Siege of Tenochtitlan
Part of the Spanish conquest of Mexico
A 16th century depiction of the Battle of Tenochtitlan.
Date: May 26 - August 13, 1521 Location: Tenochtitlan, present-day Mexico City, Mexico Result: Spanish victory Casus belli: Final stage in Spanish campaigns against Aztecs Territory changes: Tenochtitlan falls; Spain gains nominal control of Aztec Empire
Combatants
Spain	Aztec Empire
Commanders
Hernán Cortés	Cuauhtemoc
Strength
86 cavalry 900 infantry 80,000-200,000 Tlaxcalan and Texcoco warriors	150,000-300,000
Casualties
20,000 natives dead	100,000 dead
{{{notes}}}

The siege of Tenochtitlan was the final, decisive battle that led to the downfall of the Aztec civilization and marked the beginning of Spanish colonization of what is now Mexico. // Pre-Columbian Mexico (before 1521 A.D.) Mayan almanac book Though there are tantalizing fragments of evidence suggesting human habitation of Mexico more than 20,000 years ago, the first solid evidence comes from two kill sites in the northern Basin of Mexico. ... Image File history File links Sixteenth century depiction of the battle for Tenochtitlan between the Aztecs and Hernan Cortes. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (140th in leap years). ... August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... Events January 3 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. ... Plan of Tenochtitlan (Dr Atl) Mexico City statue commemorating the foundation of Tenochtitlan Tenochtitlan (pronounced ) or, alternatively, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was the capital of the Aztec empire, which was built on an island in Lake Texcoco in what is now central Mexico. ... Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México) is the name of a megacity located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus (altiplano) at the center of Mexico, about 2,240 metres (7,349 feet) above sea-level, surrounded on most sides... Casus belli is a Latin expression from the international law theory of Jus ad bellum. ... The word Aztec is usually used as a historical term, although some contemporary Nahuatl speakers would consider themselves Aztecs. ... The word Aztec is usually used as a historical term, although some contemporary Nahuatl speakers would consider themselves Aztecs. ... Hernán Cortés Hernán(do) Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca (1485–December 2, 1547) was the conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain. ... Cuauhtémoc (also Cuauhtemotzin or Guatimozin; also written Cuauhtemoc without the diacritical mark) was the last Aztec ruler (Tlatoani) of Tenochtitlán and the last Aztec Emperor. The name means descending eagle, from Nahuatl cuauhtli (eagle) and temoc (descent); by extension it can be interpreted as setting sun. He lived... The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. ... Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas began with the arrival in America of Christopher Columbus in 1492. ...

Hernán Cortés landed on the coast of Mexico in 1519 with 550 men and 16 horses, after hearing rumor of a great empire somewhere to the far west of his base in Cuba. He soon came into contact with a number of tribes who resented the Aztec rule; Cortés skirmished with some of these natives, defeating them easily and earning an alliance with them against the Aztecs. In particular, his horses, firearms and iron armor made Cortés and the Spaniards seem otherworldly enough to be mistaken for the god Quetzalcoatl, who was prophesied to return. When Cortés was informed by the Tlaxcalans of an ambush by the Aztec emperor Moctezuma, and was thus able to avoid it, this solidified the emperor's belief that Cortés was a god. Cortés entered the city of Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519. Hernán Cortés Hernán(do) Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca (1485–December 2, 1547) was the conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain. ... Events March 4 - Hernán Cortés lands in Mexico. ... Quetzalcoatl (feathered snake, in Nahuatl: Ketsalkoatl, in Spanish: Quetzalcóatl) is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations and also the name given to some toltec rulers, the most famous is [Topiltzin Ce... Mocotezumas Palace from the Mendoza Codex (1542) Moctezuma II (also Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin) (1480–1520) was an Aztec ruler or huey tlatoani, c. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... Events March 4 - Hernán Cortés lands in Mexico. ...

Hearing that some Spaniards at Vera Cruz (his landing point) were killed by Aztecs, Cortés seized Moctezuma and began to rule the Aztecs with Moctezuma as a puppet ruler. Since the people had no other ruler but Moctezuma, there was little rebellion or dissent until Cortés outlawed the native religion and tried to impose Christianity upon the Aztecs. At the same time, Cortés learned of another Spanish landing force, under Pánfilo de Narváez, and gained their allegiance with promises of the vast wealth of Tenochtitlan. He then led a small contingent of men to battle Narváez, and assimilated Narváez' army into his own force. Veracruz from space, July 1997 The city of Veracruz is a major port city on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. ... Pánfilo de Narváez (1470 – 1528) was a Spanish conqueror and soldier in the Americas. ...

