The Spanish conquerors managed to subdue the Mexica in two years. They were led by Hernán Cortés in a strategic fight that took place from 1519 to 1521.
The Aztec Empire was the most powerful political formation on the continent that, according to some chroniclers, was populated by 15 million people and had its command center in the city of Tenochtitlan, which flourished in the 14th century.
The Mexica army consisted of more than 100,000 men. In contrast, Cortés's army was at a numerical disadvantage, having only 400 men initially, so the focus of its strategy was based on incorporating local soldiers into its ranks.
Hernán Cortés soon realized that the hatred of the dominated peoples towards the Aztec empire could be used for Spanish benefit.
On their way to Tenochtitlán, in mid-1519, the Spanish conquerors won the support of the native Totonacas, who lived in the city of Cempoala.
Hernan Cortes
Later, after negotiating the terms of their alliance with the Tlaxcalans, the Spanish managed to incorporate thousands of warriors of this ethnic group into their troops.
After these highs in his army, Cortés went to Tenochtitlan, and settled in this city, in order to capture the ruler Moctezuma II.
On July 2, 1520, Cortés was forced to leave Tenochtitlán before the overwhelming Aztec force.
During this fight he lost more than half of his army, most of his cavalry, his cannons and some valuables.
In June 1521, Cortés began the final assault on Tenochtitlán armed with small boats to use on the lake, and with thousands of local Indian allies.
Tenochtitlan, founded by the Mexica.
The key to the subjugation of the city of Tenochtitlán was the use of multiple gunpowder cannons, since the Aztecs lacked this technology of warfare.
During the revolt, Moctezuma II was wounded by a rock thrown by an Aztec warrior and died shortly after, so his brother Cuitláhuac was designated as his immediate successor.
Months later, Cuitláhuac died of a smallpox outbreak, and his cousin Cuauhtémoc was named as the new ruler of the Aztec empire.
On August 13, 1521, after a difficult battle, Cortés once again conquered Tenochtitlan, today the ruins of the archaeological site of the Templo Mayor in the center of Mexico City, and captured the new king Cuauhtémoc, who died shortly after being victim of a smallpox outbreak.
Model of Tenochtitlan
As a result of the final siege of Tenochtitlán, the wear and tear caused among those besieged by diseases from the Old World was the coup de grace for the remains of the imperial structure.
Certain epidemic diseases unknown until then in the American continent, such as influenza, measles, smallpox, typhoid fever and typhus, decimated the population and opened the door to the conquest of all Mesoamerica.
References
- Biodiversity Library Exhibition (2016). Conquest of Mexico. Biodivertisy Heritage Library, England. Recovered from: expeditions.biodiversityexhibition.com
- Cervera, C. (2015). This is how Hernán Cortés and 400 Spaniards managed to overturn the gigantic Aztec empire. ABC newspaper. Madrid Spain. Recovered from: abc.es.
- Mexperience LTD (2017). The Spanish Conquest. Recovered from: mexperience.com
- Mgar.net (2015). Conquest and colonization of Mexico. Tenerife, Canary Islands. Recovered from: mgar.net
- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2017). Conquest of Mexico. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.