by Jeff Woodward

Created on: December 08, 2008

The downfall of the Aztec Empire was caused by two main contributing factors: the arrival of the Europeans, and the disease they brought with them. The Aztecs were unprepared for the type of technology the Spanish brought with them, jsut as their bodies were had no immunity system against diseases that the Europeans developed immunities, or at least a stronger resistance to, from centuries of contact with infected peoples.

When Hernan Cortes first arrived on the shores of what is now Mexico, the Aztecs were the dominating culture of Meso America. What peoples they did not conquer, they absorbed into their ever increasing sphere of influence. The altars of their gods needed blood; the conquered cultures of their surrounding empire provided that staple. Both a militaristic and religious society, the Aztecs performed ritual human sacrifices on captured enemies. Their living hearts were cut from their torsos with obsidian blades, as the priest raised it, still beating above his head. What the Aztecs were about to experience at the hands of the Spanish was their own sacrifice, and that of their culture.

Cortes and the Spanish first arrived on Mayan soil in the Yucatan Peninsula. There, they met a stranded Franciscan monk, who was fluent in both the Mayan and Aztec languages. He led Cortes, who along with his 600 soldiers, 15 horsemen, 15 cannon, and hundreds of allied native tribesmen marched on Cholula, the Aztecs second largest city. Cortes killed the nobility of the city, and razed it to the ground. His next stop was Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.

What gave the Spanish a military advantage were their equipment. A regular foot soldier, encased in a helmet, plate breastguard, wielding a 7 foot pike, in addition to his musket, must have been a fearsome sight to an Aztec warrior, clad in a loincloth, wielding a wooded club lined with spikes, or an obsidian blade. The Spanish would fire vollies of cannon shells into the city, and fire with muskets before engaging in hand to hand combat. The Aztecs could do little to protect themselvs against such attacks, and as their weapons caused little damage to well armored Spanish soldiers, their morale must have declined considerably.

Diseases, such as smallpox, were spread rapidly among the indiguous populous by infected Spanish soldiers. This caused catastrophic consequences on the conquered Aztecs. As the Spanish gained more and more influence, and installed puppet emperors of their own on the Aztec throne, another, unseen battle was being waged. Disease cut through the Meso-Americans, diminishing and changing their cultures forever.

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