Cortes, Emperor Of The Aztecs

May 20th, 2005

in 1506, crackpot sailor Cristobal Colon died in Valladolid, Spain. For over a decade, he had scoured Europe seeking financial backing for a planned trip across the Atlantic to India, rather than over land or south around Africa. He thought that Asia was a short distance across the Atlantic, but no one of any importance believed him.

in 1520, Hernando Cortes declared himself the new Emperor of the Aztecs after using them as shock troops to defeat Spanish soldiers sent to capture him. His New Aztec Empire became a thorn in the side of Spanish expansion in the New World, bringing in allies from the native population who preferred conquest by people of their own continent to European domination.

in 1774, in yet another rebuke to King George, Parliament refuses to pass his Coercive Acts to punish the American colonists. Their efforts at reconciliation, although constantly being sabotaged by the King’s efforts, are effective at appeasing the colonists and keeping them within the empire rather than attempting a revolution.

in 1910, Q’Bar rebels locate and destroy the headquarters of the Q’B’Ton’ran forces in the Mlosh home system, crippling their forces in the war. The rebels ask the Congress of Nations for assistance, but the C.N. is reluctant to be drawn further into the conflict. The Jovian Mlosh are actively fighting on their side, and giving them all the reinforcements they want.

in 1946, English poet W.H. Auden became a citizen of the Soviet States of America, defecting from his native Britain because of persecution against his leftist sympathies. He was never able to return to England, and died in America in 1973.

in 1952, the German Reich completed its conquest of Burma, and the rest of Asia was feeling the pressure of their presence. China was already in combat with the Reich, but many southeast Asian nations were considering surrender to the Germans.

in 1978, the film The Buddy Holly Story premiered in the music legend’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas. It documented Holly’s life up through 1975, when he reconciled with The Crickets and started touring with them again. Holly himself showed up for the premiere, which drew crowds from across America and snarled traffic in Lubbock for days.

in 1993, a 10 kilometer wide meteor strikes the Pacific Ocean, sending huge waves across Asia, the Americas and Australia. While the destruction is massive, with millions dead and hundreds of cities wiped out, the world is thankful that it wasn’t worse.


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