Indian groups provided crucial support to early Spanish settlers in Mexico by supplying food, guiding expeditions, and translating, which helped the Spanish survive. While many Indian allies died fighting the Spanish or from diseases after 1521, some native warriors accompanied Spanish campaigns later. Hernando Cortés led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire beginning in 1518, destroying their capital Tenochtitlan and exploiting native beliefs that he was the returning god Quetzalcoatl, allowing the Spanish to take advantage of factors like disease, technology, and native assistance to conquer Mesoamerica.