Even with a small force many factors enabled the Spanish to conquer Mexico. On November 8, 1519, Don Hernando Cortes led six hundred Spaniards to enter the city Mexico. The Spanish had power; they had many advantages over the Aztecs, they took advantage of the cultural differences, and exploited them. The key factors that enabled the Spanish to conquer Mexico were: the Spanish were viewed as Gods because of their appearance; the Spanish saw the Aztecs weaknesses; the Spanish brought many diseases to Mexico; the Spanish used surrounding enemy tribes to take over the Aztec lands.
Spanish salad, Barcelona
An illustration from Codex Mendoza depicting elder...
English: Model depicting the first lake battle bet...The first key factor, which enabled the Spanish to conquer Mexico, was the fact that they were viewed as gods at first because of their appearance. The Aztecs welcomed the Spanish with many gifts and festivities. Some of the festivities included a ritual ceremony for the arrival of the "god" that included a human sacrifice, which the Spanish seen as a disgusting act, and caused the Spanish to develop hatred for the Aztecs. These many gifts and festivities showed the Spanish that they had total control over the people of the Aztecs. For example one of the turning events during the Spanish conquest was the massacre in the main temple during the fiesta Toxcatl. It started when the Aztecs begged their king to hold festivities in honor of the god Huitzilopochtli. After permission was granted, they then carefully prepared for festivities and sworn to do their best dancing at the festivities to show the Spanish the beauty of their rituals. The Spanish were very smart people they used this to their advantage by showing that they were actually interested in learning more about the festivities, but in actuality they were planning to murder all the celebrants. When the celebrations began, the...