The Lookout
Eduardo Marin-Diaz
The Fall of the Aztec Empire: The Spanish Conquest of Mesoamerica Eduardo Marin-Diaz
ABSTRACT: The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire is typically attributed to technological superiority and even racial superiority. These, however, are myths that spread after the conquest which do not reflect the truth of the Spanish conquest. The fall of the Aztecs was in fact the result of Spanish alliances with the enemies of the Aztecs who had grown tired of the Aztecs’ tyrannical rule. When Hernan Cortez landed in Mexico in 1519, the Aztecs ruled over a mighty empire that enforced dominion and control over other Mesoamerican peoples. Yet, the Aztecs ultimately fell to the Spanish despite being at the peak of their power and highly formidable. The fall of the Aztecs did not come as a result of any superiority on the part of the Spanish, but rather as a result of exploiting the collective hatred of the subjugated peoples under the Aztecs dominions. The victory over the Aztecs is popularly attributed to the technological superiority of the Spanish and the brilliance of Cortes’s leadership. In truth however, these are largely myths created by later generations writing on the conquest. It is true that the technology of the Spanish had a slight advantage but would not amount to much in the long run, as the Aztec warriors would eventually adapt to it. Additionally, Cortes had only 500 soldiers with him which would not have been enough to
subdue an empire as mighty as the Aztec. According to Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s memoirs, the Spanish had 20,000 allies they assembled from Chalco, Tezcuco, Huexotzinco, Tlascalla, and other townships. 1 The Aztecs had risen to prominence around two centuries before the arrival of the Spanish. The capital of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Competing with several other prominent city-states in Lake Texcoco, the Aztecs reportedly offered their services as mercenaries while subjecting smaller tribes into paying tribute. Tenochtitlan would eventually emerge as the supreme power in the region by overthrowing its most threatening competitor, Azcapotzalco. 2 In 1519, the population of Tenochtitlan is estimated to have been around 100,000, with an estimated 15 million people total in central Mexico at the time. 3 The size of this population, as well as the size of the city itself, was as great or perhaps even
Diaz del Castillo, The Memoirs of Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. II, Chapter CXLIV pg. 34.
2
1
53
3
Restall, “5: Native American Empires,” 72-74. Restall, “5: Native American Empire,” 77.
