The terrible slaughter that led to the collapse of the largest empire of America. Everything with only 500 soldiers
America's greatest empire ended in a blood bath. 505 years ago, an apparently harmless festival triggered the bloodiest confrontations between Europeans and native populations, with facts of a cruelty out of the ordinary. One of the world's greatest civilizations collapsed.
The massacre of the great Wikipedia photo temple
In the first decade of the sixteenth century, in Central America, on the territory of today's Mexico, one of the most flourishing civilizations of history, is at the peak. The great Aztec Empire, founded at the beginning of the fourteenth century, has dominated over two centuries all Mexico populations on a large territory. The capital of this powerful empire was Tenochtitlan, one of the brightest cities in the world, from that time. It had a population of over 200,000 inhabitants, exceeding many large cities of medieval Europe. The Aztec civilization was particularly complex.
Although they did not know the processing of metal, the Aztecs had advanced knowledge of hygiene, mathematics, physics and astronomy. Their huge temples impressed, as well as the structures of urban infrastructure, with running water and sewerage. The Aztec army was among the most feared. However, it was an empire of blood, brutal with the populations subjected and renowned for the numerous sacrifices dedicated to the great Aztec gods. This huge empire and its rich richness, however, attracted them as a magnet, to all the European adventurers who had discovered the New World. This huge civilization of America would end in a blood bath, subjected by an army of only 500 people.
The “great white god”, the siren of Europeans and the naivety of a great emperor
In 1502, the Aztec Empire was at its peak. On the throne, the young king Montezuma II Xocoyotzin, who would increase the brilliance of this civilization, climbed the throne. He managed to submit the last native tribes, the mixtures in Oaxcai but also those of the Tetzoco nation. The greatness and power of Montezuma II would not last. In 1517, a strange people reached the shores of Mexico. There were people dressed in iron and rode strange animals that scared the locals. This is how the Spanish conquerors were perceived. After the discovery of America by Cristifor Columbus, in 1492, but especially after the news went that the milk and honey flow in these new territories, and the riches are at every step, a multitude of Spanish adventurers went to the New World to claim the territories in the name of the Spanish crown. In fact, they only wanted to enrich themselves, plundering the native populations.
In Mexico, the Spaniards will have a fork. They did not have to face primitive, defenseless tribes, but one of America's most feared armies. Although they had no firearms or iron, the Aztecs were fierce, well -trained warriors, with a warrior tradition for several centuries. The first Spaniard who arrived, in recognition on the Mexican coast was Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. He had only 100 people and three ships. It was just a mission of recognition. He returned to the Spanish base in Cuba and spoke to the governor about the greatness of the Aztec civilization but also about the rich rich in those territories. The second time was sent Hernan Cortes, an adventurer, a son of castilian nobles, who wanted to get in the New World.
The desire to live made the cortez to defy the authority of the governor in Cuba but also to the Spanish crown. With only 500 Spanish soldiers and nobles, well-trained and struggled, Hernan Cortes founded his own city, called Veracruz, on the southeast coast of Mexico. There he set his base. From Veracruz, Herna Cortes began to make her plans to conquer the Aztec Empire. He realized that he needed a lot of snack to fight with only 500 people, even well trained, in front of thousands of Aztec warriors. First of all he tested the land. He behaved with goodwill by gaining the confidence of the tribes subject to the Aztecs.
That's how he learned precious information. The indigenous were dissatisfied with the Aztec rule. The aristocrats and warriors of Tenochtitlan behaved with great cruelty and many young people, from the conquered territories they were sacrificed in the Aztec temples. The heart was snatched from their chest as they lived, and then used in cannibal rituals. Cortes exploited this dissatisfaction and fueled the spirit of revolt against the Aztecs, forming alliances with the natives, including the Tiascalans, the death enemies of the Aztecs. In addition, he took advantage of a prophecy to reach the great capital of the Aztec Empire. According to the Aztec tradition the god Quetzacoatl, who had left among people, would return under the appearance of a white man, with a long beard. It was wonderfully fit with Hernan Cortes. Montezuma received as a god in life. “Our master, you are tired. The trip tired you, but now you have arrived on the ground. You came to our city, Mexico. You came here to sit on your throne, to sit under his canopy ”. It was a fatal gesture of the great Aztec emperor.
The slaughter that marked the end of an empire of the sun and blood
After seeing in the city, as a big guest, and possibly god, Hernan Cortes managed to get his hand on Montezuma. More precisely, the great emperor was taken hostage. The Spanish conquer wanted to make sure that he would not be attacked by the Aztecs and that he would succeed, without pouring blood, to put his hand on the capital of the Aztec Empire. Cuba's governor would ruin his plans. The Spanish official sent the aristocrat Panfilo de Narvaez, along with a small army to arrest Cortes. The latter founded a city, concluded alliances and put his hand on many wealth without asking for the crown agreement and especially without giving the due part. Cortes is forced to leave the Tenochtitlan to fight Narvaez. The deputy was named Pedro de Alvarado, another famous conquer. In the absence of Cortes, Emperor Montezuma asked Alvarado's permission to organize toxactl, an Aztec festival dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, one of the great gods.
Alvarado gave his agreement. During the holiday, the Spaniards committed one of the most atrocious slaughter in history. Present at the rituals, suddenly blocked the temples and began to slaughter the Aztec aristocrats and warriors. They were not armed and were easy. They were killed, men and women alike. The chronicles of the time describe the terrible slaughter. The conquerors cut hands, heads, eviscera, crushed.
“” At first, while everyone was enjoying the holidays, when everyone danced, when everyone sang, the Spaniards came to kill people. They entered the temple yard, armed and prepared to fight. They put people on all the outings, to be sure that no one escaped. The drums, cutting his hands and then, with so much force, that the head flew He was flowing like water, forming puddles.is shown in the testimonies of the Aztecs published in “Vision de los Vencidos”.
The Spaniards also had their version, through the historian Francisco Lopez de Gomara, contemporary with the events. He said that the Spaniards suspected the Aztecs of rebellion and that the festival was just a pretext to catch and kill the remaining conquerors in the city. In any case, hundreds of Aztecs were slaughtered in less than three hours. No one knows what the exact reason for the slaughter was. Some say that the Spaniards would have been crazy about the gold carried by the Aztec nobles present at the celebration, others that it would have been a secret plan of Cortes to behead the Aztec nobility and to get rid of the most important warriors, caught unarmed. It is certain that after the slaughter in the temple, the rest of the warriors in the city stood on the Spaniards.
The return of Cortes, victorious from the fight with Narvaez, saved their lives. During the fights, Emperor Montezuma, the guarantee of the conquerians, died. At that time, Hernan Cortes forced the out of town. He had few people and the Aztecs wanted revenge. Only a small fog of conquistadori managed to escape from the city. The rest were slaughtered. Safely, Cortes got troops but also from allies among the natives enslaved by the Aztec and eventually conquered the Tenochtitlan. America's greatest civilization collapsed into the blood.
