Fall of the Empire

            One of Conrad and Demarest’s main objective is, in my opinion, to debunk the myth that Cortes and his couple hundred men marched in and crushed the Aztec empire. There is a common belief that Cortes almost singlehandedly defeated the Aztec empire, which consisted of uncivilized and peaceful peoples. Conrad and Demarest discuss in great detail the complex and sophisticated culture of the Mexica and their rise to power within the Triple Alliance. Their intricate class structure of the pipiltin and macehualtin (nobility and commoners) was far from uncivilized. The Aztecs had established a hierarchy within the different classes, even the pochteca merchants. This social structure, one could argue, does not only show that the natives were civilized but were more urbane than that of their Spanish invaders.

            The Aztec empire, Conrad and Demarest argue, was doomed from the start. Their principal goals were “food for the gods [Tenochtitlan] and tribute for the state.” Conrad and Demarest continue, “The Mexica were unprepared to face the long-term problems of governing and controlling the subjugated peoples.” (p.53) It was this “flawed system” that would ultimately destroy the empire. Imperial soldiers would have to reconquer subjugated people over and over. They did not try to consolidate their power. Rather, they were systematically programed to conquer, take captives, sacrifice and continue. This cycle was not objected to until Moctezuma II tried to alter the internal structure of the empire. However, by that time it was too late. The Spanish simply arrived at the right time to rally the Aztec enemies (Tlaxcalans etc.) and finish off the empire, which was probably going to collapse anyway. “As the Spaniards arrived” Conrad and Demarest conclude, “the Aztec empire was being strangled by the very forces that had created it.”