6 a short history of the united states
Spanish adventurers prompted their respective monarchs, in 1494 , to
reach an agreement known as the Treaty of Tordesillas, by which they
drew a line, north and south, 1 , 100 miles west of the Canary Islands,
wherein the land west of the line belonged to Spain, and the land east
of it belonged to Portugal.
The search for a route to Asia, and the treasure that adventurers
believed they would find, continued into the next century. Another
Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, made several trips along the south-
ern coast of the western hemisphere and wrote vivid, if largely untrue,
descriptions of what he called this “New World,” which caught the
attention of mapmakers and geographers. In 1507 a German mapmaker,
Martin Waldseemuller, who published Vespucci’s accounts, suggested
that this New World be called America in his honor. Now the conti-
nents of the western hemisphere had a new name.
Soon other Spanish explorers headed west in search of fortune and
glory. These conquistadores were tough, ruthless soldiers who spared
no life, Indian or Spanish, to find the riches and honor they sought.
They roamed the New World in their search, and in the process of
their explorations they established an empire for Spain. They were also
convinced that they were performing the will of God by bringing
Christianity to heathens.
Hernán Cortés, a particularly brutal but capable leader, made his
way to the New World in 1504. He participated in the conquest of
Cuba and later commanded an expedition to the Yucatán, where he
heard stories of great wealth farther west among the Aztecs, who called
themselves Mexics. He set out with 500 men to find it. Montezuma,
the Aztec emperor, believed that Cortés was the god Quetzalcoatl re-
turning to his country as foretold in Aztec mythology. To greet this
returning god, Montezuma sent him as an offering both food and a
huge disk the size of a wagon wheel in the shape of a sun and made of
solid gold. The Spanish realized that they had come upon unbelievable
wealth, and they meant to have it all. Sharp-witted and resourceful,
Cortés played the part of Quetzalcoatl and in 1519 captured Monte-
zuma, who paid a handsome ransom for his release. With the help of
surrounding tribes who hated the Mexics, Cortés not only conquered
the Aztec Nation but also slaughtered the natives with his guns and
cannons. His conquest was also aided by the diseases his troops carried