WEBVTT

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yeah, a car well above you. Right, no little modeled quitters.

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The year was 1519. The Aztec capital
of Tenochtitlan was the most powerful

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city state in middle America and its
rulers collected tribute from all the

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other tribes of Central Mexico.

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The year was 1519. Aztec legend said
that in this year the priest King

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kettle Cottle would return from the
sun kessel coital with his fair hair

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and beard.

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Montezuma, the second emperor of the
Aztecs was increasingly upset by

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omens signs which told of impending
disaster for the Aztecs. What were

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these omens? Well, a rival ruler
predicted that the land of the Aztecs

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would be ruled by strangers. He was so
sure of himself that he bet his

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kingdom against three of Montezuma's
fighting cocks. A ritual ballgame was

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played to decide the winner and
Montezuma lost. Then Aztec history tells

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us that hunters trapped a fabulous
bird with a mirror in its head and

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brought it to Montezuma and his peers.
First, Montezuma saw a sky in the

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mirror and then he saw an army of
soldiers. The people of Tenochtitlan

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were frightened. They felt that
something was going to happen and far away

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to the east something was happening,
stirred by stories of gold and

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fabulous wealth. A small group of
spanish adventurers set sail in search

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of glory and gold. Their fleet landed
first at yucatan and then sailed

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north to Tabasco. Their leader was
Hernan Cortes and he had a dream not

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only a finding great wealth but also
of creating a new world. Utopia.

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Cortez would bring the religion of
Spain to the indians and he would build

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a society based on the best elements
of both civilizations.

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Thus, Cortes began a conflict between
two cultures. In this lesson, we'll

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examine the conquest of Mexico. Well
look first at the military campaigns

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in which the Spaniards conquered the
Aztecs and then we'll discuss the

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effects of the spanish conquest on the
indian cultures. Cortes had a

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stroke of luck At the beginning at
Tabasco, he met an extremely

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intelligent indian girl. She spoke
several indian languages and she

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learned spanish quickly. She accepted
the catholic faith of the Spaniards

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and joined their expedition. Her name
was Malinche and the Spaniards

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called her marina. She became one of
the strongest weapons the invaders

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had for she understood the politics
and hatreds that divided the tribes of

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Mexico. The fleet finally landed near
the modern city of vera Cruz where

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Cortez set up his first headquarters
from there. A few 100 soldiers with

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some horses and cannons set out on
their greatest adventure. Their goal,

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the conquest of the indians of Mexico,

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Montezuma believed that Cortes was the
God Quetzalcoatl. Returning to

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Mexico and the Aztecs reasoned that if
Cortez were given gifts, he might

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be satisfied and leave. So they came
to vera Cruz with gold and feather

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work from Montezuma, but Cortez didn't
leave. Melinda told him of the

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hatred. Other indian tribes fell for
the Aztecs. She advised Cortez to

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recruit indian allies and he was
visited by the chiefs of a state, anxious

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to be freed from their burden of
tribute to the Aztecs, Cortes formed an

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alliance with these people accompanied
by a few 1000 indian warriors. The

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Spaniards marched to the land of
plucks Collins, the bitterest enemies of

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the Aztecs,

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but the fox Collins didn't welcome the
invaders like people throughout

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Mexico, that plucks Collins were
terrified by the sound of guns. In the

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sight of horses, the indians of Mexico
had never seen such animals and

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they thought that both man and horse
were one creature.

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The indian weapons were no match for
spanish guns and artillery and

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crossbows. Cortes defeated the trucks
Collins easily and convinced them to

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join the campaign against the Aztecs.
Montezuma alarmed now invited the

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spanish invaders and their indian
allies to visit him. At Tenochtitlan, at

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the gates of Tenochtitlan, Montezuma
met the invading army. The troops

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were given a palace in the city and
Cortez was invited to stay at the

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emperor's palace. The Aztec ruler was
a pleasant host. He entertained the

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invaders with elaborate festivals, but
Cortes suspected Montezuma of

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treachery and so the Aztec ruler was
imprisoned. The Spaniards now control

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the city, but then Cortes returned to
vera Cruz for supplies, The people

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of Tenochtitlan revolted when the
commander left in charge ordered the

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execution of 600 Aztec nobles. Cortes
returned and tried to restore order.

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Perhaps he thought Montezuma could
control his people, Montezuma was a

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victim of Cortez plans. As tech
officials deposed, Montezuma and elected

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his brother quit La WA Emperor
Montezuma still convinced that Cortes was a

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god tried to calm the people, but the
Aztecs threw stones and shot arrows

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at their former ruler. A few days
later, the wounded Montezuma was

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strangled by his spanish captors. In
the vicious battle that followed, the

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Aztecs were victorious. 2/3 of the
Spanish troops and many priests were

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killed. Many more Spaniards were
wounded.

