Victors and Vanquished
The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most
significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire.
While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one
over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because
of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script,
a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central
America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent
culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines
that come together to make the event happen. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec is no
different. Three major themes are seen in this struggle. One of them is the incredible
advantage that the Spaniards technology gave them over the Aztecs. A second major theme
is the greed that fueled the conquests in the New World. The last major theme was the
effect of the political divisions and rivalries within Montezumas Central American
Kingdom. As this historical event progressed each one of these themes began to intertwine
until they became an almost unstoppable force.
One of the principle themes in the Aztec downfall was the immense greed of the
Europeans. The principle goal of every majorfaction in Europe was to gain power and
wealth it didnt matter from what source. Everyone from popes and kings to the lowly
soldier envisioned rivers of gold and fame. Ever since they had boats Europeans have been
looking for lucrative trade routes and other ways to turn a profit. The ruling monarchs of
these countries contributed a great deal to this. They saw vast profits from these ventures
through taxes and the customary ” Royal Fifth” which was a fifth of all profits would go
straight to the King and/or Queen. Also royalty or other nobility within the country
personally funded a large majority of explorations. Trading and exploration companies just
helped push the trend further and made the exploitation of newly discovered lands big
business. While greed was defiantly a starting point for Cortezs expedition, it was his
greed while in Central Mexico that changed the tide of history. Cortezs first encounters
with the natives in Central Mexico gave him crucial information about a large wealthy
