Cortés lands in Veracruz and marches to Tenochtitlán
Between 1502 and 1519, a man named Montezuma ruled the Aztec empire from the
capital city of Tenochtitlán. He believed that one day the bearded white god of
creation, Quetzalcóatl, would return to earth and destroy the Aztec
Empire. In the spring of 1519, a Spaniard named Hernando Cortés set out to
find and capture Tenochtitlán for its rumored gold. He sailed from Cuba to
Mexico and landed in Veracruz on April 22-about the time Quetzalcótl was
supposed to return. After sinking his ships so there was no way to turn
back, Cortés and his men marched to Tenochtitlán. They were attacked along
the way by groups of Indians who were friends of the Aztecs. But other
Indians that had been conquered by the Aztecs hated the Aztecs, so they joined
the Spanish effort to conquer Tenochtitlean. It took three months for
Cortés to travel the 200 miles from Veracruz to Tenochtitlán.
Montezuma meets Cortés
Montezuma invited Cortés to enter Tenochtitlán peacefully. Cortés
brought some of his soldiers and his translator, Malinche. Montezuma
believed that Cortés' victories over the Aztec allies was proof that Cortés was
the god Quetzalcóatl. Although Montezuma treated Cortés and his army as
honored guests, Cortés feared Montezuma soon would conclude that he and his
soldiers were not gods. So he captured Montezuma and held him captive in
Tenochtitlán. For six months no fighting broke out. But when Cortés
left for Veracruz to deal with a newly arrived Spanish army sent to arrest him,
trouble broke out.
The Aztecs force the Spaniards to flee Tenochtitlán
While Cortés was gone, the Spanish soldiers he left behind witnessed Aztec
priests conducting a ceremony. Not sure exactly what was happening, the
Spanish thought they were about to be sacrificed to the gods. So the
Spaniards attacked the unarmed priests and their followers. The people of
Tenochtitlán surrounded the soldiers and held them captive. When Cortés
returned and entered the city, the Aztecs attacked. Cotrés and his army
were surrounded by thousands of Aztec warriors. Montezuma was
killed. The Spaniards were forced to flee the city. When the
fighting was over, 450 Spaniards and 4,000 of their Indian supporters lay dead.
Siege and fall of Tenochtitlán
Five months after the Aztecs had defeated the Spaniards, Cortés returned to
attack Tenochtitlán. His army now included fresh Spanish troops and
thousands of Indians anxious to defeat their Aztec rulers. Before the
battle began, however, thousands of Aztecs had already died of smallpox, a
disease the Spanish had brought from Europe. Even though their ranks were
thinned, the Aztec warriors held off the Spanish victory for months. The
only way Cortés could conquer Tenochtitlán was to surround the city and cut off
its supply of food and water. Still the Aztecs fought on. When they
surrendered on August 21, 1521, their city was in ruins.
excerpt taken Teacher Curriculum Institute (TCI)