Final answer:
Upon arriving on the Mexican mainland, Hernán Cortés decided to conquer the Aztec Empire. Cortés took Montezuma II hostage in the Aztec capital, but he was forced to leave the city to fight off a Spanish army. After making an alliance with the Tlaxcalan, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan and defeated the last Aztec emperor.
Step-by-step explanation:
Upon arriving on the Mexican mainland, Hernán Cortés decided to conquer the Aztec Empire.Cortés and his men marched to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, where they took Montezuma II, the Aztec leader, hostage. However, news of a Spanish army coming to arrest Cortés forced him to leave the city and fight off the Spanish force, leaving eighty of his men behind to maintain the city.
After defeating the Spanish army, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan only to find the city in rebellion. In an attempt to escape, Cortés and his men were ambushed by the Aztecs on the causeway, resulting in heavy casualties and lost riches. However, Cortés made an alliance with a traditional enemy of the Aztecs, the Tlaxcalan, and eventually returned to conquer Tenochtitlan in 1521, defeating the last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtemoc, and establishing Mexico City on the site.