Spanish Conquer Tenochtitlan

Looking back to the Pre-Contact class I remember there being structures that certain rulers would destroy and build over as a sign of dominance and as a symbol of the new order. When these rulers would build colonial centres over the cities it was their attempt to claim authority over the new center. How else can one effectively take over? The Spanish were also prone to such activities, and in particular they took control over one of the most powerful and well known cities in all of Mesoamerica: Tenochtitlan. This being the capital of the Aztecs, in the sixteenth century the Spanish came in and thought that the picture glyphs and narratives in the books that the Aztecs created as a symbol of their town. Not only were the illustrations of their town destroyed but the Spanish altered their political and ideological structures. Because the Aztecs had established one of the strongest Mesoamerican empires, it makes sense that the Spanish would invade because it was at that time the only way to establish power and to maintain that power by controlling as many areas as possible. They obviously thought that it was important to conquer this area. Considering the Plaza Mayor had nearly thirty structures it is crazy to think that the Spanish would go to such an extent to take over to build their own colonial capital, but I guess to them that was the only way to do it.