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At the start of 1519, the Aztec Empire
was a dominant force in Mesoamerica

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Although commonly seen as one people, the Aztec
Empire actually began in 1428 as an alliance

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between the three city-states of Tenochtitlan,
Texcoco, and Tlacopan. Among these, Tenochtitlan

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would soon rise above the others, gaining
infamy in the eyes of their tributaries

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Those unfortunate enough to fall under its
yoke were forced to supply the Triple Alliance

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not only with raw materials, but also with a
steady flow of prisoners for human sacrifice

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Although it is not entirely clear how
many people were sacrificed in total

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it is believed that in times of drought, thousands of
human lives would be ritually killed over a matter of days

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Aztec warriors also embarked on what was known as
Flower Wars to capture prisoners for sacrifice

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and some members of the Aztec aristocracy even
cannibalized the bodies of some of the victims

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Having said that, life in Tenochtitlan entailed
more than just an endless stream of gruesome

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offerings and peculiar appetites. The
Mexica, as the city's inhabitants were called

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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

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The fateful event that would radically alter the
course of Mesoamerican history came in February 1519

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when a group of several hundred conquistadors
landed in the Gulf of Mexico in search of

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glorious cities rumored to be filled with gold. Its leader, Hernán
Cortés, was following in the footsteps, or rather, the sails of

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two prior expeditions which had ventured into
the Gulf before him. But unlike his predecessors

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Cortés' expedition was rife with controversy from the very start. After
having butted heads with the Cuban governor, Diego Velázquez, Cortés had his

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expeditionary charter revoked at the last
moment. Not one to take no for an answer

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Cortes decided to ignore the order and, in an
open act of mutiny, set sail for Mesoamerica

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Facing certain imprisonment or even death, Cortes
was highly aware of the absolute necessity of his

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expedition's success. Luckily for him, help, in
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On their way to their first stop in the Yucatan
Peninsula, the conquistadors happened upon a

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shipwrecked Spaniard by the name of Jerónimo
de Aguilar. Aguilar, who had learned to speak

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Mayan, was promptly brought aboard as Cortés'
personal translator. A few weeks later, Aguilar

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would prove his usefulness during peace talks
with the Patanchin, a Mayan city-state that the

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conquistadors had encountered a few weeks into
their expedition. As a peace offer, the Mayans

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provided Cortes with 20 slaves, among whom a woman
who spoke both Mayan as well as the Aztec language

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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

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for their final destination. Upon arrival,
the nifty Cortes declared the establishment

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of Villarica de la Veracruz, marking
the first Spanish colony in Mesoamerica

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However, in reality, Veracruz was not much more
than a name on a map, and primarily served as a

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means for Cortes to take advantage of Spanish law in
an attempt to escape the jurisdiction of Governor

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Velazquez. Cortes' arrival, in the meantime, had
not gone unnoticed, and his party was soon welcomed

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by representatives of the Aztec emperor,
Maqudezuma. Despite their seeming lack of hostility

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Cortes knew that these formalities were unlikely
to last, and he was all too aware of the pressing

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need to address his glaring numerical inferiority.
Fortunately for the Spaniards, years of often

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brutal Aztec rule had left few friends among
their tributaries, and many, like the Totonac

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Confederacy, were relatively easily persuaded to turn against their
hated overlords. Upon hearing of the news of the Spanish Totonac Alliance

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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

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and perhaps to keep an eye on their movements, but most
of all, to dissuade them from visiting Tenochtitlan

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Cortes, however, felt encouraged rather
than dissuaded by the lavish gifts of gold

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and ordered a daring march toward the city.
It was all or nothing for the Spanish leader

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and to ensure the loyalty of his own men, he made
sure to scuttle his ships before setting off

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Violence erupted when Tlaxcalaan warriors began harrying the
column as it passed through Tlaxcaltecan territory two weeks later

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The bloodshed spread into September as
the Spanish camp was attacked by day

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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

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and a fifth of Cortes' men, peace
finally returned to the territory

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Cortes had convinced the harassers that
they had a common enemy in the Aztecs

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The Tlaxcalans had reason to resent the empire, as it had
conquered most of their territory during their yearly flower wars

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which had been going on for nearly a century.
Seeing a golden opportunity for retribution

