“When Cortez showed up, the Aztecs were having great difficulty maintaining control over their subject tribes,” Harl says.
The Hernán Cortéz-led 1519 Spanish invasion, aided by Mesoamerican foes of the Aztecs, brought the Aztec civilization to an end by 1521. “When Cortez showed up, the Aztecs were having great difficulty maintaining control over their subject tribes,” Harl says. "They were greatly hated, and Cortez gave enough advantage to all those disadvantaged subjects to topple the Aztec Empire."