How many Aztecs were killed by the Spanish?

Within five years as many as 15 million people – an estimated 80% of the population – were wiped out in an epidemic the locals named “cocoliztli”. The word means pestilence in the Aztec Nahuatl language. Its cause, however, has been questioned for nearly 500 years.

Who was the leader of the Spanish invasion?

Between 1519 and 1521 Hernán Cortés and a small band of men brought down the Aztec empire in Mexico, and between 1532 and 1533 Francisco Pizarro and his followers toppled the Inca empire in Peru. These conquests laid the foundations for colonial regimes that would transform the Americas.

Who defeated the Aztec Empire?

Hernándo Cortés
Hernándo Cortés, Spanish conquistador who conquered Mexico, with Moctezuma II, last Aztec emperor, 1519.

Why did the Tlaxcalans hate the Aztecs?

The Tlaxcalans became his closest allies. They hated the Aztecs because they had raided their cities for people to sacrifice to their gods. Montezuma II tried to keep Cortés from getting all the way to Tenochtitlan, but Cortés continued his march. He destroyed the Aztec religious city of Cholula along the way.

Is Tlaxcala real?

Tlaxcala, Mexico’s smallest state, was once home to the ancient Olmeca–Xicalanca civilization. Tlaxcala is home to three famous bullrings. The most popular is the Jorge “El Ranchero” Aguilar plaza, built in the 18th century in the heart of Tlaxcala City.

What did the Aztecs not eat?

Meat was eaten sparsely; the Aztec diet was primarily vegetarian with the exception of grasshoppers, maguey worms, ants and other larvae.

Who was the most brutal conquistador?

1. Hernán Cortés. Here you have it, the worst of all the conquistadors: Hernán Cortés. After his Cuban campaign, he went rogue and traveled to Mexico.

Who is older Mayan or Aztecs?

The Mayans are an older people and were around a thousand years before the Aztecs even arrived in Central America. The Aztecs were the dominant culture in Mexico at the time of Cortez’s arrival in Mexico in the 1500s. The Mayans by then had deteriorated into a decadent and decrepit race living on past glory.