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the Tlaxcalans lowered their arms
and joined the march to the city

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That being said, the violence did not stop
there. Before the Spanish went to Tenochtitlan

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they marched alongside their Tlaxcalteca allies
on the city of Cholula and massacred its civilian

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population over the course of several days.
Cholula, an important religious center

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had formerly been part of the Tlaxcalan sphere
of influence before switching sides and allying

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with the Aztecs. The exact reasons for the
massacre are disputed, but it may have been a

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mixture of the Tlaxcalans wanting to get rid of
a political rival and the Spanish wanting to send

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a message to rival cities. While it is clear that
many city-states had a grudge with the Aztecs

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at Cholula, the Spanish clearly demonstrated what
would happen if cities didn't ally with them

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By the first week of November, the surviving
conquistadors finally laid eyes on Tenochtitlan

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Home to over 300,000 inhabitants, this massive city dwarfed
almost all of its contemporary European counterparts

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The vista of its many cs, densely populated
neighborhoods, and imposing temples and palaces

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struck the approaching Spaniards with awe, and
prompted some to wonder whether they were in a dream

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Having failed to dissuade him from visiting the city,
Moctezuma now felt obliged to invite Cortes into his palace

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It was here that the conquistadors discovered a
secret room where the emperor kept his treasure

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The sight of numerous golden objects, jewels,
plates, and ingots dumbfounded the Spaniards

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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

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the Virgin Mary next to two large Aztec idols.
Naturally, this provocative request was cause for

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considerable consternation among the Mexicas,
causing an eruption of violence that cost the

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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

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With the emperor essentially taken hostage,
the Spaniards hoped to dissuade the Aztecs from

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further resistance. Moctezuma, on his part,
continued to stand firm behind his policy

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of diplomacy and peace. After firmly refusing advice
from his chieftains to attack the conquistadors

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he finally allowed Cortés' men to build a Catholic
altar on the temple. It was the first real sign

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that the once mighty emperor of the great Aztec
empire had been reduced to little more than a

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puppet of Cortés. Meanwhile, off to the east,
another significant development was taking place

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While Cortés executed his coup d'etat, 900
conquistadors under the command of Panfilo de Narvaez

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were landing on the orders of Governor
Velázquez, their objective to deal with Cortés

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Hearing of the news, Cortés assembled his
best men and set off to face Narvaez in battle

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leaving Pedro de Alvarado and a
small garrison in charge of the city

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This would turn out to be a fateful decision,
as the cruel and easily angered Alvarado had

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little patience and even less respect for
the Aztec people. And when on May 22nd, 1520

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Moctezuma asked for permission to celebrate an
Aztec festival, which included human sacrifice

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Alvarado and his men interrupted the festivities,
killing nearly all of the mostly unarmed warriors

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and noblemen inside of the Great Temple. Check out our
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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

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that those in attendance were wearing. Hearing of the
massacre, Maqu de Zuma again urged for cooler heads to prevail

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and ordered his people to stand down. The Aztecs,
however, had had enough and rose up in revolt

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Due east, Cortes had managed to
sneak up on Narvaez at Sempuala

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and ordered his men to attack at nightfall. His
mixed group of 250 Spaniards and 200 natives

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soundly defeated Narvaez's numerically superior force, which included
horsemen and artillery. In an ultimate slap to the face to Governor Velasquez

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the survivors were then convinced to join
Cortes with promises of boundless Aztec riches

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Arriving back at Tenochtitlan, Cortes found
Alvarado's men under siege in the palace

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Acting quickly, Cortes ordered Moctezuma to
address his people in a final doomed attempt

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to restore peace and allow the Spaniards
to peacefully withdraw from the city

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However, this desperate gesture merely stoked the pyres of fury. Jeers
rose from the crowd as Maqtézuma faced a rain of stones and darts

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His people had had enough of their emperor, and had in
fact already chosen to elect his successor, Quetlauoc

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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

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With their bargaining chip gone, and with
supplies rapidly dwindling, Cortez realized

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that time was running out. He ordered his men
to break out at night, with as much gold and

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other treasure as they could carry. The party
headed west under the cover of a welcome rainstorm

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winding their way through the sleeping city.
However, before long, they were spotted

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and the alarm was sounded. Within no time,
a crowd of Aztecs emerged from their houses

