"When Motecuhzoma had given necklaces to each one, Cortés asked him: 'Are you Motecuhzoma? Are you the king? Is it true that you are the king Motecuhzoma?' And the king said: 'Yes, I am Motecuhzoma.' Then he stood up to welcome Cortés; he came forward, bowed his head low and addressed him in these words:

'Our lord, you are weary. The journey has tired you, but now you have arrived on the earth. You have come to your city, Mexico. You have come here to sit on your throne, to sit under its canopy. The kings who have gone before, your representatives, guarded it and preserved it for your coming. The kings Itzcoatl, Motecuhzoma the Elder, Axayacatl, Tizoc and Ahuitzol ruled for you in the City of Mexico. The people were protected by their swords and sheltered by their shields. Do the kings know the destiny of those they left behind, their posterity? If only they are watching! If only they can see what I see! No, it is not a dream. I am not walking in my sleep. I am not seeing you in my dreams.... I have seen you at last! I have met you face to face! I was in agony for five days, for ten days, with my eyes fixed on the Region of the Mystery. And now you have come out of the clouds and mists to sit on your throne again. This was foretold by the kings who governed your city, and now it has taken place. You have come back to us; you have come down from the sky. Rest now, and take possession of your royal houses. Welcome to your land, my lords!'

When Motecuhzoma had finished, La Malinche translated his address into Spanish so that the Captain could understand it. Cortés replied in his strange and savage tongue, speaking first to La Malinche: 'Tell Motecuhzoma that we are his friends. There is nothing to fear. We have wanted to see him for a long time, and now we have seen his face and heard his words. Tell him that we love him well and that our hearts are contented.'"

Speeches of Motecuhzoma and Cortés

"During this same time, The Sun commanded that Motecuhzoma and Itzcohuatzin, the military chief of Tlatelolco, be made prisoners. The Spaniards hanged a chief from Acolhuacan named Nezahualquentzin. They also murdered the king of Nauhtla, Cohualpopocatzin, by wounding him with arrows and then burning him alive. For this reason, our warriors were on guard at the Eagle Gate. The sentries from Tenochtitlan stood at one side of the gate, and the sentries from Tlatelolco at the other. But messengers came to tell them to dress the figure of Huitzilopochtli. They left their posts and went to dress him in his sacred finery: his ornaments and his paper clothing. When this had been done, the celebrants began to sing their songs. That is how they celebrated the first day of the fiesta."

"On the second day they began to sing again, but without warning they were all put to death. The dancers and singers were completely unarmed. They brought only their embroidered cloaks, their turquoises, their lip plugs, their necklaces, their clusters of heron feathers, their trinkets made of deer hooves. Those who played the drums, the old men, had brought their gourds of snuff and their timbrels. The Spaniards attacked the musicians first, slashing at their hands and faces until they had killed all of them. The singers-and even the spectators- were also killed. This slaughter in the Sacred Patio went on for three hours. Then the Spaniards burst into the rooms of the temple to kill the others: those who were carrying water, or bringing fodder for the horses, or grinding meal, or sweeping, or standing watch over this work."

"The king Motecuhzoma, who was accompanied by Itzcohuatzin and by those who had brought food for the Spaniards, protested: 'Our lords, that is enough! What are you doing? These people are not carrying shields or macanas. Our lords, they are completely unarmed!' The Sun had treacherously murdered our people on the twentieth day after the captain left for the coast. We allowed the Captain to return to the city in peace. But on the following day we attacked him with all our might, and that was the beginning of the war."

Miguel Leon­Portilla, ed., The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico

In November or 1519, the Aztec King didn't stop Cortes's force from entering Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Capital, that was very rich. Cortez established headquarters inside Tenochtitlan. To make sure he kept his position, he took the Aztec King hostage, and forced him to swear allegiance to King Charles V of Spain. Valasquez sent soldiers to arrest Cortes, so Cortes decided to march to the coast to do battle with the soldiers, but instead, persuaded them to join him. In 1520, Cortes was attacked by Aztec warriors on his return to Tenochtitlan. He tried to calm them by giving back their King, but the Aztecs stoned their King. In 1520, Cortes was forced out of Tenochtitlan.

In 1521, Cortes returned to Tenochtitlin with reinforcements. I August of 1521, a plague striked the Aztec population, and Tenchtitlin came into Cortes's rule. He conquered 5 million Aztecs with less than 1,000 soldiers.

In 1528, Cortes returned to Spain and was given the title "Marques del Valle de Oaxaca". In 1530, Cortes returned to the New World and settled in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In 1533, he made a final expedition and discovered Baja in California; he explored California for a year, before he returned to Mexico. In 1540, Cortes returned to Spain for the last time. In 1541, Spain feared the power that Cortes had in the New World; he was denied in any government post in Mexico, and his reputation was marked with rumors that he murdered Catalina Xuarez, his wife, but was given permission to fight against the Moors and the Pirates of Algiers. Hernan Cortes died on December 2, 1547, near Seville.

Hernan Cortes was a fearless leader who had a passion for discovering many lands that wouldn't have been found for a long time if it weren't for him. And if he didn't defeat the Aztecs, then, who knows... maybe they would still be around....But Cortes was very greedy too. He took every piece of gold that he could find in the Aztecs. But the world has never known an explorer who didn't care about the money.

References

"Explorers of the Millenium". Thinkquest.com
http://library.thinkquest.org/4034/cortes.html

"Hernando Cortes". Elizabeth-era.org
Elizabeth Era Copyright.
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/hernando-cortes.htm

Garraty, John A. The Story of America. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1994.

Picture References

http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/c/fotos/cortes.jpg

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/04/93004-004-E7FAA8B0.jpg

http://www.semar.gob.mx/Velero/baltico_2007/img/mexico_1.jpg

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