Was it western technology that allowed Corte's to conquer the Aztecs?

This essay hasn't yet been marked by one of our teachers

You can view 4 essays on Ancient History that have been Marked by Teachers

The first 200 words of this essay...

Shloka Nath

HY114

ESSAY QUESTION 3: Was it western technology that allowed Corte's to conquer the Aztecs?

There were two universal reasons which motivated Europeans in the mid fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, to seek out geographical exploration. First, and the most obvious was the desire to acquire more in terms of material wealth, and the second most important motive was that of religious fervour. The quickest way to get rich was to exploit the labour of those who worked on land either through the establishment of fiefdoms in Europe, or in the absence of private wars, the next best alternative was to exploit new land, either unoccupied or inhabited by a race of useless people who could be gotten rid of easily.1

Aside from the economic considerations, fifteenth century European man was a devout if not orthodox individual whose devotion led him to either seek out and convert, or ensure through military and political means, the security of his own religious beliefs and its superiority over others.

The Spanish conquest of Mexico, was an expedition led by Hernan Cortes, along the same ideological lines, with these very economic gains in mind. What differs it form