Answer:
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: