History > Conquest of Mexico
	The conquest of Mexico and the destruction of Tenochtitlán in 1520 marked the beginning of the modern Mexican state. The conquest theme acts as an emblem of betrayal and rapacity throughout Lowry's novel; the Consul, having stayed on in Cuernavaca to exploit the silver market, considers himself a modern day conquistador and therefore invites his own destruction.
	Gods Aztec culture Cortés & Moctezuma Conquest events Prescott's History of the Conquest of Mexico and the Conquest of Peru