Letter-Writing Exercise: Who was Cortes, and why did he want to conquer the Aztecs?

“You are Hernan Cortes, the famous Spanish Conquistador. Your task is to write a letter to the governor of Cuba to persuade him to let you sail from Cuba on an expedition to conquer the Aztec Empire. The letter should be in two parts, making full use of your notes from the pictures you have analysed.

• Paragraph 1: Why the Aztec Empire is WORTH conquering – focus on all the POSITIVE features of the Aztec Empire (culture, wealth, produce and so on).
• Paragraph 2: Why the Aztec Empire DESERVES to be conquered – focus on all the NEGATIVE features of the Aztec Empire (violence, cruelty and so on)”

Extension Task: If you finish your letter before the end of the available lesson time, develop it further with additional information from one or more of the sources at the bottom of this web page.