The Arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors to Mexico

In November 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived on the outskirts of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs. This was one of the biggest cities in the entire world at the time, with almost 300,000 people.

When Cortés arrived here, he was welcomed with open arms by the leader, Moctezuma II. It was said Moctezuma personally dressed him in flowers which was considered to be of great honor to the Aztecs. There were over 3000 Spanish who arrived in the city and Moctezuma housed them in the palace of his father.

It seemed Moctezuma wanted nothing more than to be great friends with the Spanish. Cortés continued to request many gifts of gold for him and his fellow Spanish. He also demanded that large idols be removed from the main pyramid and replaced with shrines symbolizing Christianity.

Even though each of these demands were met, Cortés kidnapped Moctezuma in his own palace and held him for ransom. Gold was delivered, but Cortés would not let Moctezuma go. As a result, the Aztec empire eventually fell into disarray and Cortés was victorious. If Cortés and his men hadn’t discovered Mexico, and put an end to the religious practices of the Aztecs, do you think there would be practices such as human sacrifice or blood rituals in place today?