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

1 Diaz del Castillo, The Memoirs of Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. II, Chapter CXLIV pg. 34. 2 Restall, “5: Native American Empires,” 72-74. 3 Restall, “5: Native American Empire,” 77.

greater than the largest cities in Europe at the time. The largest factor contributing to Cortes’s victory was the alliances he forged with the native rivals of the Aztecs and the peoples oppressed by the Aztecs. According to Diaz del Castillo’s account, when Cortes met with Xicotencatl: Moctezuma, said Xicotencatl, had such a vast army, that when he intended to conquer any large township, or of falling into any province, he invariably ordered 100,000 warriors into the field. They, the Tlascallans, had often experienced this in the many wars which they had waged with the Mexicans for upwards of 100 years.4 Tenochtitlan had made its fair share of enemies during its time primarily as a result of their tributary demands for their conquered enemies, often in the form of human sacrifices. Ritual sacrifice was a common practice throughout Mesoamerica. It was not exclusively practiced by Aztecs, but also by other Nahuatl-speaking peoples of central Mexico.5 In his first letter to the King of Spain, Cortes reported these sacrificial practices: They have another custom, horrible, and abominable, and deserving punishment, and which we have never before seen in any other place, and it is this, that, as often as they have anything to ask of their idols, in order

4 Diaz del Castillo, The Memoirs of Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. I, Chapter LXXVIII pg. 183. 5 Restall, “5: Native American Empire,” 77. 6 Cortes, The Spaniards Describe Indigenous Religion. that their petition may be more acceptable, they take many boys or girls, and even grown men and women, and in the presence of those idols they open their breasts, while they are alive, and take out the hearts and entrails, and burn the said entrails and hearts before the idols, offering that smoke in sacrifice to them… So frequently, and so often do these Indians do this, according to our information, and partly by what we have seen in the short time we are in this country, that no year passes in which they do not kill and sacrifice fifty souls in each mosque;6 Taking advantage of the competition with the Aztecs, Cortes managed to form alliances with some of their competitors such as the Tlaxcalans, who became one of the key Spanish allies after being defeated, along with other tribes: besides these succors, the inhabitants of the city of Suchimilco, situated on the lake, and certain villages of the Utumies, (Otomites,) a mountain race, more numerous than those of Suchimilco, and slaves of the lord of Tenochtitlan, came to offer themselves as vassals of your Majesty, begging me to pardon their dilatoriness.7

7 Cortes, Cortes Wins New Indian Allies and Strategizes How Best to Deploy the Brigantines.

In his memoirs, Bernal Diego del Castillo notes in several passages the presence of native allies in both the conquest of Tenochtitlan and the process leading up to it in which Cortes allied with smaller tribes. The best source for La Malinche also comes from Diaz del Castillo’s memoir, he speaks in length about La Malinche and even praises her for her role in the conquistadors’ success. Not only was her work as an interpreter an invaluable asset, but she is also stated to have served as a confidant with an active role. Diaz del Castillo dedicates an entire section on La Malinche, in which he speaks of her origins along with the value and respect he held for her, concluding the section with this: This woman was a valuable instrument to us in the conquest of New Spain. It was, through her only, under the protection of the Almighty, that many things were accomplished by us: without her we never should have understood the Mexican language, and, upon the whole, have been unable to surmount many difficulties. Let this suffice respecting Doña Marina;8 The city of Tenochtitlan and by extension, the Aztec Empire would ultimately fall in 1521 to the combined might of the Spanish and their estimated 20,000 native allies. Though relations eventually broke down with some of these groups such as the Tlaxcalans, they were one of the most decisive factors. Restall attributes two factors to the survival of the Spanish: the advantage of steel weapons and the

8 Diaz del Castillo, The Memoirs of Bernal Diaz del Castillo Vol. I, Chapter XXXVIII, pg. 85. growing number of native allies which, when used alongside cunning and treachery, helped the Spanish win.9 The role of the interpreters, primarily La Malinche (who became a reviled figure during the later independence movements as she represented Spanish cooperation) helped the conquistadors communicate with their allies and made the entire process a reality. It was not in the end the supremacy of Cortes and his conquistadors which brought them victory, but rather the combination of scheming and local collaboration.

9 Restall, “6: Chain of Conquest,” 95.

References

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