Before the colonisation of the Americas, the area that is now called Mexico was inhabited by many indigenous tribes. When the Spaniards took control, however, a combination of their oppressive ways, unfamiliar diseases, and war decimated the indigenous population:
"During the reign of Moctezuma, the empire continued its growth, but it was during this period the Spaniards of Hernan Cortes landed in the region and the fight between the Aztecs and the Conquistadors began."