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Why was the Spanish conquest important?

Why was the Spanish conquest important?

Cortés helped old enemies of the Aztecs defeat them in one of the most important events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Spanish conquest was devastating to the Aztec people. By 1680, 94% of the Aztec population had died.

What did the Spanish do in 1519?

Hernan Cortés invaded Mexico in 1519 and conquered the Aztec Empire. Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador, or conqueror, best remembered for conquering the Aztec empire in 1521 and claiming Mexico for Spain. He also helped colonize Cuba and became a governor of New Spain.

What event happened in 1519 that were very important in Spanish exploration?

The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Why was the year 1519 important to the Aztec?

On November 8, 1519, the Spaniards and their 1,000 Tlaxcaltec warriors were allowed to enter Tenochtitlán unopposed. Montezuma suspected them to be divine envoys of the god Quetzalcatl, who was prophesied to return from the east in a “One Reed” year, which was 1519 on the Aztec calendar.

Why was the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire important?

This event is called the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Cortés helped old enemies of the Aztecs defeat them in one of the most important events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Spanish conquest was devastating to the Aztec people.

Who was the leader of the Spanish conquest of Mexico?

First came the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in present-day Mexico, led by Hernán Cortés. Soon after Cortés first arrived in Mexico in 1519, a native woman named Malintzin (later baptized Marina) was one of 20 women given to Cortés and his men after they defeated the natives in Tobasco.

Where did the Spanish invade Mexico in 1519?

In early November 1519, with Cortés in the lead, they filed across the southern causeway into the magnificent Tenochtitlán. They were received with much ceremony by a retinue of lords and nobles headed by Moctezuma himself, and escorted to their quarters in the ancient palace of Atzayacatl, the emperor’s father.

Where did the Spanish conquest of the Americas take place?

Next came the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the largest empire in pre-Columbian America that encompassed parts of present-day Peru (site of the Incas’ capital city, Cuzco), Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Luckily for Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador who defeated the Incas, his timing couldn’t have been better.