaries. The most important is the Florentine Codex from 1578. This manuscript was created by Father Bernadino de Saagun and a group of his native artists. The Florentine Codex contains numerous detailed observations regarding the culture, religious practices and the daily lives of the Aztec people. In conclusion, with a few thousand soldiers, Hernán Cortés managed to conquer the Aztec Empire, which had an approximate population of 10 million. By the end of the century, war, diseases and Spanish rule had decimated the native Indian population and by the beginning of the 17th century there were less than 2 million Aztecs left. The defeat of the Aztec Empire was the first step towards the final conquest of Mesoamerica, which was greatly funded by the gold found in the Mexican Zacateca mines, discovered shortly after the conquest of the Aztec Empire.