The Spanish used the name conquistadors for their soldiers – conquerors.

The Spanish wanted to conquer the Aztecs for their riches, but also they were on a mission to bring Christianity to the 'heathen' lands.

They wanted to do this even though the first Spaniards to meet the Aztecs were amazed by the greatness of their civilisation.

The Aztecs had an army of hundreds of thousands but they were defeated by a small Spanish force because their calendars had foretold the destruction of their empire and the return of their god, Quetzalcoatl. The ruler of the Aztecs, Moctezuma, therefore wanted to obey his god.

The Spaniards rode horses. The Aztecs had never seen them before. They thought they were large deer – another sign of the arrival of the god. It took nearly three months for Cortes and his men to reach the outskirts of Tenochtitlan.

By this time the Spanish had made an alliance with people who were enemies of the Aztec. These peoples sent armies along with Cortes.

By the time he arrived in Tenochtitlan, on November 8, 1519, Cortes was leading an army of 20,000 (but of these only 500 were Spanish and there were only 16 horses).