At the start of 1519, the Aztec Empire was a dominant force in Mesoamerica
Although commonly seen as one people, the Aztec Empire actually began in 1428 as an alliance
between the three city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. Among these, Tenochtitlan
would soon rise above the others, gaining infamy in the eyes of their tributaries
Those unfortunate enough to fall under its yoke were forced to supply the Triple Alliance
not only with raw materials, but also with a steady flow of prisoners for human sacrifice
Although it is not entirely clear how many people were sacrificed in total
it is believed that in times of drought, thousands of human lives would be ritually killed over a matter of days
Aztec warriors also embarked on what was known as Flower Wars to capture prisoners for sacrifice
and some members of the Aztec aristocracy even cannibalized the bodies of some of the victims
Having said that, life in Tenochtitlan entailed more than just an endless stream of gruesome
offerings and peculiar appetites. The Mexica, as the city's inhabitants were called
greatly valued scholarship, and Tenochtitlan contained several large libraries with manuscripts on a wide range of topics ranging from religion and genealogies to government and geography
The fateful event that would radically alter the course of Mesoamerican history came in February 1519
when a group of several hundred conquistadors landed in the Gulf of Mexico in search of
glorious cities rumored to be filled with gold. Its leader, Hernán Cortés, was following in the footsteps, or rather, the sails of
two prior expeditions which had ventured into the Gulf before him. But unlike his predecessors
Cortés' expedition was rife with controversy from the very start. After having butted heads with the Cuban governor, Diego Velázquez, Cortés had his
expeditionary charter revoked at the last moment. Not one to take no for an answer
Cortes decided to ignore the order and, in an open act of mutiny, set sail for Mesoamerica
Facing certain imprisonment or even death, Cortes was highly aware of the absolute necessity of his
expedition's success. Luckily for him, help, in this regard, would soon arrive in unexpected form
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On their way to their first stop in the Yucatan Peninsula, the conquistadors happened upon a
shipwrecked Spaniard by the name of Jerónimo de Aguilar. Aguilar, who had learned to speak
Mayan, was promptly brought aboard as Cortés' personal translator. A few weeks later, Aguilar
would prove his usefulness during peace talks with the Patanchin, a Mayan city-state that the
conquistadors had encountered a few weeks into their expedition. As a peace offer, the Mayans
provided Cortes with 20 slaves, among whom a woman who spoke both Mayan as well as the Aztec language
Nahuatl Together Aguilar and the slave woman who would become known as La Malinche would form a crucial link for Cortes to communicate with the Aztec people Armed with the power of language as well as of steel and gunpowder the Spaniards set sail
for their final destination. Upon arrival, the nifty Cortes declared the establishment
of Villarica de la Veracruz, marking the first Spanish colony in Mesoamerica
However, in reality, Veracruz was not much more than a name on a map, and primarily served as a
means for Cortes to take advantage of Spanish law in an attempt to escape the jurisdiction of Governor
Velazquez. Cortes' arrival, in the meantime, had not gone unnoticed, and his party was soon welcomed
by representatives of the Aztec emperor, Maqudezuma. Despite their seeming lack of hostility
Cortes knew that these formalities were unlikely to last, and he was all too aware of the pressing
need to address his glaring numerical inferiority. Fortunately for the Spaniards, years of often
brutal Aztec rule had left few friends among their tributaries, and many, like the Totonac
Confederacy, were relatively easily persuaded to turn against their hated overlords. Upon hearing of the news of the Spanish Totonac Alliance
Mactezuma sensed trouble and sent forth another score of polite ambassadors bearing gifts of gold and cloth in a doomed attempt to appease the Spaniards
and perhaps to keep an eye on their movements, but most of all, to dissuade them from visiting Tenochtitlan
Cortes, however, felt encouraged rather than dissuaded by the lavish gifts of gold
and ordered a daring march toward the city. It was all or nothing for the Spanish leader
and to ensure the loyalty of his own men, he made sure to scuttle his ships before setting off
Violence erupted when Tlaxcalaan warriors began harrying the column as it passed through Tlaxcaltecan territory two weeks later
The bloodshed spread into September as the Spanish camp was attacked by day
while Cortes' men raided Tlaxcalteca villages by night. After 18 days of brutal warfare, which had come at the cost of half of the Spanish cavalry
and a fifth of Cortes' men, peace finally returned to the territory
Cortes had convinced the harassers that they had a common enemy in the Aztecs
The Tlaxcalans had reason to resent the empire, as it had conquered most of their territory during their yearly flower wars
