Question

What are the three main reasons the Aztecs lost to the Spanish during the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire?

Please provide specific examples and reasoning :)

Answer 1

The overthrow of the Aztec Empire by Cortez and his expedition rests on three factors: The fragility of that empire, the tactical advantages of Spanish technology, and smallpox.

Explanation:

The Aztec Empire was a analagous to a feudal model that the Spanish Conquistadors could recognize, but with refinements that severely weakened it. The Aztecs combined politics and religion, and expected subordinate states to submit to repeated humiliation, particularly in handing over captives for sacrifice in Aztec ceremonies. Cortez found ready allies all too easily.

Spanish technological superiority was useful in combat, but the Aztecs eventually learned how to nullify these advantages, particularly inside Mexico City itself. The "Night of Tears" when Aztec Warriors swarmed over the retreating Spanish garrison cost Cortez's men at least a third of their number. Cannon and Cortez's pre-built ships were particularly useful in the siege of the city, and even then, Spanish political instincts were more critical.

The deadliest influence on the campaign was an unexpected one. Modern disease theory and understanding simply did not exist on either side of the Atlantic in the early 16th Century. Neither the Spanish or the Mexicans anticipated the appearance of such deadly Old World diseases in the New World. Smallpox, bad enough for European populations, is vicious with a 'virgin field' epidemic in a population with no prior exposure to the disease. In the end, the Aztec armies lay down and died.