Page 49 - All About History - Issue 12-14

FALL OF THE AZTECS

SIEGE OF TENOCHTITLAN Military might
Although Cortés was outmanned
in numbers, his men were much
better armed with high-quality
swords and armour.
The key events in the bloody siege
of the great Aztec capital

The Aztecs revolt
With Cortés heading off an invasion force, Pedro
de Alvarado was left in command in Tenochtitlan.
Relations deteriorated when the festival of Toxcatl
was misinterpreted as hostility and Alvarado
initiated the killing of thousands of Aztec nobles,
warriors, priests and civilians before retreating to
the Palace of Axayacatl.
La Noche Triste
The events sparked an all-out assault
by the Aztecs on the Spaniards and,
following Moctezuma’s death, the Spanish
position in Tenochtitlan was dangerously
compromised. Hopelessly outnumbered,
the Spanish and their allies had to flee the
capital. Cortés reportedly wept during the
aftermath of the Aztec massacre.
Waterways and canals
There were just three land routes to the
island city of Tenochtitlan and these routes
in and out of the city would become the
battleground during the siege. Ambushed
in the canals, the Spanish were slaughtered,
drowned or captured. Alvarado escaped by
using his spear to pole vault over a canal but
only a third of Cortés’ men escaped.
Escape to Tlaxcala
Cortés and his allies returned
to Tlaxcala to regroup, but not
before they encountered a Aztec
army intent on destroying the
remainder of their force in the
Otumba Valley (Otompan). Despite
losses, Cortés escaped and rebuilt
a coalition. Cortés planned to trap
and besiege the Aztecs within
their capital.
Tenochtitlan under siege
Cortés built small warships and relationships
with neighbours of Tenochtitlan. He used the Warriors
ships to counter Aztec canoes and gained To be a warrior was a
ground on the causeways to the capital, respected profession in
which had been hit by the dual blow of loss Aztec society. The Aztecs
of supplies and a devastating outbreak of didn’t forge metal so they
smallpox. Despite fierce fighting, Tenochtitlan constructed weapons out of
was routed and a huge number of inhabitants wood and stone.
killed. Cortés built what is now Mexico City.

Wiped out
The Aztec warriors fought
bravely on land and on sea
but a combination of constant
attacks, lack of provisions and
disease such as smallpox led
to their demise.
An illustration of the great city of Tenochtitlan
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