FALL of the Aztecs: How 400 Spaniards Toppled an Empire | Animated History transcript

at the start of 1519 the Aztec Empire was a dominant force in meso America although commonly seen as one people the Aztec empire actually began in 1428 as an alliance between the three city states of toosan texoco and tpan among these ostian would soon rise above the others gaining infamy in the eyes of their tributaries those unfortunate enough to fall under its yoke were forced to supply the Triple Alliance not only with raw materials but also with a steady flow of prisoners for Human Sacrifice although it is not entirely clear how many people were sacrificed in total It is believed that in times of drought thousands of human lives would be ritually killed over a matter of days Aztec warriors also embarked on what was known as flower wars to capture prisoners for sacrifice and some members of the Aztec aristocracy even cannibalized the bodies of some of the victims having said that life in tanos titit landan entailed more than just an endless stream of gruesome offerings and peculiar appetites the mexic as the cities inhabitants were called greatly valued scholarship and ttit land contained several large libraries with manuscripts on a wide range of topics ranging from religion and genealogies to government and geography the Fateful event that would radically alter the course of Mesoamerican history came in February 1519 when a group of several hundred conquistadors landed in the Gulf of Mexico in search of Glorious cities rumored to be filled with gold its leader nnan Cortez was following in the footsteps or rather the sales of two prior Expeditions which had ventured into the Gulf before him but unlike his predecessors Cortez expedition was Rife with controversy from the very start after having budded heads with the Cuban Governor Diego Velasquez Cortez had his expeditionary Charter revoked at the last moment not one to take no for an answer Cortez decided to ignore the order and in an open Act of mutiny set sail for meso America facing certain imprisonment or even death Cortez was highly aware of the absolute necessity of his expedition's success uccess luckily for him help in this regard would soon arrive in unexpected form once a novelty adorning the wrists of the Rich and royalty thanks to Modern conflicts like the first world war wristwatches soon transitioned into vital instruments of war with soldiers relying on them to synchronize critical operations Shifting the wrist watch's status from ornamental to indispens ible today wrist watches don't just help manage time but they also remind us to take time for ourselves whenever needed holar the sponsor of today's video continues this Legacy by merging Timeless Elegance with modern Ingenuity and natural materials their highquality watches jewelry and accessories are the perfect gift for any occasion or style I've had my holar watch for several months and I wear it regularly during my onscreen scenes I also really enjoy these amazing handcrafted sunglasses that I just received all pieces are guaranteed for 24 months and ordering online is easy with free Duty and import tax-free shipping to the US and most EU countries within 2 to 5 days followers who use our special discount code armchair 15 at checkout will receive 15% off of all products support our Channel by clicking the link link and choose your own personal piece of nature for everyday life with hoscar on their way to their first stop in the Yucatan Peninsula The Conquistadors happened upon a Shipwrecked Spaniard by the name of heronim De Aguilar agular who had learned to speak Mayan was promptly brought aboard as Cortez personal translator a few weeks later agular would prove his usefulness during peace talks with the panin a Mayan city state that the Conquistadors had encountered a few weeks into their expedition as a peace offer the Mayans provided Cortez with 20 slaves among whom a woman who spoke both Mayan as well as the Aztec language naad together agilar and the slave woman who would become known as La Malin would form a crucial link for Cortez to communicate with the Aztec people armed with the power of language as well as of Steel and gunpowder the Spaniards set sail for their final destination upon arrival the Nifty Cortez declared the establishment of viaa De La verac Cruz marking the first Spanish colony in meso America however in reality verac Cruz was not much more than a name on a map and primarily served as a means for Cortez to take advantage of Spanish law in an attempt to escape the jurisdiction of Governor Velasquez Cortez arrival in the mean time had not gone unnoticed and his party was soon welcomed by representatives of the Aztec Emperor M Zuma despite their seeming lack of hostility Cortez knew that these formalities were unlikely to last and he was all too aware of the pressing need to address his glaring numerical inferiority fortunately for the Spaniards years of often brutal Aztec rule had left few friends among their tributaries and many like the totonac Confederacy were Rel relatively easily persuaded to turn against their hated overlords upon hearing of the news of the Spanish totonac Alliance mck Zuma sensed trouble and sent forth another score of polite ambassadors bearing gifts of gold and cloth in a doomed attempt to appease the Spaniards and perhaps to keep an eye on their movements but most of all to dissuade them from visiting ttit land Cortez however felt encouraged rather than dissuaded by the the lavish Gifts of gold and ordered a daring March toward the city it was all or nothing for