😳

what happened to the aztecs 😦

got rekt by one of the most cunning men in history

uh

whom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hern%C3%A1n_Cort%C3%A9s

bye

he was not cunning

all he did was a siege and most died from small pox

He toppled a vast empire starting with just 300 men.

In some of the worst conditions on earth

He's unironically up with there with guys like Caesar

because they had horses..

he didnt do anything special-

aztecs/incans thought that horses looked like demons

20 horses vs 10,000 natives only goes so far

very far

and 10,000 was a small force

imagine if creatures that looked like demons

rode by men that look nnothing like the men you see today

with different features and everything

speaking a different language

carrying diseases youve never faced

Still takes mad leadership to consolidate that advantage when you're outnumbered dozens to one

??

Cortes once had to face 40,000 taxcalans one day, a night raid of them with 10,000 next, then 100,000 the next day.

yeah no

one second

Then halfway to the capital the governor of Cuba had sent soldiers to arrest him. Cortes risked his entire expedition sending men back to intercept them, which they did brilliantly, capturing all the officers and adding the rest to their ranks.

Then when he makes it to Tenochitlan, he gets the balls to arrest Montezuma himself.

thats not what happened-

number one it wasnt just him and a few thousand men

he made allies with most of the tribes he encountered and teamed up with them to fight other tribes

then he was INVITED to the palace in tenochitlan for a dinner

and decided to betray the king and hold him hostage

It was just him and a few thousand men

nothing heroic about that

yes him and a few thousand men

But you're making my point for me. He managed to make alliances on the spot to his advantage. Every obstacle Cortes faced, he handled deftly.

then after taking the capital

he ran away from the city