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The Invasion In the year 13-Flint (1492 AD by European reckoning) There was sickness, hunger, a volcanic eruption and many beasts that devoured children in the Valley of Mexico. This was an exception in what was a period of triumph for the Aztecs. Lord Ahuitzotl, ruler of the Aztecs at the time, soon built a new aqueduct and rebuilt and consecrated the great temple. A decade later, in the year 10-rabbit, his successor Motecuhzoma (Montezuma) succeeded him as leader of the Aztecs. There were rumors of strange hairy men in boats like small mountains. In the year 1-reed, the strange men came to stay. These men had dogs larger than any ever seen and large man-animals that ran faster than any man. These creatures divided and it became obvious that the strangers had deer to carry them on their backs and these deer could be as tall as the roof of a house. Worst of all, as the Aztecs turned on the invaders, killing half of them, came a hueyzahual that swept over the land. This pestilence spared the invaders but covered with pustules, very many people died. A third - a half - the number is unknown. On the day 1-serpent, in the year 3-house, the invaders and their Indian allies defeated the Aztecs. What the Spaniards Brought New plants included wheat and other Eurasian grains; pear, peach, orange, lemon tress; chick peas, grape vines, melons, onions, radishes and many plants that became weeds. They introduced wheeled vehicles - the Aztecs appear to have used wheels only on toys. In their world, the only way to move goods overland was on the back of a man. Messages moved by runner. Long distance running was, and in some cases still is, a tradition among some Indian tribes. They brought horses, pigs, sheep, goats, burros, and cattle. Within a century, there were cattle everywhere. There were thousands upon thousands of horses available to anyone with a few coins or the skill to rope them. Legally, Indians were forbidden horses. Most importantly, there were far fewer Indians. A century after the conquest, there was perhaps one Indian for every ten or perhaps twenty who had been alive in the Valley of Mexico a century earlier.