Summarize spanish exploration of the americas

Cortés Conquers the Aztecs

European rulers wanted explorers to find riches to bring

back to Europe. Hernán Cortés led an expedition to Mexico

in 1519. His ships carried more than 500 conquistadors with

horses and weapons. They wanted fame and riches. Cortés

had heard about the Aztecs. The Aztecs ruled an empire

that covered much of present-day Mexico. Its capital city,

Tenochtitlán, was beautiful and huge. It was twice as big as

any European city. The Aztec ruler, Moctezuma, welcomed

Cortés, but Moctezuma soon sent the Spaniards away. The

conquistadors were greedy for gold. Cortés got help from

neighboring Indian nations that had been conquered by

the Aztecs. His soldiers had horses and weapons and the

Aztecs did not. Contact with the Spanish had infected the

Aztec army with disease and made the Aztecs weak. Cortés

defeated them. In 1535, Spain controlled the Aztec empire

and named it New Spain. After Cortés, conquistadors

explored Central and South America to find gold and

treasure. Pizarro conquered the Inca empire in South

Americas in the 1530s.

Exploring North America

Conquistadors went north looking for gold. Juan Ponce de

León claimed present-day Florida for Spain in 1513. Spain

sent Hernando de Soto to search for gold in the area beyond

Florida in 1539. He traveled as far as the Mississippi River.

He found no gold. The conquistadors fought against and

enslaved the American Indians they met. In 1540, Francisco

Vásquez de Coronado and his men traveled 3,500 miles

looking for gold. Spanish explorers were the first Europeans

to see most of North America. They learned about the

geography and peoples of the region.

Explanation:

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