Moctezuma paid "great reverence" to Cortes, because he have heard of the "white gods" that appear once in awhile to bring great change. If those "white gods" were not appeased, then his empire would be taken away from him. With this knowledge in mind, and the knowledge that Cortes was coming, Moctezuma wanted to do things 'right' to keep his empire. However, Cortes, when he found out the reason why Moctezuma treated him like that, made a plan that would allow him to overthrow the Aztecs fairly easily. He first assassinated Moctezuma, escaped, and then made alliances with the Aztec's enemies. Without a leader, ravaged by diseases, and having inferior equipment against the Spanish, the Aztecs were decimated from off the earth in a series of battles following the assassination
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