1 of 3

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

traveled up the coast to Cempoala, the main city of the Totonacs, who had been conquered and victimized by the Aztecs and were only too eager to Join as Cortes' allies. Then in the late summer of 1519, Cortes' 400 Spaniards and over a thousand Indian allies began their journey into Mexico's interior.

Up the coast and west through snow-covered mountain passes, Cortes' group reached the city of Tlaxcala whose people were long-tine enemies of the Aztecs. Pressing on towards Cholula, the Spaniards were amazed at the sight of their first Aztec pyramid, which was more than twice the size of Egypt's Cheops. This pyramid to the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli claimed nearly 6,000 victims each year as blood-encrusted Aztec priests carved out their victims' hearts and tossed the lifeless bodies down the steps to the 1,400-foot base. Cortes was horrified and quickly suppressed this gruesome practice.

Marching westward to a natural ridge between Mexico's famous snowy volcanic peaks, Popocatepetl (po-po-cah-TEP-et-el) and Ixtaccihuatl (ick-tack-see-WAH-tel), where the Valley of Mexico stretches out below Cortes' group caught their first view of Mexico's central valley. The Valley of Mexico is a broad plain, and during Cortes first visit had an enormous lake surrounded by towns and an island city in its center, the fabulous city of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.

Tenochtitlan was connected to the mainland by a system of three causeways. Having an estimated population of nearly 200,000 (larger than many European capitals of that day), the Aztecs had built a flourishing and self-sustaining city that must have been a truly amazing sight to Cortes and his scruffy crew. Once again, Cortes luck held out. The Aztec ruler Moctezuma believed that Cortes' was none other than the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, who had been deposed but whose return was foretold. Cortes' behavior and timing coincided with the legends and omens of the Aztec leader, who at any time could have ordered the destruction of the Spaniards, but did not.

However, it did not take very long for Cortes and the Spaniards to wear out their welcome at Tenochtitlan. After the Moctezuma died under suspicious circumstances, the Aztec people rose up. Driven out by an uprising that caused the Spaniards to flee laden with booty from the slain Aztec leader Moctezuma's treasury, Cortes would not remain defeated, and with the help of an amphibious force and a smallpox epidemic that seriously weakened the Aztecs, would return a year later to claim final victory over the Aztecs.

So, in the final analysis, Cortes was never an explorer. He started out as a semi-impoverished slave-holding rancher in Cuba and led a fierce and avaricious group of Spanish mercenary adventurers. He and his men performed the amazing task of subduing an advanced warrior culture and transforming them into docile minions of the Spanish empire.

For more information on the Cortes' travels, see "Geography and Travels in History: Cortes and Mexico" at Trivia-Library.com (http://www.trivia-library.com /b/geography-and-travels-in-hi story-cortes-and-mexico-part-2 .htm).

Learn more about this author, Jerry Curtis.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about What areas in Mexico did Hernan Cortes explore??
We want to hear your view. Write now!