which had been going on for nearly a century. Seeing a golden opportunity for retribution
the Tlaxcalans lowered their arms and joined the march to the city
That being said, the violence did not stop there. Before the Spanish went to Tenochtitlan
they marched alongside their Tlaxcalteca allies on the city of Cholula and massacred its civilian
population over the course of several days. Cholula, an important religious center
had formerly been part of the Tlaxcalan sphere of influence before switching sides and allying
with the Aztecs. The exact reasons for the massacre are disputed, but it may have been a
mixture of the Tlaxcalans wanting to get rid of a political rival and the Spanish wanting to send
a message to rival cities. While it is clear that many city-states had a grudge with the Aztecs
at Cholula, the Spanish clearly demonstrated what would happen if cities didn't ally with them
By the first week of November, the surviving conquistadors finally laid eyes on Tenochtitlan
Home to over 300,000 inhabitants, this massive city dwarfed almost all of its contemporary European counterparts
The vista of its many cs, densely populated neighborhoods, and imposing temples and palaces
struck the approaching Spaniards with awe, and prompted some to wonder whether they were in a dream
Having failed to dissuade him from visiting the city, Moctezuma now felt obliged to invite Cortes into his palace
It was here that the conquistadors discovered a secret room where the emperor kept his treasure
The sight of numerous golden objects, jewels, plates, and ingots dumbfounded the Spaniards
Having located the rumored treasure trove, Cortes began to pressure Moctezuma by asking him to allow his men to erect a cross and an image of
the Virgin Mary next to two large Aztec idols. Naturally, this provocative request was cause for
considerable consternation among the Mexicas, causing an eruption of violence that cost the
lives of seven Spaniards Realizing the precarity of their situation Cortes retaliated by putting Moctezuma under house arrest in the palace assuming personal control over the city
With the emperor essentially taken hostage, the Spaniards hoped to dissuade the Aztecs from
further resistance. Moctezuma, on his part, continued to stand firm behind his policy
of diplomacy and peace. After firmly refusing advice from his chieftains to attack the conquistadors
he finally allowed Cortés' men to build a Catholic altar on the temple. It was the first real sign
that the once mighty emperor of the great Aztec empire had been reduced to little more than a
puppet of Cortés. Meanwhile, off to the east, another significant development was taking place
While Cortés executed his coup d'etat, 900 conquistadors under the command of Panfilo de Narvaez
were landing on the orders of Governor Velázquez, their objective to deal with Cortés
Hearing of the news, Cortés assembled his best men and set off to face Narvaez in battle
leaving Pedro de Alvarado and a small garrison in charge of the city
This would turn out to be a fateful decision, as the cruel and easily angered Alvarado had
little patience and even less respect for the Aztec people. And when on May 22nd, 1520
Moctezuma asked for permission to celebrate an Aztec festival, which included human sacrifice
Alvarado and his men interrupted the festivities, killing nearly all of the mostly unarmed warriors
and noblemen inside of the Great Temple. Check out our library of over 100 exclusive videos on Armchair History TV
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Alvarado's men claimed to have merely acted to prevent human sacrifice, while survivors retorted that the Spaniards had grown wild at the sight of gold jewelry
that those in attendance were wearing. Hearing of the massacre, Maqu de Zuma again urged for cooler heads to prevail
and ordered his people to stand down. The Aztecs, however, had had enough and rose up in revolt
Due east, Cortes had managed to sneak up on Narvaez at Sempuala
and ordered his men to attack at nightfall. His mixed group of 250 Spaniards and 200 natives
soundly defeated Narvaez's numerically superior force, which included horsemen and artillery. In an ultimate slap to the face to Governor Velasquez
the survivors were then convinced to join Cortes with promises of boundless Aztec riches
Arriving back at Tenochtitlan, Cortes found Alvarado's men under siege in the palace
Acting quickly, Cortes ordered Moctezuma to address his people in a final doomed attempt
to restore peace and allow the Spaniards to peacefully withdraw from the city
However, this desperate gesture merely stoked the pyres of fury. Jeers rose from the crowd as Maqtézuma faced a rain of stones and darts
His people had had enough of their emperor, and had in fact already chosen to elect his successor, Quetlauoc
The tragic Maqtézuma would not survive the assault, though the Aztecs would later claim that he was killed by the Spaniards after his usefulness to them had expired
With their bargaining chip gone, and with supplies rapidly dwindling, Cortez realized
that time was running out. He ordered his men to break out at night, with as much gold and
other treasure as they could carry. The party headed west under the cover of a welcome rainstorm
