Spain's Conquest of Mexico: 1519–1521, Fall of Tenochtitlan

Spain conquered the Aztec Empire (modern Mexico) in a two-year campaign (1519–1521) led by Hernán Cortés.

Key Phases

1. 1519 (Feb–Nov): Cortés lands at Veracruz; allies with Totonacs, Tlaxcalans (Aztec enemies); marches inland; enters Tenochtitlan Nov 1519 as guest of Moctezuma II.
2. 1520 (La Noche Triste): Pedro de Alvarado massacres nobles at Toxcatl festival; Aztecs revolt; Cortés flees Tenochtitlan June 30, losing ~half his men.
3. 1520–21 (Siege): Cortés regroups in Tlaxcala; builds brigantines; blockades Tenochtitlan (May–Aug 1521); cuts aqueducts, starves city.
4. Aug 13, 1521: Tenochtitlan falls; Cuauhtémoc captured; Aztec Empire ends.

Factors in Spanish Victory

• Indigenous alliances (200,000+ native warriors vs. ~1,500 Spaniards).
• Smallpox (1520) decimated Aztec population/leadership.
• Technological edge: steel, gunpowder, horses, ships.
• Political fragmentation of Mesoamerica.

Result: New Spain established; 300 years of colonial rule; Mexico's modern identity forged from Indigenous-Spanish synthesis.