Colonial México

 

The presence of the Spanish conquers in the coasts of Mexico produced a tremendous impact in the natives' mentality. For the Mexican of today, the Conquest does not mean, in itself, the demonstration of racial, nor social, political or military superiority; rather, for the natives of that time, it meant a confrontation, considered fatal and inevitable, a sign of their fate with the invincible and unavoidable divine will, a part of their religious mysticism.

For them, The Spaniards were not human, the horses were not beasts and the explosive weapons were not this world's devices. All of them were entities and manifestations of a supernatural power that came to fulfill a mission already foreseen by an old and mean omen. It is also important to remember that a growing number of people, subdued and disagreeing with the regional domain of the Aztecs, unconditionally helped the Spaniard invaders.

That is why, and in spite of the reduced number of Spaniard soldiers, they always had advantage over the Mexicas. Those facts were extremely important to consume the conquest and later, in the colonization. A lot of cruel actions, unmeasured ambition and intrigues were necessary so the Mexicas could desperately revolt against the conquest. This fact was about to end up in a tremendous disaster for the invaders, although they showed up as gods or their representatives.

Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba in 1517 and the following year Juan de Grijalva, explored the coasts of Yucatan. Encouraged by the reports of these two navigators, the Governor of Cuba sent a new expedition with Hernan Cortés as a leader.

Cortes's expedition got to Yucatan and fought against the natives of Tabasco before disembarking on the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, in April 1519. That year they founded the "Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz" (Veracruz Harbor at the present time). After defeating the Tlaxcaltecas, Aztecs traditional enemies, Cortés made them his allies and moved forward to Tenochtitlan. But Aztec Emperor, Moctezuma II thought Cortés and his men were a reincarnation of the antique mythical hero Quetzalcoatl, so he received the Spaniard in his Court.

THE "NOCHE TRISTE"

In the evening of June 30th, 1520, known as the "Noche Triste" (The Sad Evening) the Spaniards tried to retreat from Tenochtitlan, but were discovered and suffered a lot of casualties. In spite of that, they recovered out of the city and later, their technical superiority let them defeat the Aztecs in Otumba.

Cortés and his men laid siege to the City of Tenochtitlan, even though they bravely resisted for several months, until they were in the Spaniards hands on August 21st, 1521 and the last Aztec Emperor, Cuauhtemoc was held prisoner.

The Spaniards tortured Cuauhtemoc and the Lord of Tlacotapan with the purpose of making them tell the secret about the place where the "Tesoro de Moctezuma" (Moctezuma''s Treasure) was hidden. In that terrifying moment, the Emperor endured the torture with incredible serenity. However, his torture companion yelled and complained, so Cuauhtemoc said a phrase that has transcended to our days: Am I in a bed of roses? This Stoic answer has become a legend.

That is why the memory of Cuauhtemoc has remained as a symbol of heroism to defend the land and its independence. Once the conquest was consumed, Cortés made himself responsible for the destruction of the entire principal religious monuments and buildings, to the foundations, so they could build the new colonial city on these ruins.

In a few years, the Spaniards not only took possession of the land that once belonged to the Aztec Empire, but they also exceeded their south limits, where only the Mayas of Yucatan resisted their domination.

At the end of the sixteenth century, the Spaniard Empire extended his territorial possessions to Nuevo Mexico.