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The Fall of the AztecsThe great Aztecs had never faced defeat before, But when they faced the Spanish all of that changed and the powerful religious beliefs that motivated them to build such a great empire became one of the main causes of their defeat. Along with the disease, the Spanish had advanced weapons and tactics that served to destroy the Aztecs.
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RELIGION
It is suggested that the Aztecs may have believed that Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, was the powerful Aztec god Quetzalcoatl returning from banishment to bring peace to the world. Him and his men being of a different skin color and having possession of many items and animals (horses) that the Aztec people had never come across, the only simple explanation was the supernatural. In doing this their leader, Moctezuma II, easily welcomed them into their society and prepared no defense against them. Once the Spanish had fully infiltrated the Aztecs they swiftly imprisoned Aztec ruler Moctezuma and easily defeated the Aztecs inferior weapons and tactics.
WEAPONS AND TACTICS
The Aztecs weapons and tactics were all reliant on the poor battle qualities of their rivaling native tribes and religion. The Aztecs intention in battle was to severely injure their enemies but not kill them so that they could be used for human sacrifice, but when it came to the Spanish their intention was to induce as many casualties as possible. With this the Aztecs were unable to get through the Spanish's impenetrable steel armor and quickly fell victim to their firearms and metal blades. This is a prime example of the Aztecs worldview being their own downfall.
SMALLPOX
A huge part of the Spanish conquistadors success was the unintentional spread of disease from Spain. Unlike the Spanish, Aztec immune systems were unable to adapt to and defeat smallpox because they had no previous encounters with it which allowed the disease to kill off a large majority of their population.