winding their way through the sleeping city. However, before long, they were spotted
and the alarm was sounded. Within no time, a crowd of Aztecs emerged from their houses
to attack the fleeing column, while hundreds of men in canoes harassed Cortez's men as they fought
their way across the causeway leading out of the city. Some soldiers lost their footing and drowned
in the lake, weighed down by all their equipment and the treasure that they had so desired
Cortez himself was well ahead of the group, leading a vanguard of horsemen, leaving the rest
of his men behind to fend for themselves. Upon reaching safety at the village of Tacuba
the Spanish leader had a change of heart and turned around to come to the aid of those still
fighting their way out. Along the way, he found a badly wounded Alvarado with a group of Spaniards
and Tlaxcalteks. According to Conquistador Díaz del Castillo, it was at this point that Cortes
broke down in tears During the bloody breakout attempt an estimated 400 to 800 Spaniards had killed drowned or captured while around 1 Talax Caltecs had suffered the same fate In terms of equipment all of the artillery and most of the horses had been lost
and the exhausted and mostly wounded survivors were left to make do with whatever they had
managed to carry along. Cortez alleged sorrow at the site of this tragedy solidified it in Spanish
and Mexican history as the Night of Sorrows. Despite their apparent weakness, Cortes' men
were far from defeated. About a week later, the Aztecs struck again at Otumba in an attempt to
deliver the killing blow. But their victory during the Night of Sorrows had made the Aztecs
overconfident, and the Spaniard's skillful use of cavalry and targeting known leaders ultimately
sent their army into disarray. Having fought off his pursuers, Cortes withdrew his remaining men
to the relative safety of Tlaxcala to rest and reorganize. Though defeated on the field of battle
the Aztecs had retaken control over their capital. This victory, however, would be short-lived
as soon a far more lethal and insidious enemy would arrive in the form of smallpox
Having no prior contact with this disease, the vulnerable Aztecs were at its mercy
Thousands perished in short succession, among them the new emperor Cuidlawac, and by the end
of the year 1520, it is estimated that the disease had killed some 8 million people in the area now
known as Mexico. Having licked their wounds from the Night of Sorrows and the Battle of Otumba
Cortes' men were reinforced by more native allies from Texcoco, and once again set off for Tenochtitlan
in early 1521. Well aware of the weakened state of the Aztec Empire, the Spanish leaders undoubtedly
expected a swift victory. However, to their surprise, the stubborn defenders of the city
refused to yield. Frustrated, the Spaniards ordered Tlaxcalteca laborers to construct cannon-mounted brigantines to take control of the lake. Potable water to the city was cut off on May
10th, yet by the end of June, its defenders still stood firm. Various attempts to end the siege
through diplomacy failed. Having run out of patience, Cortes ordered a massive assault on
the city to take the market of Tlatelolco, but his men were forced to retreat in the face of
heavy resistance. Cortes himself was captured during the fighting, and was fortunate to escape
with his life when his men came to the rescue. Brutal urban combat and sustained fanatical
resistance persisted until the remaining defenders made their last stand at Plaza Mayor
where they finally surrendered on August 13th. The reign of Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor
ended when he was captured trying to flee the city in a canoe, but the catastrophe that had
befallen Tenochtitlan would not end there. The victorious Spaniards and their native allies
mercilessly sacked the city in search of gold and revenge. Cortes, on his part, would be rewarded
for the astounding success of his valiant expedition by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
by being named Captain General of the Vice-Royalty of New Spain in October of 1522
Cortes' lethal gamble had paid off. The mutinous soldier had become the new hero of Spain
Within just two short years, Hernán Cortés' relatively small group of conquistadors had
managed to vanquish an empire. The scale of the Aztec expedition, alongside its capture in treasure
would not be matched until the 1532 conquest of the Incan Empire in modern-day Peru. However
as we've seen, Cortés' conquest was far from a straightforward military affair. Besides the
Spaniards' technological and tactical superiority, it was the vital support of large numbers of
native allies, the over-caution and inaction of Matezuma, as well as the brutal effects of the
smallpox epidemic. That all played a part in the rapid toppling of the Aztec Empire. Its fall marked
the start of further Spanish conquests in the region, ultimately leading to the Spanish control
over the entirety of Mesoamerica. Conquest, in turn, was followed by the mass conversion
of the indigenous people to Catholicism. And before long, intermarriage between ethnic
Spaniards and natives would become common occurrences, marking the beginning of the
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