![]() In November 1519, Hernando Cortés approached the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with its ruler, Moctezuma. ![]() Unfortunately for Moctezuma, after coming all this way the Spaniard was fired up rather than placated by this show of generosity. The meeting with the Emperor was cordial, and Cortés was given large amounts of gold – which was not seen to be as valuable to the Aztecs. Seeing this host at the gates of his capital, Moctezuma decided to receive the strange newcomers peacefully, and he met with the foreign adventurer – who was basking in the local belief that this strange armoured man was actually the serpent God Quetzalcoatl. On the way there he met with other tribes under the yoke of Moctezuma’s rule, and these warriors quickly swelled the Spanish ranks as the summer of 1519 went slowly by.įinally, on 8 November, this ragtag army arrived at the gates of Tenochtitlan, an island city said to have been astonishingly rich and beautiful. Tenochtitlan – the island cityĪfter the emissaries haughtily refused him many times, he began to march onto the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan – refusing to take no for an answer. In what is now Veracruz, he met with an emissary of this nation, and demanded a meeting with the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma.Ī 19th century portrait of Hernan Cortés by Jose Salome Pina. One of them would one day father his child, and they told him of a great inland Empire stuffed with staggering riches. With his name now blackened by the vengeful governor of Cuba, there would be no going back.įrom then on Cortés marched inland, winning skirmishes with natives, from whom he captured a number of young women. Upon reaching the Yucatan peninsula, he scuttled his ships. In February 1519 he left, taking 500 men, 13 horses and a handful of cannon with him. ![]() That year Velazquez gave Cortés permission to explore the interior, and though he quickly revoked this decision after another squabble, the younger man decided to go anyway. Into the unknownīy 1518, many of the Caribbean islands had been discovered and colonised by Spanish settlers, but the great uncharted mainland of the Americas remained a mystery. An illustration of Emperor Moctezuma welcoming Cortés to Tenochtitlan.
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