The question of how a small Spanish army could conquer the mighty Aztec Empire has attracted the attention of many historians.
Before Christopher Columbus discovered the New World in the late 15th century, the Americas were a beautiful land inhabited by millions of indigenous people. It is estimated that around 100 million indigenous people lived on this continent, which was ruled by major empires like the Aztec and Inca, along with many other tribes.
However, the arrival of Europeans, particularly the diseases from the Old World, led to horrific transformations, resulting in the collapse of these powerful empires and completely changing the history of the continent.
Hernán Cortés, the commander of the Spanish army, was a brilliant military strategist. He employed sophisticated tactics to defeat the Aztec army, such as building fortifications and besieging cities.
The Spanish Invasion and the Aztec Empire
In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés arrived in what is now Mexico, then under the control of the Aztec Empire. Cortés brought over 600 men along with advanced weapons and tools of war. Initially, he and his group were warmly welcomed by the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II. The Aztecs believed that these foreigners could be messengers of the gods, coming to bring omens and divine messages.
However, the arrival of the Spaniards was not merely a peaceful visit. Cortés’s main aim was to seize the Aztecs’ valuable resources, particularly gold. To achieve this, Cortés captured Montezuma II and took control of the capital city, Tenochtitlan. At first, the Spaniards had an advantage due to their weapons, such as guns, which were powerful tools of destruction that the Aztecs had never encountered. But when faced with the large and determined Aztec army defending their homeland, the Spanish invaders encountered significant difficulties.
The Spaniards possessed superior military technology compared to the Aztecs, including guns, horses, and armor. These weapons caused great confusion among the Aztec army, which was only equipped with bows and spears.
“The Sad Night” and the Tragedy of the Aztecs
On June 30, 1520, the Aztecs launched a major attack on Tenochtitlan to regain control from Cortés. This bloody battle caused Cortés and his army to flee in panic, marking a night that the Spaniards referred to as “La Noche Triste” (The Sad Night). Cortés acknowledged that 154 Spaniards and over 2,000 of their indigenous allies were killed, but many other estimates suggest that the actual numbers were much higher.
After this attack, Cortés retreated and attempted to regroup. Meanwhile, internal turmoil erupted within the Aztec Empire due to loss and chaos. This caused the Aztecs to cease their pursuit of Cortés, partly because they believed that their successive defeats could be a sign of divine punishment, as Cortés had claimed to be a divine messenger.
The Aztec Empire had deep internal conflicts between city-states. Many city-states oppressed by the Aztecs seized this opportunity to rise up against them. Some even allied with the Spaniards to overthrow Aztec dominance.
The Arrival of Smallpox
Sadly, it was not only war and conflict that led to the Aztec collapse. As Cortés’s army retreated from Tenochtitlan, another invisible enemy emerged: the smallpox virus. Smallpox was brought to the Americas by the Spaniards, and the indigenous people had no immunity against it.
At that time, the Aztecs had no understanding of infectious diseases and lacked basic medical knowledge for prevention. This virus spread rapidly, killing masses of people and causing panic. The Aztec Empire, once one of the greatest civilizations in the Americas, was destroyed by an enemy they could neither see nor combat.
The smallpox epidemic did not stop at the Aztec Empire. In 1525 or 1526, the virus spread to the Inca Empire in South America, causing similar consequences. Millions of Incas died from the epidemic, paving the way for Francisco Pizarro, another Spanish explorer, to easily conquer a vast empire with fewer than 200 soldiers.
One of the crucial factors was smallpox, a disease brought by Europeans. The Aztecs had no immunity to this disease, resulting in a devastating pandemic that weakened the military and spiritual strength of the empire.
The smallpox virus killed about one-third of the indigenous population of the Americas, approximately 30 million people. But this was just the beginning. Subsequently, other epidemics like measles and typhus continued to spread, ravaging already weakened indigenous communities. The indigenous people, lacking natural immunity to the diseases from Europe, died in droves. These diseases were even more horrific than the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the 14th century.
The Spaniards cleverly exploited the religious beliefs of the Aztecs. They claimed to be gods and bringers of divine punishment. This caused confusion and division among the Aztecs.
The Spanish invasion not only led to the destruction of large indigenous empires like the Aztecs and Incas but also brought deadly diseases, resulting in the collapse of numerous indigenous communities across the Americas. More than war and violence, it was infectious diseases that completely transformed the social structure and demographics of this continent, turning the Americas from a land of developed indigenous civilizations into European colonies. The consequences of these epidemics played a decisive role in establishing European dominance in the Americas, opening a new and tragic chapter in the history of this continent.
