After emperor Moctezuma II welcomed him to Tenochtitlan, Hernan Cortes betrayed him and initiated the conquest of the Aztec empire.
Explanation:
Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador. Cortes is best known for his conquest of Mexico between 1519 and 1521.
In 1506 he left for the New World, where he fought in the conquest of Hispaniola. In 1511 he fought alongside Diego Velazquez during the conquest of Cuba. After Juan de Grijalva and Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba returned from voyages from Yucatan and the Mexican gulf coast with stories about a rich and powerful empire, he requested permission from Velazquez to discover and conquer this country. Velazquez agreed, but later withdrew his consent. Cortes decided in 1519 to leave without permission.
When he arrived there he met La Malinche, an Aztec girl who became his girlfriend, assistant and interpreter and accompanied him on his conquest of the Aztec empire. He founded Veracruz, so that he no longer had to depend on Velazquez. Then he went inland. He encountered resistance in Tlaxcala. After he defeated the Tlaxcalc army, the Tlaxcal sign, arch-enemy of the Aztecs, joined him. He moved on to Cholula, one of the largest cities in the Aztec Empire and an important religious center. When he heard of a plot to kill him, he ordered a massacre of the population.
On November 8, he reached the capital, Tenochtitlan. He was welcomed by the emperor Motecuhzoma II. Shortly after arrival, Cortes had Moctezuma captured. The following months went relatively quietly until Cortes had to return to the coast, because Velazquez had sent an army led by Panfilo de Narvaez to him. Cortes defeated the army without much trouble, and most of the soldiers from Velazquez walked over to him. Returning, the city of Tenochtitlan turned out to be in chaos after Pedro de Alvarado had caused a massacre during an important religious festival. Cortes called on Moctezuma to calm down his people. He was killed two months after the uprising.
The night after, Cortes fled the city with his army, and set up his headquarters in Texcoco, the second most important city in Mexico, whose leader Ixtlilxochitl II supported him. He began to besiege Tenochtitlan, where smallpox had broken out in the meantime. After a siege of three months, the last Aztec leader Cuauhtemoc surrendered to him.