the Spanish leader and to ensure the Loyalty of his own men he made sure to Scuttle his ships before setting off violence erupted when Tac Kalin Warriors began harrying the column as it passed through Tac Calen territory 2 weeks later the Bloodshed spread into September as the Spanish Camp was attacked by day while Cortez men raided toax Cala Villages by night after 18 days of brutal Warfare which had come at the cost of half of the Spanish Cavalry and a fifth of Cortez men peace finally returned to the territory Cortez had convinced the harassers that they had a common enemy in the Aztecs the tacons had reason to resent the Empire as it had conquered most of their territory during their yearly flower wars which had been going on for nearly a century seeing a golden opportunity for Retribution the TAC Kalin lowered their arms and joined the march to the city that being said the violence did not stop there before the Spanish went to tenos landan they marched alongside their Tac CA allies on the city of chalula and massacred its civilian population over the course of several days chalula an important religious Center had formerly been part of of the Tila Kalin sphere of influence before switching sides and allying with the Aztecs the exact reasons for the massacre are disputed but it may have been a mixture of the TAC Kalin wanting to get rid of a political rival and the Spanish wanting to send a message to rival cities while it is clear that many city states had a grudge with the Aztecs at chalula the Spanish clearly demonstrated what would happen if cities didn't Ally with them by the first week of November the surviving conquistadors finally laid eyes on tenos land home to over 300,000 inhabitants this massive City dwarfed almost all of its contemporary European counterparts the Vista of its many canals densely populated neighborhoods and imposing temples and palaces struck the approaching Spaniards with awe and prompted some to wonder whether they were in a dream having failed to dissuade him from visiting the city City M Zuma now felt obliged to invite Cortez into his Palace it was here that the Conquistadors discovered a secret room where the emperor kept his treasure the sight of numerous golden objects Jewels plates and ingots dumbfounded the Spaniards having located the rumored Treasure Trove Cortez began to pressure M Zuma by asking him to allow his men to erect a cross and an image of the Virgin Mary next to two large Aztec Idols naturally this provocative request was caused for considerable consternation among the mexicas causing an eruption of violence that cost the lives of seven Spaniards realizing the precarity of their situation Cortez retaliated by putting M Zuma under house arrest in the palace assuming personal control over the city with the emperor essentially taken hostage the Spaniards hoped to dissuade the Aztecs from further resistance mck Zuma on his part continued to stand firm behind his policy of diplomacy and peace after firmly refusing advice from his Chieftains to attack the Conquistadors he finally allowed Cortez men to build a Catholic Altar on the temple it was the first real sign that the once Mighty emperor of the great Aztec empire had been reduced to little more than a puppet of Cortez meanwhile off to the east another significant development was taking place while Cortez executed his Ceta 900 conquistadors under the command of Pono de narvas were landing on the orders of Governor Velasquez their objective to deal with Cortez hearing of the news Cortez assembled his best men and set off to face narvas in battle leaving Pedro de Alvarado and a small Garrison in charge of the city this would turn out to be a fateful decision as the the cruel and easily angered Alvarado had little patience and even less respect for the Aztec people and when on May 22nd 1520 mcde Zuma asked for permission to celebrate an Aztec Festival which included Human Sacrifice Alvarado and his men interrupted the festivities killing nearly all of the mostly unarmed Warriors and noblemen inside of the Great temple check out our library of over 100 exclusive videos on armchair history TV new videos come out every week and we create armchair historian Originals every single month Alvarado's men claimed to have merely acted to prevent Human Sacrifice while survivors retorted that the Spaniards had grown wild at the sight of gold jewelry that those in attendance were wearing hearing of the massacre mck Zuma again urged for cooler heads to Prevail and ordered his people to stand down the Aztecs have however had had enough and Rose up in Revolt due east Cortez had managed to sneak up on NIS at seala and ordered his men to attack at nightfall his mixed group of 250 Spaniards and 200 natives soundly defeated nv's numerically Superior Force which included Horsemen and artillery in an ultimate slap to the face to Governor Velasquez the survivors were then convinced to join Cortez with promises of boundless Aztec riches arriving back at tonos land Cortez found Alvarado's men under siege in the palace acting quickly Cortez ordered M Zuma to address his people in a final doomed attempt to restore peace and allow the Spaniards to peacefully withdraw from the city however this desperate gesture merely stoped the PES of Fury cheers Rose from the crowd as M Zuma faced a rain of stones and darts his people had had enough of their emperor and had in fact already chosen to elect his successor qu laak the tragic mck Zuma would not survive the assault though the Aztecs would later claim that he was killed by the Spaniards after his usefulness