The moment Hernán Cortés and his men landed on the shore of Mexico in 1519 was a catastrophic one for Aztec leader Moctezuma, and their chance meeting led to the destruction of an entire civilization. Here, in this essay by award-winning author Charles L. Mee Jr., is the haunting, humbling story of the end of the Aztecs and the inevitability of the unpredictable in human affairs.
