Final answer:
Hernán Cortés landed in Veracruz in 1519, and was wrongly believed to be a god by the Aztecs. He conquered Tenochtitlán, imposed Spanish religious beliefs, and initiated a period of Spanish dominance in the New World.
Step-by-step explanation:
Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, arrived at Veracruz in 1519 marking a pivotal moment in the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire. He was believed by the locals to be the fulfillment of a prophecy regarding the god Quetzalcoatl due to his arrival coinciding with the predicted time. Believing this, the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, sent gifts to Cortés. Notably, Cortés brought his religious and imperial ambitions to the New World as he aimed to acquire wealth and establish a hereditary privilege for his lineage. Upon entering Tenochtitlán, he met with Moctezuma II, the Aztec emperor, and was astounded by the city's size and wealth, but also aimed to convert the Indigenous people to Christianity, often forcibly so. Cortés' presence and ultimate actions, including the imprisonment of Moctezuma II and purging of Aztec temples, laid the foundation for centuries of Spanish rule and cultural upheaval in the Americas.