![[Pasted image 20250201181415.png]] Columbus’s discovery opened a floodgate of Spanish exploration and conquest. Inspired by tales of rivers of gold and timid natives who could be exploited, Spanish explorers were relentless in their quest for land and gold. Spanish conquistadors had been well-trained during the centuries of the recently-ended *Reconquista*, and men of common birth used conquest as a path to wealth and nobility. For example, Hernán Cortés hoped to gain hereditary privilege for his family, tribute payments and labor from natives, and an annual pension for his service to the crown. Cortés arrived on Hispaniola in 1504 and took part in the conquest of that island. Hoping to win his own honor and a territory to rule over, Cortés later explored the Yucatán Peninsula. In 1519, he entered Tenochtitlán, the capital of the [[Aztec]] Empire. He and his men were astonished by the incredibly sophisticated causeways, aqueducts, gardens, markets, and temples in the city, but they were alarmed by the practice of human sacrifice that was central to the Aztec religion. Above all else, Aztec gold fascinated the Spanish adventurers. ![[Painting_of_Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco_on_Lake_Texcoco_(9755215791).jpg]] *Mural of Tenochtitlán in 1519 in Mexico City today* Hoping to gain control of the Aztec capital, Cortés took the ruler [[Moctezuma]] hostage. The Spanish then murdered hundreds of high-ranking Mexica during a festival to celebrate [Huitzilopochtli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%C4%ABtzil%C5%8Dp%C5%8Dchtli), the solar god of war. The ambush angered the people of Tenochtitlán, who rose up against the invaders in their city. Cortés and his people fled for their lives, retreating down one of Tenochtitlán’s causeways to safety on the shore. Cortés slowly created alliances with native peoples in neighboring city-states who resented Aztec rule. It took nearly a year for the Spanish and thousands of native allies who joined them to defeat the Aztecs in Tenochtitlán. They besieged the city after the capital was thrown into chaos by epidemic disease. In August 1521, after fending off rival Spanish explorers, Cortés claimed Tenochtitlán for Spain and renamed it Mexico City. --- Next: [[2.12 Population Crisis]] Back: [[2.10 Columbian Exchange]]