The conquest of Tenochtitlán

1521 Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), Mexico

In short

Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital, stood on an island in the middle of a lake and was one of the largest cities in the world, with canals, markets and temples. In 1519 the Spaniard Hernán Cortés arrived there with a few hundred soldiers, allied with peoples who were enemies of the Aztecs. After a long siege, the city fell in August 1521. European weapons and above all smallpox, a disease unknown in America, killed huge numbers of its people. Mexico City was built on its ruins.

Why it matters It marked the start of Spanish rule in America and the end of one of the continent's great civilisations.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Tenochtitlán”

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Illustration: The conquest of Tenochtitlán (Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), Mexico) — Illustration created with AI for Storiascopio

Where: Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), Mexico

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The story

A city on the water

In 1519 the city of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Mexica people, whom we often call the Aztecs, was one of the largest in the world: perhaps two hundred thousand inhabitants, more than any Spanish city. It stood on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, linked to the mainland by long raised roads, the causeways. It had canals, markets, floating gardens, called chinampas, where maize and flowers were grown, and in the centre a great temple, the Templo Mayor. The Spaniards, who saw it from above, compared it to the cities in stories of knights.

The Mexica dominated much of central Mexico through a league of three cities, the Triple Alliance. Many neighbouring peoples had to pay them tribute, that is, hand over food, cloth and people, and they were not at all happy. This discontent played a decisive role.

Cortés lands

Hernán Cortés was a Spanish nobleman from Medellín. In 1519 he set out from Cuba with about five hundred and fifty men, sixteen horses and a few cannons, to explore the coast of Mexico. He founded a settlement on the coast, Veracruz, and had his ships burned, or sunk, according to tradition, to stop his men from turning back.

On the coast Cortés was given a young indigenous woman, baptised Marina and called Malintzin by her own people, later known as Malinche. She spoke two languages of the region and, learning Spanish, became his interpreter and adviser. With her help Cortés understood that many peoples hated the Mexica and he made an alliance with the Tlaxcalans, who had long resisted the Mexica, and with others. These allies, tens of thousands of warriors, made up most of the forces that marched on Tenochtitlan.

On the way to the capital, Moctezuma's messengers brought gifts of gold and fine feathers, hoping that the strangers would be satisfied and turn back. They had the opposite effect: the gold showed the Spaniards how rich the country was that they were about to reach.

Moctezuma and the “Sad Night”

On 8 November 1519 Cortés entered Tenochtitlan. The Mexica ruler, Moctezuma II, received him with great honours. Soon afterwards, according to Cortés's account, the Spaniards took him prisoner in his palace, to rule through him. In the spring of 1520 Cortés had to leave to deal with other Spaniards, sent to arrest him, and in his absence one of his lieutenants had many nobles killed during a festival. The city rose in revolt.

Moctezuma died in June 1520, but the Spanish and indigenous versions do not agree on how. On 30 June the Spaniards tried to flee by night, but they were attacked on the causeways and lost hundreds of men and almost all the treasure. This was called the “Sad Night” (Noche Triste). In the same period an epidemic of smallpox broke out, brought by a Spanish soldier, a disease the local peoples had never met: it killed a great many people, among them the new ruler, Cuitláhuac.

The siege

Cortés took refuge in Tlaxcala, recovered his strength and had thirteen small ships built, the brigantines, which were carried in pieces to the lake and put together there. In May 1521 the siege began. The besiegers blocked the causeways and the aqueducts, and the brigantines dominated the lake. The inhabitants, struck by hunger, thirst and disease, resisted for about eighty days, led by the new ruler, Cuauhtémoc, a young nobleman.

On 13 August 1521 Cuauhtémoc was captured while trying to escape by canoe, and the city fell. It was largely destroyed. On its ruins the Spaniards built the city of Mexico City, which is the capital of the country still today. Central Mexico became the core of New Spain, a great Spanish domain that lasted for almost three hundred years.

Why it happened

The Spanish success did not depend only on metal weapons, horses and cannons. What mattered were the alliances with the peoples subject to the Mexica, who wanted to be free of tribute and who supplied most of the fighters.

The diseases brought from Europe, such as smallpox, which hit the indigenous population hard, mattered a great deal too. Cortés also made skilful use of diplomacy, of the information from interpreters and of the divisions among his enemies.

What changed

The Mexica empire disappeared, and with New Spain Spanish colonial rule began in Mexico, later spreading across much of Central and South America. From the silver mines of the region, silver flowed into Europe in enormous quantities.

The indigenous population fell dramatically in the following decades, mainly because of epidemics, but also because of forced labour and war. Local cultures were partly wiped out: temples were torn down, and many indigenous books were burned.

In time a new society arose, with mixed languages, religion and customs: today Spanish is spoken, but Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica, is also spoken by more than a million people. The very name “Mexico” comes from that of the Mexica.

Key people and places

People

Hernán Cortés: Spanish conquistador (1485–1547): he led the expedition against the Mexica.
Moctezuma II: Mexica ruler from 1502 to 1520: he welcomed Cortés to Tenochtitlan.
Malinche (Malintzin): Indigenous woman (about 1500–1529): she was Cortés's interpreter and adviser.
Cuauhtémoc: Last Mexica ruler (about 1495–1525): he defended the city and was captured in 1521.
Cuitláhuac: Mexica ruler for a few months in 1520: he died of smallpox.

Places

Tenochtitlan: Capital of the Mexica, on Lake Texcoco: today under Mexico City.
Templo Mayor, Mexico City: The remains of the great temple, discovered in the 20th century and open to visitors.
Tlaxcala: Territory of the people who allied with Cortés.