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KF5JRV > TODAY 30.06.19 14:00l 7 Lines 5325 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 9606_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - Jun 30
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Sent: 190630/1246Z 9606@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQK6.0.18
Faced with an Aztec revolt against their rule, forces under the Spanishconquistador Hernan Cortes fight their way out of Tenochtitlan at heavycost. Known to the Spanish as La Noche Triste, or “the Night ofSadness,ö many soldiers drowned in Lake Texcoco when the vessel carryingthem and Aztec treasures hoarded by CortÝs sank. Montezuma II, the Aztecemperor who had become merely a subject of Cortes in the previous year,was also killed during the struggle; by the Aztecs or the Spanish, it isnot known.Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325 A.D. by a wandering tribe of huntersand gatherers on islands in Lake Texcoco, near the present site ofMexico City. In only one century, this civilization grew into the AztecEmpire, due largely to its advanced system of agriculture. The empirecame to dominate central Mexico and by the ascendance of Montezuma II in1502 had reached its greatest extent, reaching as far south as perhapsmodern-day Nicaragua. At the time, the empire was held togetherprimarily by Aztec military strength, and Montezuma II set aboutestablishing a bureaucracy, creating provinces that would pay tribute tothe imperial capital of Tenochtitlan. The conquered peoples resented theAztec demands for tribute and victims for the religious sacrifices, butthe Aztec military kept rebellion at bay.Meanwhile, Hernan Cortes, a young Spanish-born noble, came to Hispaniolain the West Indies in 1504. In 1511, he sailed with Diego Velazquez toconquer Cuba and twice was elected mayor of Santiago, the capital ofHispaniola. In 1518, he was appointed captain general of a new Spanishexpedition to the American mainland. Velazquez, the governor of Cuba,later rescinded the order, and Cortes sailed without permission. Hevisited the coast of Yucatan and in March 1519 landed at Tabasco inMexico’s Bay of Campeche with 500 soldiers, 100 sailors, and 16 horses.There, he won over the local Indians and was given a female slave,Malinche–baptized Marina–who became his mistress and later bore him ason. She knew both Maya and Aztec and served as an interpreter. Theexpedition then proceeded up the Mexican coast, where Cortes foundedVeracruz, mainly for the purpose of having himself elected captaingeneral by the colony, thus shaking off the authority of Velazquez andmaking him responsible only to King Charles V of Spain.At Veracruz, Cortes trained his army and then burned his ships to ensureloyalty to his plans for conquest. Having learned of political strife inthe Aztec Empire, Cortes led his force into the Mexican interior. On theway to Tenochtitlan, he clashed with local Indians, but many of thesepeoples, including the nation of Tlaxcala, became his allies afterlearning of his plan to conquer their hated Aztec rulers. Hearing of theapproach of Cortes, with his frightful horses and sophisticated weapons,Montezuma II tried to buy him off, but Cortes would not be dissuaded. OnNovember 8, 1519, the Spaniards and their 1,000 Tlaxcaltec warriors wereallowed to enter Tenochtitlan unopposed.Montezuma suspected them to be divine envoys of the god Quetzalcoatl,who was prophesied to return from the east in a “One Reedö year, which1519 was on the Aztec calendar. The Spaniards were greeted with greathonor, and Cortes seized the opportunity, taking Montezuma hostage sothat he might govern the empire through him. His mistress, Marina, was agreat help in this endeavor and succeeded in convincing Montezuma tocooperate fully.In the spring of 1520, Cortes learned of the arrival of a Spanish forcefrom Cuba, led by Panfilo Narvaez and sent by Velazquez to depriveCortes of his command. Cortes led his army out of Tenochtitlan to meetthem, leaving behind a garrison of 80 Spaniards and a few hundredTlaxcaltecs to govern the city. Cortes defeated Narvaez and enlistedNarvaez’ army into his own. When he returned to Tenochtitlan in June, hefound the garrison under siege from the Aztecs, who had rebelled afterthe subordinate that Cortes left in command of the city massacredseveral Aztec chiefs, and the population on the brink of revolt. On June30, under pressure and lacking food, Cortes and his men fled the capitalat night. In the fighting that ensued, Montezuma was killed–in Aztecreports by the Spaniards, and in Spanish reports by an Aztec mob bitterat Montezuma’s subservience to Spanish rule. He was succeeded as emperorby his brother, Cuitlahuac.During the Spaniards’ retreat, they defeated a large Aztec army atOtumba and then rejoined their Tlaxcaltec allies. In May 1521, Cortesreturned to Tenochtitlan, and after a three-month siege the city fell.This victory marked the fall of the Aztec empire. Cuauhtemoc,Cuitlahuac’s successor as emperor, was taken prisoner and laterexecuted, and Cortes became the ruler of vast Mexican empire.The Spanish conquistador led an expedition to Honduras in 1524 and in1528 returned to Spain to see the king. Charles made him Marques delValle but refused to name him governor because of his quarrels withVelazquez and others. In 1530, he returned to Mexico, now known as NewSpain, and found the country in disarray. After restoring some order, heretired to his estate south of Mexico City and sent out maritimeexpeditions from the Pacific coast. In 1540, he returned to Spain andwas neglected by the court. He died in 1547.
73, Scott kf5jrv
KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
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