Conquistadors and Aztecs: A History of the Fall of Tenochtitlan

Five hundred years ago, a flotilla landed on the coast of Yucatán under the command of the Spanish conquistador Hérnan Cortés. 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 ...