Cortes and the Aztecs Cortes and his soldiers (called conquistadores ) conquered Mexico swiftly and ruthlessly. In , Cortes set sail from Cuba to Mexico, where he made friends with the Totonacs, a group who wanted to secede from Aztec rule. The Aztec king, Montezuma, sent an official to meet him. He was terrified at the aggressiveness of the Spanish, their gunpowder and their horses.
Montezuma himself was convinced that Cortes was the reincarnation of an exiled god who had returned to avenge himself.