There are numerous significant events that stand out from the era of discovery of the Americas. One event in particular is Hernando Cortés and his group of six hundred men conquering the Aztec Empire. One might ask how this conquest was possible? How was a small number of men able to conquer an entire empire? One factor that contributed to the Spanish conquest was the disease smallpox; however, there was another variable as well. The Aztec emperor Montezuma mistakenly believed Cortés to be Quetzalcoatl, an all powerful Aztec god who had promised one day to return to his people.1 So who was this supposed almighty god and why was Cortés believed to be him?
Quetzalcoatl, though most famously known for his relation to the Aztec religion, was actually acknowledged long before the Aztec civilization. Quetzalcoatl’s believers stretched all over Mesoamerica after the fall of Teotihuacan.2 Teotihuacan was a prehistoric city located in Central Mexico. The city arose around the first or second century BCE and fell around the 600s or 700s.3 The information regarding the civilization residing inside of Teotihuacan is still not fully known due to outside elements such as weather and other tribes who may have resided or passed through the area. The exact reason for the destruction of the city is still unknown. Although, archaeologists speculate the downfall was caused by a rapid decline in population.4 In accordance with Aztec legend, Quetzalcoatl had traveled from the east and elevated the Aztec empire by teaching them how to grow crops, develop architectural structures, and create tools with medal. He also helped construct the Aztec calendar. When an unknown rival tribe had surfaced, they drove Quetzalcoatl away. Before he left, Quetzalcoatl promised one day to return and save his oppressed people.5 Quetzalcoatl’s deity is represented as a feathered serpent.6 He was understood to be the god of learning and the patron of priests.7 Quetzalcoatl’s forthcoming was suspected to be around the same time as Cortés’ arrival.8
Scholars have attained an impressive amount of knowledge from ancient Aztec documents. According to their discoveries, the Aztecs proclaimed various omens of warning, which occurred just before the arrival of the conquistadors. Such omens included: an unusual amount of stars and comets in the sky, a sacred temple caught on fire, and the water on the lakes and rivers seeming to boil. All of these signs and the belief in the soon return of their god Quetzalcoatl, made it easy for the Aztecs to presume that Cortés was their long awaited god. Upon Cortés’ arrival, he was greeted with jewels and an assortment of gifts. When Cortés soon realized who the Aztecs deemed him to be and the influence his mistaken identity could produce, he was quick to use this opportunity to gain Montezuma’s trust, knowledge, resources, material objects, and even his fear. With their own emperor in a state of dismay, the rest of the Aztec people arose in a state of hysteria. This made it possible for Cortés and his men to manipulate the Aztecs, and profit from them what they wanted while they could. Eventually, Montezuma’s mistake led to the conquest of his entire empire.9
The Aztecs’ religious beliefs were fundamental attributes to their civilization. It was a unique quality which made them their own empire. In this particular circumstance, it was also a cause for their destruction. The Aztecs wholeheartedly believed their god Quetzalcoatl was partly responsible for the development of their civilization. Many Aztecs also truly believed Cortés was the return of their beloved god. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, their faith contributed to their conquest.
- Sara E. Cohen, “How the Aztecs Praised Montezuma,” Society for History Education 5, no. 3 (March 1972): 24-26. ↵
- Michael E. Smith, “Aztecs,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion., by Rowan, Yorke M., ed. Timothy Insoll, vol. 77 (Arizona State Unversity, 2011), 563. ↵
- George L. Cowgill, “State and Society at Teotihuacan, Mexico,” Annual Review of Anthropology 26, no. 1 (October 1997): 129-130. ↵
- George L. Cowgill, “State and Society at Teotihuacan, Mexico,” 156. ↵
- Sara E. Cohen, “How the Aztecs Praised Montezuma,” 24-26. ↵
- Michael E. Smith, “Aztec Culture: An Overview” (Arizona State University, 2006), http://www.public.asu.edu/~mesmith9/1-CompleteSet/Smith-AztecCulture-WWW.pdf, 5. ↵
- Michael E. Smith, “Aztecs,” 563. ↵
- Sara E. Cohen, “How the Aztecs Praised Montezuma,” 24-26. ↵
- Sara E. Cohen, “How the Aztecs Praised Montezuma,” 24-26. ↵
65 comments
Mario De Leon
This was a very fascinating article. I have always been interested in the Aztec culture. The article gave good background information on the Aztec Empire. I did not know that the Aztec emperor thought Cortes was an all-powerful Aztec god. I had never heard of Quetzalcoatls before reading this article and I had no idea the influence he had on the Aztec Empire.
Luke Trevino
This an all around amazing and sad story! It’s amazing because the faith of the aztecs to truly believe this man to be their savior and let down their guard to a stranger they had only heard about. It’s sad because of how Cortez took advantage of these people. He led them to believe he was the one they had been waiting for just so he could take their gold and take over their civilization. Again very well written and researched article!
Sam Vandenbrink
Before reading this article I had never even heard of Quetzalcoatl, or his influence on the aztec empire, but now I feel like I know a little bit more then I didn’t before. I felt that the article although a good article just focussed allot more on the aztec empire instead of Quetzalcoatls effects on the empire. Its obvious that he had an incredible effect on the empire, because the army would not have known how to survive without his guidance.
Sergio Cervantes
An interesting read! I had heard of the many causes of the Aztec Empire but never paid attention to this one. However, after having read this, I can now say how thought provoking it is to see how the Aztecs brought upon themselves their own downfall by believing that Cortes was their long-lost god. Another fascinating detail was how the Aztecs were able to pinpoint a certain time in the future in which their god would return. It shows how sophisticated and advanced this society was in its usage of a variety of fields of study to calculate the return of Quetzalcoatl.
Hayden Hollinger
This was an article that appealed to me straight away as I have been learning about the Aztec’s in another class. This article was very useful in helping me learn more about the Aztec’s and Hernando Cortes conquering the empire. I still find it very interesting to read about how technologically advanced the Aztecs were and how they were usually a step ahead of everyone else in that sense.
Nahim Rancharan
Great Article! It does a great job at capturing the fact that the Aztec Empire was very progressive in terms of their technological advances, while still maintaining a level of consistency when it came to their beliefs. Although I’ve never gone in depth with studying Hernan Cortes’s Conquest, it is interesting to see why it was so easy for him and his troops to do so. Also, it is easy to see how the religious beliefs of the Aztecs with Quetzalcoatl bares a strong resemblance to that of Christianity. This article was a very interesting read. Good Job!
Cameron Mays
I had never really heard of this reasoning for the destruction of the aztecs, but it makes perfect sense as they were very devout people in the way of their gods. I enjoyed reading this article because it didn’t really look at their logical destruction, but maybe something more controversial, which allowed us, the readers to draw our own conclusions to whether or not this is the truth. Good job!
Gabriela Medrano
What an interesting written piece. It is saddening to know that at their weakest moments the Aztecs were betrayed by the faith in their own religion. I feel too much credit is given to the conquistadors due to the fact that there were several contributing factors to the fall of the Aztecs. Had they not been in such a despairing time they would have stood a chance against the enemy. Overall, the article was well done, and had a good topic!
Erik Rodriguez
Great information and very well written. I find all this mesoamerican history very interesting. It’s quite amazing to think about how civilization was back then and having to deal with the conquistador events… it is just crazy.
Loved the article, great job!
Joshua Tinajero
I never knew that Cortes used a form of psychological warfare into manipulating the Aztec’s in taking their resources and people. That just serves as evidence in showing the strength in belief of the Aztec’s towards their idol Quetzacoatl.