Important People
Montezuma
II
By the time Montezuma
the second became ruler in 1502, Tenochtitlan was a huge city and most
of it's neighbouring cities were already part of the Aztec empire. Conquering
new lands meant longer and longer journeys. The warriors complained but
the leaders wanted more power and more tributes to support their huge population.
Their priests urged the leaders to conquer new lands to keep the gods happy
with blood offerings. The ruler Ahuitzotl had to pay money to the warriors
to make them fight. When he died, the empire was at it's most powerful,
yet their was always danger of rebellion from those paying tribute The
headdress of Montezuma king of the Aztecs, is made from precious stones
and feathers from a tropical bird, the quetzal. The Aztec rulers built
up their wealth as they conquered more lands. By the time the Spaniards
arrived, the king lived in a magnificent palace and wore fine clothes and
jewellery. He had a treasure house of gold. No one was allowed to
look the king in the face. Even the nobles had to go barefoot in front
of him.
Hernando Cortez
Hernando Cortez was one of
the bravest Spanish conquistadors (conquerors) of North America. Cortez
was a 16th-century explorer who crossed the sea with only a few hundred
men and conquered the Aztec empire. The Aztecs mistakenly believed that
Cortez and his men were messengers from one of their gods. Cortez captured
the king,Montezuma, and the land of the great city of Tenochtitlan, which
is now Mexico City. Unknown to both the Spaniards and the Aztecs, the Spaniards
had brought a powerful but invisible weapon with them across the sea: smallpox,
which killed thousands of Aztecs. Because Cortez had come from Europe without
permission from the Spanish king, he was forced to flee once the king learned
of his disobedience. Cortez returned not long after that to conquer the
Aztecs once again. Although he had won the gold-rich empire for Spain,
he continued to be accused of crimes and was made miserable by the jealous
Spanish government. Cortez discovered and explored the peninsula of Lower
California and the Pacific coast of Mexico.
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