to them had expired with their bargaining chip gone and with supplies rapidly dwindling Cortez realized that time was running out he ordered his men to break out at night with his much gold and other treasure as they could carry the party headed west under the cover of a welcome rainstorm winding their way through the sleeping City however before long they were spotted and the alarm was sounded within no time a crowd of Aztecs emerged from their houses to attack the fleeing column while hundreds of men in canoes harassed Cortez men as they fought their way across the cway leading out of the city some soldiers lost their footing and drowned in the lake weighed down by all their equipment and the treasure that they had so desired Cortez himself was well ahead of the group leading a Vanguard of Horsemen leaving the rest of his men behind to fend for themselves upon reaching safety at the Village of takuba the Spanish leader had a change of heart and turned around to come to the aid of those still fighting their way out along the way he found a badly wounded Alvarado with a group of Spaniards and Tac CeX according to Conquistador Diaz del Castillo it was at this point that Cortez broke down in tears during the bloody breakout attempt an estimated 4 to 800 Spaniards had been killed drowned or captured while around 1,000 TX calex had suffered the same fate in terms of equipment all of the artillery and most of the horses had been lost and the exhausted and mostly wounded survivors were left to make do with whatever they had managed to carry along Cortez alleged sorrow at the sight of this tragedy Sol Sol ified it in Spanish and Mexican history as the night of Sorrows despite their apparent weakness ctez men were far from defeated about a week later the Aztec struck again at otumba in an attempt to deliver the killing blow but their victory during the night of Sorrows had made the Aztecs overconfident and the Spaniard skillful use of Cavalry and targeting known leaders ultimately sent their army into disarray having fought off his pursuers Cor withdrew his remaining men to the relative safety of tacala to rest and reorganize though defeated on the field of battle the Aztecs had retaken control over their Capital this Victory however would be shortlived as soon a far more lethal and Insidious enemy would arrive in the form of small poox having no prior contact with this disease the vulnerable Aztecs were at its Mercy thousands perished in short succession among them the new emperor quid laak and by the end of the year 1520 it is estimated that the disease had killed some 8 million people in the area now known as Mexico having licked their wounds from the night of Sorrows and the Battle of otumba Cortez men were reinforced by more native allies from teex ccoo and once again set off for ttit landan in early 1521 well aware of the weakened state of the Aztec empire the Spanish leaders undoubtedly expected a switch Victory however to their surprise the stubborn Defenders of the city refused to yield frustrated the Spaniards ordered tox Cala laborers to construct Cannon mounted Brigantine to take control of the lake portable water to the city was cut off on May 10th yet by the end of June its Defenders still stood firm various attempts to end the siege through diplomacy failed having run out of patience Cortez ordered a massive assault on the city to take the market of tat lco but his men were forced to retreat in the face of heavy resistance Cortez himself was captured during the fighting and was fortunate to escape with his life when his men came to the rescue brutal Urban combat and sustained fanatical resistance persisted until the remaining Defenders made their last stand at Plaza mayor where they finally surrendered on August 13th the reign of quok the last Aztec Emperor ended when he was captured trying to flee the city in a canoe but the catastrophe that had befallen ttit land would not end there the Victorious Spaniards and their native allies mercilessly sacked the city in search of gold and revenge Cortez on his part would be rewarded for the astounding success of his Valiant Expedition by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles I by being named captain general of the vice royalty of New Spain in October of 1522 Cortez lethal gamble had paid off the mutinous soldier had become the new hero of Spain within just two short years Eran Cortez relatively small group of conquistadors had managed to Vanquish an Empire the scale of the Aztec Expedition alongside its capture in Treasure would not be matched until the 1532 conquest of the Incan Empire in modern-day Peru however as we've seen Cortez Conquest was far from a straightforward military Affair besides the spaniard's technological and tactical superiority it was the vital support of large numbers of native allies the overcaution and inaction of M Zuma as well as the brutal effects of the smallpox epidemic that all played a part in the rapid toppling of the Aztec empire its fall marked the start of further Spanish conquests in the region ultimately leading to the Spanish control over the entirety of meso America Conquest in turn was followed by the mass conversion of the indigenous people to Catholicism and before long intermarriage between ethnic Spaniards and natives would become common occurrences marking the beginning of the modern Mexican Nation special thanks to Hol Karen for sponsoring this video support our Channel by visiting the link in the description below and use our special discount code armchair 15 checkout to receive 15% off on all products