History of the Conquest of Mexico

In 1519, Hernando Cortés arrived in Mexico to investigate stories of a wealthy empire. What he encountered was beyond his wildest dreams—an advanced civilization with complex artistic, political and religious systems, and replete with gold. This was the Aztec empire, headed by the fearsome emperor, Montezuma. But with just a handful of men, Cortés achieved the impossible, crushing the Aztecs and their allies, and effectively annexing the whole territory for Spain. One of the most extraordinary stories of conquest in mankind’s history, it is told here in the classic account by historian W. H. Prescott.