Cortés Takes Aztec Capital
On August 13, 1521, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captured Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, marking a significant moment in the Spanish conquest of Mexico. This event resulted in the fall of one of the most powerful and wealthy civilizations in pre-Columbian America. Cortés, driven by stories of riches in Central America, embarked on his expedition in 1519 with a small force and faced various challenges, including resistance from the Aztec ruler Montezuma. Cortés initially managed to establish a tenuous control by taking Montezuma captive, but tensions escalated, leading to conflicts and the eventual expulsion of the Spaniards from the city.
Despite setbacks, Cortés regrouped with reinforcements and laid siege to Tenochtitlán, leading to the city's eventual capture after intense fighting. The conquest not only enriched Spain but also spurred further exploration and colonization in the Americas. Cortés's legacy is complex; while he gained titles and recognition, his later endeavors did not achieve the same success, and he left the New World believing his accomplishments had faded from memory. This pivotal moment reshaped the social, political, and economic landscape of Mexico and had lasting implications for Indigenous cultures and Spanish colonial ambitions.
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Cortés Takes Aztec Capital
Cortés Takes Aztec Capital
On August 13, 1521, Spanish conquistadors under the leadership of Hernán Cortés took the city of Tenochtitlán, the capital of the fabulously wealthy Aztec Empire in what is now Mexico. The conquest of Mexico would enrich Spain and the Habsburg dynasty beyond all expectations, though Cortés himself received only modest rewards. Nevertheless, his example encouraged other ambitious young men to seek their fortunes in the New World, where Spain would soon develop an extensive empire.
Hernán Cortés was born in 1485 in Estramadura, a harsh, hilly region in central Spain. His family was respectable but poor, so Cortés emigrated to the newly settled island of Hispaniola, off the coast of North America, in hopes of improving his prospects. He participated in the conquest of Cuba and then, hearing tales of gold and silver to be found in Central America, prepared to lead an expedition to the mainland. He had to trick the jealous governor of Cuba to do this, but in 1519 he landed with 600 men and 16 horses near the mouth of the Tabasco River in what is now Mexico. A large force of Tabascan Indians started to attack his party but were overcome by fear of the Spaniards' guns and horses, the likes of which they had never seen. Cortés entered into negotiations with the Indians and got food and vows of friendship from them, as well as information about the rich Aztec lands farther west. Like many of the smaller Central American tribes, the Tabascans hated the Aztecs. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice on a prodigious scale, in the belief that the universe would end if the gods were not fed with blood, and they waged war on other tribes to obtain a steady supply of captives for their rites. Along with encouragement, the Tabascans gave Cortés an Aztec princess who had been awarded to them by her own people as a slave. In dealing with the Indians, she became Cortés's interpreter and adviser as well as his lover; he probably owed much of his success to this woman, who is variously called Malinche, Malintzin, and Marina.
Sailing westward along the coast, Cortés paused to establish the city of Veracruz; as the founder of a city he would be answerable only to the king of Spain rather than to his enemy, the governor of Cuba. He sent one of his ships back to Spain and burned the others, so that there could be no retreat. Then he turned toward the interior of Mexico and the heart of the Aztec Empire. By now Montezuma, ruler of the Aztecs, had learned of Cortés's approach, but he was not sure whether these pale, bearded strangers were men or emissaries of the god Quetzalcoatl, whose return from the east at about this time had long been predicted. After Cortés outwitted an ambush plot, Montezuma presented him with rich gifts and reluctantly allowed him to enter Tenochtitlán.
The Spaniards were impressed by the beauty and wealth of the capital but horrified by the regular human sacrifices, which they could see from the palace where they were quartered. They could also see that they were grossly outnumbered by Montezuma's Aztec warriors. In a quick, bloodless coup, Cortés made Montezuma a prisoner and tried to rule the country through him, ordering the Aztecs to bring in all the gold they could. Unfortunately, the governor of Cuba now reentered the picture, attacking the settlement at Veracruz, and Cortés had to hurry away to defend it. In his absence, one of the Spanish officers left in charge unwisely provoked the Aztecs, so that Cortés had a riot on his hands when he returned to Tenochtitlán. Montezuma was killed and the Spanish were driven from the city, jettisoning treasure to save their lives.
Cortés would not give up, however. He put together a new army of Spaniards (including most of the governor of Cuba's men) and Indian allies and marched on Tenochtitlán. After a long siege and some ferocious house-to-house fighting, he took the city and thereby gained control of the entire Aztec Empire. With exemplary loyalty, he turned over his conquests to the king of Spain. The gold of Mexico would make Spain the most powerful nation in Europe.
Cortés was rewarded with the titles of marquis and captain-general (though not viceroy), and he married a noblewoman, giving Malintzin in marriage to one of his officers. His later ventures in the New World were not particularly successful, though, and in 1540 he returned to Spain for good, believing that his achievements had been forgotten.