[citation needed], Although some reports put the number as low as forty, the Spanish lost over 100 soldiers in the siege, while thousands of Tlaxcalans perished. By accepting this policy, you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies. The Aztecs had fought for the lake cities many times before and their tactics were excellent - the use of canoes, the use of flat roofs with prepared missiles, dropping down into the lake when cornered, and destroying bridges. Cuauhtemoc then "sent the hands and feet of our soldiers, and the skin of their faces...to all the towns of our allies..." The Aztec sacrificed a batch of Spanish prisoners each night for ten nights. Do people still sacrifice animals? [citation needed], It was necessary for Cortés to rebuild his alliances after his escape from Tenochtitlan before he could try again to take the city. Moctezuma secured the consent of Cortés to hold the festival, and again confirmed permission with Alvarado. Cortés fought the Tabascans, the Cempoalans, the Tlaxcalans and found them strong opponents, but always prevailed. Why Quetzalcoatl in particular? We see repeated in historical texts this upholding of being unfailingly polite and gracious to visitors, but only to show that the person extending these courtesies is doing so from a position of power. Cortés’s account of his meeting with the Aztec paramount includes a speech the conquistador made up and put into Moctezuma’s mouth. Levy, Buddy, Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stands of the Aztecs, (New York: Bantam Books, 2008), 170–71. Thereafter, Cortés had a personal guard of six soldiers, under the command of Antonio de Quiñones. The claim that Aztecs mistook Cortés for a supernatural being arose in the 1530s, and became associated with Quetzalcoatl in particular in the 1540s, when people in New Spain were looking back and trying to explain what had happened to them. [29]:321–25 Cuauhtemoc's forces were defeated four times in March 1521, around Chalco and Huaxtepec, and Cortés received another ship load of arms and men from the Emperor. However, Cortés sent Andrés de Tapia, with 20 horsemen and 100 soldiers, and Gonzalo de Sandoval, with 20 horsemen and 80 soldiers, to help his allies attack this new threat. (Part II) by with a free trial. However, the Aztecs were successful in setting an ambush with thirty of their pirogues in an area in which they had placed impaling stakes. Why did the Aztecs only use wheels for toys and not for transport? Did they take feathers equally from male and female quetzal birds? Why is the emperor called Montezuma [in England] and not Moctezuma? (Part II), Episode #116- What Went Down On Easter Island? As Cortés arrived in more densely inhabited areas east of the lake, the attacks were more forceful. So he argued, cajoled, bullied, and coerced his troops, and they began preparing for the siege of Mexico. [16], Alvarado agreed to allow the festival on the condition that there would be no human sacrifice, but the Toxcatl festival had featured human sacrifice as the main part of its climactic rituals. Narváez was imprisoned in Vera Cruz, and his army was integrated into Cortés's forces. How Moctezuma died - what WAS or what SHOULD HAVE BEEN? [29]:356 Cortés' forces took up these positions on May 22. [29]:404 Cortés demanded the return of the gold lost during La Noche Triste. This may help to explain how the confusion with Quetzalcoatl arose in historians’ minds in the early colonial period, but even if true, the story would not mean that natives mistook Cortés for the god: Aztec priests and nobles exchanged divine disguises for many ceremonial purposes and in war, as well as to mark certain festivals in the calendar: indeed many cultures use such costumes in similar circumstances, without thinking that the wearer is really divine. Cortés continued to receive a steady stream of supplies from ships arriving at Vera Cruz, one ship from Spain loaded with "arms and powder", and two ships intended for Narváez. What did the Spanish do after the native population collapsed [in the century after the Conquest]? [29]:311–16, After winning over Chalco and Tlamanalco, Cortés sent eight Mexican prisoners to Cuauhtemoc stating, "all the towns in the neighborhood were now on our side, as well as the Tlaxcalans". Did the Aztecs have different types of chewing gum to today’s? Alvarado's camp had Chichimecatecle, the two sons of Lorenzo de Vargas, and eighty Tlaxcalans. [26][page needed], It was at this event where firsthand accounts were recorded in the Florentine Codex concerning the adverse effects of the smallpox epidemic of the Aztecs, which stated, "many died from this plague, and many others died of hunger. The Aztecs took this as a good sign, but they could fight no more, and after discussions with the nobles, Cuauhtémoc began talks with the Spanish. Cortés commanded the 13 sloops. [27] Diseases like smallpox could travel great distances and spread throughout large populations, which was the case with the Aztecs having lost approximately 50% of its population from smallpox and other diseases. What did the Spanish do after the native population collapsed? The accounts of the conquest are diverse and, at times, contradictory. This spurs Cortés to hatch a plot to take Motecuhzoma hostage, thus ending any real idea about how normal political relations might have proceeded. [6] Almost all of the Aztec nobility were dead, and the remaining survivors were mostly young women and very young children. Cortés was amicably received by Moctezuma. [citation needed], But Cortés used the same legal tactic used by Governor Velázquez when he invaded Cuba years before: he created a local government and had himself elected as the magistrate, thus (in theory) making him responsible only to the King of Spain. What happened to the Aztec gods after the conquest - 1? [21] Cortés sent emissaries to negotiate with the Tlatelolcas to join his side, but the Tlatelolcas remained loyal to the Aztecs. Cortés aimed at routing the Aztecs and by holding both Moctezuma and the great temple - being able to offer peace once again. There's probably no small amount of infusion of Spanish courtly ideas into these post-conquest accounts, and indeed the clearest example I can think of is when Duran (writing in a thoroughly Spanish style, but drawing on Nahua ethnohistory) recounts how the Tlaxcalans were invited by Ahuizotl to witness the dedication of the Temple of Huitzilopochtli. However, he neglected to fill in a channel as he advanced, and when the Aztec counter-attacked, Cortés was wounded and almost captured. [31], Cortés then concentrated on letting the Aztec "eat up all the provisions they have" and drink brackish water. Behind these horsemen were five more contingents: foot soldiers with iron swords and wooden or leather shields; horsemen in cuirasses, armed with iron lances, swords, and wooden shields; crossbowmen; more horsemen; soldiers armed with arquebuses; lastly, native peoples from Tlaxcalan, Tliliuhquitepec, and Huexotzinco. Cortés even had ship-builders who made boats used in the battle for Tenochtitlan. Why did Aztec shields have patterns on them? Did the Aztecs bury things for future generations like us to find? In April 1519 Hernán Cortés, a ruthlessly ambitious nobleman recently landed in Cuba, and the leader of the third Spanish expedition to the coast of Mexico, landed as directed by the survivors of the previous two expeditions at San Juan de Ulúa, a good harbour on Mexico's east coast, with 508 soldiers, 100 sailors, and 14 small cannons. Did the taco come from the cigarette, or the cigarette from the taco?! Would a son inherit the family house from his father when he grew up? The famine was so severe that the Aztecs ate anything, even wood, leather, and bricks for sustenance. The Tlaxcalan leaders rebuffed the overtures of the Aztec emissaries, deciding to continue their friendship with Cortés. [citation needed], It is often debated why the Aztecs took little action against the Spanish and their allies after they fled the city. Davis, Paul K. (2003). Cuauhtemoc then enlisted his allies in Matlazingo, Malinalco, and Tulapa, in attacking the Spaniards from the rear.