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to attack the fleeing column, while hundreds of
men in canoes harassed Cortez's men as they fought

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their way across the causeway leading out of the
city. Some soldiers lost their footing and drowned

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in the lake, weighed down by all their equipment
and the treasure that they had so desired

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Cortez himself was well ahead of the group,
leading a vanguard of horsemen, leaving the rest

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of his men behind to fend for themselves.
Upon reaching safety at the village of Tacuba

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the Spanish leader had a change of heart and
turned around to come to the aid of those still

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fighting their way out. Along the way, he found a
badly wounded Alvarado with a group of Spaniards

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and Tlaxcalteks. According to Conquistador Díaz
del Castillo, it was at this point that Cortes

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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

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and the exhausted and mostly wounded survivors
were left to make do with whatever they had

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managed to carry along. Cortez alleged sorrow at
the site of this tragedy solidified it in Spanish

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and Mexican history as the Night of Sorrows.
Despite their apparent weakness, Cortes' men

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were far from defeated. About a week later, the
Aztecs struck again at Otumba in an attempt to

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deliver the killing blow. But their victory
during the Night of Sorrows had made the Aztecs

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overconfident, and the Spaniard's skillful use of
cavalry and targeting known leaders ultimately

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sent their army into disarray. Having fought off
his pursuers, Cortes withdrew his remaining men

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to the relative safety of Tlaxcala to rest and
reorganize. Though defeated on the field of battle

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the Aztecs had retaken control over their capital.
This victory, however, would be short-lived

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as soon a far more lethal and insidious
enemy would arrive in the form of smallpox

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Having no prior contact with this disease,
the vulnerable Aztecs were at its mercy

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Thousands perished in short succession, among
them the new emperor Cuidlawac, and by the end

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of the year 1520, it is estimated that the disease
had killed some 8 million people in the area now

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known as Mexico. Having licked their wounds from
the Night of Sorrows and the Battle of Otumba

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Cortes' men were reinforced by more native allies
from Texcoco, and once again set off for Tenochtitlan

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in early 1521. Well aware of the weakened state of
the Aztec Empire, the Spanish leaders undoubtedly

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expected a swift victory. However, to their
surprise, the stubborn defenders of the city

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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

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10th, yet by the end of June, its defenders still
stood firm. Various attempts to end the siege

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through diplomacy failed. Having run out of
patience, Cortes ordered a massive assault on

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the city to take the market of Tlatelolco, but
his men were forced to retreat in the face of

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heavy resistance. Cortes himself was captured
during the fighting, and was fortunate to escape

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with his life when his men came to the rescue.
Brutal urban combat and sustained fanatical

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resistance persisted until the remaining
defenders made their last stand at Plaza Mayor

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where they finally surrendered on August 13th.
The reign of Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec emperor

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ended when he was captured trying to flee the
city in a canoe, but the catastrophe that had

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befallen Tenochtitlan would not end there. The
victorious Spaniards and their native allies

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mercilessly sacked the city in search of gold and
revenge. Cortes, on his part, would be rewarded

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for the astounding success of his valiant
expedition by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

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by being named Captain General of the
Vice-Royalty of New Spain in October of 1522

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Cortes' lethal gamble had paid off. The mutinous
soldier had become the new hero of Spain

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Within just two short years, Hernán Cortés'
relatively small group of conquistadors had

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managed to vanquish an empire. The scale of the
Aztec expedition, alongside its capture in treasure

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would not be matched until the 1532 conquest of
the Incan Empire in modern-day Peru. However

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as we've seen, Cortés' conquest was far from
a straightforward military affair. Besides the

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Spaniards' technological and tactical superiority,
it was the vital support of large numbers of

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native allies, the over-caution and inaction of
Matezuma, as well as the brutal effects of the

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smallpox epidemic. That all played a part in the
rapid toppling of the Aztec Empire. Its fall marked

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the start of further Spanish conquests in the
region, ultimately leading to the Spanish control

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over the entirety of Mesoamerica. Conquest,
in turn, was followed by the mass conversion

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of the indigenous people to Catholicism. And
before long, intermarriage between ethnic

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Spaniards and natives would become common
occurrences, marking the beginning of the

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modern Mexican nation. Special thanks to Hulsecaren for sponsoring this video. Support
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