The Portuguese all throughout the 16th century built a monopoly in the spice trade from the east by dominating the trade routes around the continent of Africa. Spain, on the other hand, began thinking of ways to get around this monopoly by developing a western route to the eastern countries. The Spanish were especially well prepared by history to conquer, occupy, populate and exploit new lands and assimilate new people. " With Portugal dominating the African route to India, Queen Isabelle of Castile was persuaded to take an interest in a western route by a Genoese adventures, Christopher Columbus." Columbus was in his forty-first year. He had lived 9 years in Spain, where he w

"After Courteous initial meeting with Montezuma, relations between the Spaniards and the Aztecs deteriorated rapidly. Perhaps fearing that his company would become the next human sacrifices at the Aztec temple, Cortes seized Montezuma and made him prisoner. In the meanwhile Cortes left the capital to engage a military expedition sent by Velasquez to capture the rebellious captain." In June 1521, fighting erupted in the capital, because Cortes came back and find out that his troops had massacred an unarmed crowd at a religious ceremony, and he helped kill over 100 000 Aztecs (Appendix no. 4). Suddenly he became evil and started conquering many villages and brutally killed many Aztecs in the act. According to his journal "more than forty thousand were killed or taken that day" , the day of August 12, 1521. His own phrases "So loud was the wailing of the women and children that there was not man among us whose heart did not bleed at the sound..." and "... we could no longer endure the stench of the dead bodies that had lain in those streets for many days..." demonstrate clearly the savageness of the Cortes' massacre.

"Hernando Cortes (Appendix no.1) was one such conquistador." Cortes who was the mayor of a small town, was appointed to command a third expedition to what is today central Mexico. " But Cortes ambition and personal magnetism made Velasquez suspect his loyalty. Velasquez planned on removing him as the leader of the expedition. Cortes discovered this and cut short his preparations. Cortes sailed across the Gulf of Mexico in February 18,1519." (Appendix no.2)

Why this encounter led to a such destruction of an empire? One of the principal reasons was the greed of the Spanish. The Spanish were expanding, becoming more powerful so their hunger for gold and land became greater than ever. Cortes was a perfect figure of encounter. Even from an early age he looked for adventure. He was a strong and influential man among his community and his crew, but perhaps a little too strong. He wanted gold and royal recognition and was capable of doing anything in order to reach those aims. As a result, he turned an expedition of discovery into a conquest and eventual destruction of an entire culture. Cortes was not afraid to exploit the strength of the Spanish war machine. In order to qualify the Spanish ravages and atrocities, the term "Black Legend" has appeared during the 16th and 17th century.

What were the real reasons behind this decision of discovering a new land? Undoubtedly, the discovery of the American continent was almost entirely about one and only thing: money. Columbus first mission to America was to bring gold or something valuable to bring back to Spain. Besides the aim of finding a new route for the spice trade, Spain wanted to expand his territory in order to find and exploit new resources of income. Those were the primary reasons for which Columbus decided to sail. On the other hand, there were also the personal reasons of Columbus. First of all, he was authorized to have 10% of all removable assets of the newly discovered lands, including gold, silver and other precious stones. Secondly, Columbus was specifically granted the powers as admiral, viceroy and governor; the trade therein was to be a crown monopoly under his control. Columbus' dreams were about to come true.

After a three months expedition with the support of indigenous groups such as Cempoalans and Tlaxcalans, who acted as allies, interpreters and guides, Cortes and his troop finally reached Tenochtitlan. This marvelous city build of stone and baked clay in the middle of a lake, was representing gold and power for the Spaniards. Cortes was at first welcomed warmly by the Natives, by reason of believing that Cortes was a returning, a descendent of their god Quetzalcoatlin (Appendix no.3). According to the Aztec prophecy, Quetzalcoatlin had left Mexico in 10th century but would return from the east to reclaim his authority over the Aztecs. As

Some common words found in the essay are:
Secondly Columbus, Aztecs Appendix, Arawak Indians, According Cortes', Columbus Cortes, Spanish Spanish, Spaniards Aztecs, Portugal Spain, Spain Besides, Bernal Diaz, newly discovered, age exploration, newly discovered lands, discovered lands, according journal, cortes explore trade, reasons columbus, trade routes, western route, 16th 17th, 17th century, columbus believed world, 16th 17th century, explore trade,
Approximate Word count = 2852
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)