Williamsburg Regional Library

Conquistadors and Aztecs, a history of the fall of Tenochtitlan, Stefan Rinke ; translated by Christopher Reid

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-308) and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Conquistadors and Aztecs

bibliography

1314284924

Stefan Rinke ; translated by Christopher Reid

a history of the fall of Tenochtitlan

A highly readable narrative of the causes, course, and consequences of the Spanish Conquest, incorporating the perspectives of many Native groups, Black slaves, and the conquistadors. Five hundred years ago, a flotilla landed on the coast of Yucat̀n under the command of the Spanish conquistador Ȟrnan Corťs. While the official goal of the expedition was to explore and to expand the Christian faith, everyone involved knew that it was primarily about gold and the hunt for slaves. That a few hundred Spaniards destroyed the Aztec empire--a highly developed culture--is an old chestnut, because the conquistadors, who had every means to make a profit, did not succeed alone. They encountered groups such as the Tlaxcaltecs, who suffered from the Aztec rule and were ready to enter into alliances with the foreigners to overthrow their old enemy. In addition, the conquerors benefited from the diseases brought from Europe, which killed hundreds of thousands of locals. Drawing on both Spanish and indigenous sources, this account of the conquest of Mexico from 1519 to 1521 not only offers a dramatic narrative of these events -- including the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and the flight of the conquerors -- but also represents the individual protagonists on both sides, their backgrounds, their diplomacy, and their struggles. It vividly portrays the tens of thousands of local warriors who faced off against each other during the fighting as they attempted to free. Written by a leading historian of Latin America, Conquistadors and Aztecs offers a timely portrayal of the fall of Tenochtitlan and the founding of an empire that would last for centuries

adult

History of the fall of Tenochtitlan