Impact the Spanish had on the Aztecs When They Arrived in Today's Mexico

Impact the Spanish had on the Aztecs When They Arrived in Today's Mexico
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Impact the Spanish had on the Aztecs When They Arrived in Today's Mexico.
The colonial era saw the wealthy and hungry Spaniards pour into the New World as early as the 15th century. According to one Spanish soldier, the goal of the Spaniards' invasion of the New World was to "serve God and King, and get rich" (US History. Spanish Exploration and Conquest, n.d). While the Spaniards expanded to capture the new world, they encountered a sprawling civilization of the Aztecs around Tenochtitlan, New Mexico. Aztecs had dominated the region since around 1325 and had already built around 70,000 buildings that housed about 250,000 people (US History. Spanish Exploration and Conquest, n.d.). The buildings were connected to canals and causeways. Technically, the Aztecs already controlled central and southern Mesoamerica when the Spaniards arrived. Their civilization became a target for European conquerors. On arrival in the New World, the Spaniards persuaded their way into Tenochtitlan with little resistance, and what followed was chaos that saw the Aztec empire fall.
How did Spanish colonization affect the native people of North America?
The arrival of the Spanish in North America significantly impacted the lives of native people, especially the Aztecs. Their culture was intact, but when the Spanish colonialists arrived, they managed to capture and dupe their emperor Montezuma and, over time, used him to gain control of their gold and silver. Spanish used more indigenous insurgents and native allies to bring down the Aztec empire. Through an eight five-day siege, Spaniards cut off the empire's food and fresh water supply (Primary Source: Aztec Accounts of the Conquest, 1520, n.d.). In addition to guns, horses, swords, and dogs, Spaniards brought smallpox and measles disease that ravaged the city. While Spaniards were vaccinated, natives were not, and the impact on them was highly destructive.
Diseases were unknown among natives, and most of them lacked immunity against them. When the Spanish introduced smallpox, it became a crisis as sores erupted on natives' faces, bellies, breasts, and several other parts of their bodies. Natives had no remedy, and the majority died in heaps. Spanish came and started hunting for fur using guns, and they had decimated local wildlife in no time. Spanish would kill wild animals, collect skin, and leave meat rotting. These events were as catastrophic as food shortages hit the Arctic. Native Americans became landless, were subjected to laws that violated their culture, and faced massive loss of life. Invasion even forced some to move south, forcing an enormous change in the cultural heritage.
Are the native groups able to adapt to Spanish culture, and why?
The fall of the Aztec empire marked the fall of Mesoamerica ...