Early Events

Cortés left Pedro de Alvarado in command of Tenochtitlan when he left to fight Narváez. At this time, the Mexica began an Aztec ceremony, and Alvarado mistook it for a violent uprising. He hurriedly ordered an attack on the dancing natives which would be known as The Massacre in the Main Temple, and as the Spanish attacked, the Aztec warriors came. The attack incited a revolt and, outnumbered, Alvarado and the Spanish were soon overwhelmed and lost the control of the city. Cortés returned with his 1100 Spanish soldiers to aid in the battle, but his forces were pushed into the palace. Cortés freed Cuitláhuac, hoping it would end the revolt, but as soon as Cuitláhuac was released, he was elected Emperor. Then the natives began to surround the palace, and Moctezuma was sent to order his people to cease fighting. He was later killed as a result (whether or not he did as the Spanish ordered him to is uncertain). Cuitláhuac set out organize a determined resistance, on June 1520, as the Aztecs began to attack Cortés' men, launching arrows and javelins; cannon and arquebus killed many of the attacking Aztecs, but their numbers were so overwhelming they could not be stopped from breaking through the palace walls. The city was laced with canals, and the Aztecs had far superior numbers, as well as control of the bridges over the canals, so attempts on the Spaniards' part to fight back were hopeless. Every Spaniard not killed was wounded. Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras (Badajoz, c. ... The Massacre in the Main Temple of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán is an episode in the conquest of Mexico by Spain. ... Cuitláhuac was the Aztec ruler (Tlatoani) of the city of Tenochtitlán from June to October 1520. ...

On either the night of July 1, 10 or 30, 1520 the Spaniards attempted to sneak out of the city with as much treasure as possible, but were sighted and the Mexica stormed the fleeing soldiers. The battle would be known as "La Noche Triste" (The Sad Night). By the end of it, 869 Spaniards lay dead and some 1,200-2,000 Tlaxcalan allies with them, only 20 horses survived (all wounded). Though they were now removed from the city, a small force waited for them near the area of Otumba.

More Spanish came to replenish the depleted resources of the defeated soldiers, bringing 200 more men, 80 horses, ammunition and guns, they had also built 13 brigantines for a naval assault on the capital. Although the Spanish would have been easily destroyed had Cuitláhuac ordered a pursuit, he desired a proper battle (despite the fact he had only a small portion of the Aztec military in fighting condition). He set in motion the campaign to defend the empire in a succession of massive battles all across the Mexico basin.

Battle Of Tacuba

In March of 1521 Cortes assembled his allies. Under Spanish command were around 80,000 men (less than 600 of them were Spaniards and only 40 were cavalry), the plan being to gain control of communities near Tenochtitlan as a springboard for the final attack. As they reached the city of Tecuba, he was met by a massive army, led by the new Emperor Cuauhtemoc (Cuitláhuac died of smallpox only about 40 days into his rule). Though bloody, and long, Cuauhtemoc managed to defeat the Spanish and halt the march to the capital in a brilliant land and naval attack. This one battle significantly pushed back the Spanish-Native confederacy and they subsequently lost control of the area. Though a major defeat, the battle would serve a major strategic gain for them. Cortes was able to cut off the water supply to Tenochtitlan from Chapultepec, which would later ravage the city and lead to an earlier defeat in the siege. Another important note of the battle was that the Mexica had grown accustomed to the Spanish tactics, and had in this battle used their knowledge to large effect, which would make the factor of guns nearly obsolete (though many of these guns were out of date and clumsy in the close-comabat situation the Spanish found themselves in).

The Siege

By the time Cortes arrived at the shores of Tenochtitlan, the population of the city was ravaged by smallpox, which had been brought by a deserted spanish slave in the capital during La Noche Triste. Those who were not dead or infected were starving from the blockade. Mexica resistance was almost entirely wiped out at this point from contracting diseases at battles. Others were either wounded, exhausted (there had been a drought across the valley for about 2 years at this point) or merely felt resistance would be most effective at other areas as an insurgency (such as the Mixtec and Zapotec wars). The central military force could no longer attack the strategically situated Spanish forces, and so outside resistance was quite ineffective.

This time, Cortés used a complex strategy to siege the city. He divided his force into four groups, the first three attacking towns around the shore and securing the causeways leading out of the city. The fourth group, led by Cortés, consisted of the thirteen brigantines, which he sailed on the lake and used to eliminate any effective Aztec canoe counter attack. After some initial quarelling amongst his commanders, and the defection of one Tlaxcalan leader, Cortés was ready to attack.

By the end of May, the acqueduct providing water to the city was destroyed, as was the canoe fleet. However, gaps created in the causeways made invasion on foot all but impossible. One of the brigantines fired into the city, and served to transport soldiers who enjoyed some early successes but were driven back by the overwhelming numbers of Aztecs.

The battle went on for ten weeks, the Aztecs sacrificing Spanish prisoners atop the pyramid in the center of the city. The Spaniards slowly, gradually made their way into the city, smallpox and the lack of fresh water and food eventually taking their toll upon the Aztecs. On 13 August, Cortés finally entered the now-empty city once again, officially conquering it.

Reference

• Davis, Paul K. (2003). "Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo." Oxford: Oxford University Press.