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The defeated Spaniards were forced to
retreat from Tenochtitlan during the

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night. The no characteristic the sad
night and legend says that Hernan

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Cortes defeated and discouraged, wept
under this cypress tree. Had the

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Aztecs pursued their advantage that
night, had they chased the Spaniards

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beyond the confines of their city,
it's more than likely they would have

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destroyed the remnants of the spanish
army. But Hernan Cortes was a man of

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genius and determination. He led his
men back to Tlaxcala to regroup to

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get fresh supplies. To plan his next
attack, Cortes would build a fleet of

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boats, take them apart and rebuild
them at Lake Texcoco. He would attack

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and blockade the city of Tenochtitlan
from the lake. For he knew he

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couldn't capture the city by fighting
his way across the heavily fortified

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causeways. The plan was successful.
The Spaniards and their indian allies

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destroyed the aqueduct, cutting off
the fresh water supply to Tenochtitlan.

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They destroyed all the crops on the
shores of the lake. They would starve

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out the numerically superior Aztec
forces.

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The Aztecs were led by a new emperor.
The heroic CUauhtemoc and they

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fought to the death for they knew now
that the Spaniards were not gods,

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but ruthless invaders intent upon
destroying Aztec Mexico. Finally, with

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good luck, the Spaniards captured
CUauhtemoc. The Aztec ruler was brought

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to Cortez with full honors. Once the
Aztec leader was imprisoned, the

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military conquest of Mexico was
virtually complete. Tenochtitlan fell on

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August 13, 1521. But how could a few
men conquer an army of thousands?

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Well, it would be easy to say that
indian weapons were no match for

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spanish guns and cannons. And this is
certainly part of the reason Cortes

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and his men were able to conquer the
Aztecs. But there were other reasons

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as well. First of all, the indian
allies of the Spaniards, the people who

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had suffered at the hands of the
Aztecs, they furnished most of the

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infantry for the conquering forces and
they provided other vital services.

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They prepared and transported food
supplies for the troops. They

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maintained lines of communication and
the police occupied areas without

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their indian allies, the Spaniards
would have been unable to coordinate

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their activities.

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Another factor that contributed to the
defeat of the Aztecs was

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psychological remember the Omens that
had disturbed Montezuma because of

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these Omens. The frightened Aztecs
were convinced that they were doomed.

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Before the fighting started, the
Aztecs, Appeal to their gods for rescue.

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Hundreds of victims were led to the
sacrificial altars, but the gods were

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not appeased. Even when the Spaniards
sacked the temples, destroying the

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idols and the alters, the Aztec gods
remain silent. They did not strike

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the invaders and the indians began to
lose faith in the powers of their

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gods.

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A third reason for the defeat of the
Aztecs was that their concept of war

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differed from that of the Spaniards
Compared to Europe during this era.

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The Aztecs were a peaceful people.
Only a few years earlier, the Spaniards

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had won back control of their
peninsula from the moors. After 700 years of

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fighting countries all over europe had
been involved in bloody conflicts.

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During the crusades of the 12th and
13th centuries, European Christians

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had fought viciously to recover the
Holy Land from the Muslims. There were

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other conflicts. England and France
fought the 100 years war from 1338 to

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1453. Two years later, the war of the
roses began In England. In each case

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the warring factions believed that to
win, they must destroy the enemy.

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The Aztek concept of war was quite
different to the indians of Mexico war

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was a ceremony. The main purpose of
each warrior was not to kill the enemy

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in battle but to capture as many
prisoners as possible. The indians didn't

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understand the concept of total
victory over an enemy mm. The political

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system of the Aztecs also contributed
to their defeat. The Spaniards were

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able to take advantage of weaknesses
and Aztec leadership. Remember an

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emperor had no power unless he had the
support of the tribal council. When

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Montezuma was taken prisoner, the
council abandoned him and his power over

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the people disintegrated.

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Finally, the Spaniards conquered a
sick and dying population. The indians

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of Mexico had no immunity to diseases
brought from europe Epidemics of

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smallpox. Measles, typhoid were so
frequent that between 1519 and 1656,

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7th of the Indian population died.
They died of the european diseases and

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they also died of starvation. Even
before the Spaniards arrived, the

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population of Mexico had begun to
outgrow the available food supply And

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there were severe famines. In the
early 16th century, the Spaniards put

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additional pressure on the land and
they introduced livestock to Mexico,

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Spaniards and indians alike began to
use valuable agricultural land to

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raise sheep and cattle. So

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a combination of factors contributed
to the defeat of the Aztecs superior

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spanish weapons and the use of indian
allies. The fears of the Aztecs and

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their concept of war. The disease is
imported by the Spaniards and a

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shortage of food.Hello