The Conquest

When Cortes and his band of Conquistadores arrived on the shores of Mexico (near present day Vera Cruz) in 1519 they had no idea what was in store for them. They had heard rumors if a city/state of magnificence and opulence nearby, but when they had finally fought their way to Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City) they were stunned and amazed. Laying before them was a perfectly laid out island city (in lake Texcoco) with a huge plaza dominated by the Templo Mayor, a huge pyramid/temple, and accessed by a sophisticated causeway system The Aztecs had established an empire stretching from sea to sea, down into present day Guatemala and as far north as the present day U.S. boarder. Over the next three years Cortez and his men (assisted by some enemy’s of the Aztecs and reinforcements from Spain) systematically decimated and destroyed the Aztec culture in order to obliterate what was thought of as Paganism. Some of the culture was preserved in the form of monuments, art, murals and manuscripts buried or hidden. Beginning in the middle if the 19th century there was a revival and acknowledgement of the amazing quality and variety of Pre-Colombian art and culture. Some of this started to be uncovered and brought out of hiding. In 1865 The Mexican National Museum was established in Mexico City to start housing some of these priceless relics. One hundred years later the National Museum of Anthropology was built and has become a sprawling world class museum with sections featuring art and artifacts from Olmec, Maya, Toltec, Mexica and Aztec cultures all the way to present day indigenous peoples who number over 3 million. An amazing number of stunning pieces are now displayed there and well as many other museums across Mexico, as well as Britton, Germany, Spain and the U.S.