Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire16th-century Spanish invasion of MesoamericaBelligerentsHabsburg SpainViceroyalty of the Indies (until 1521)New Spain (from 1521)Indian auxiliaries:Confederacy of TlaxcalaTetzcocoTotonacapanHuejotzingoZaachilaPurépecha Empire(1522–1529, since 1533)Support or occasional allies:OtomiChalcoXochimilcoMixquicIztapalapaAztec Triple Alliance(1519–1521)TenochtitlanCholulaTlatelolcoChalcoXochimilcoXaltocanTetzcoco (partly, until 1521)TlacopanAllied city-states:TeotitlanIndependent kingdoms and city-states:Confederacy of Tlaxcala(1519)Purépecha Empire(1522)MetztitlanTututepec (1522)YopitzincoColliman (1523)XaliscoGuamare ConfederacyOther ChichimecasTonallanYaquiVarious petty city-states and tribes ()Governorate of Cuba (1520, )Commanders and leadersSpanish commanders: Hernán CortésPedro de AlvaradoGonzalo de SandovalCristóbal de OlidChichimecatecuhtliIxtlilxochitl II of TexcocoAztec commanders: Moctezuma II †Cuitláhuac †Cuauhtémoc Juan VelázquezItzquauhtzin of Tlatelolco †Cacamatzin of Texcoco †Coanacoch of Texcoco Tetlepanquetzal of Tlacopan Tangaxuan II Various local rulers and chieftainsPánfilo de Narváez (WIA) (POW)StrengthSpaniards (total): ~2,500–3,000 infantry90–100 cavalry32 guns13 brigantines ~80,000–200,000 Tlaxcaltecs~10,000 Totonac (~8,400 followed Cortés from Cempoala)and high number of other Indian auxiliaries200,000 Mexica-Aztecs100,000 PurépechaUnknown number of other natives900 Spaniards at the Battle of Cempoala (1520)Casualties and losses1,800 Spaniards dead 1,000 killed in battle15+ cannons lost Tens of thousands of Tlaxcaltecs and Indian auxiliaries dead200,000 Aztecs dead (including civilians) 300 war canoes sunkUnknown casualties of other natives15 Spaniards dead, many wounded at the Battle of Cempoala (1520) 10,500,000 deaths as a result of the conquest^a. Formed an alliance with Pedro de Alvarado against Mixtecos.^b. Primarily military support against Tenochtitlan and joined the siege (1521).The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico (Spanish: Conquista española del Imperio azteca), was a pivotal event that took place during the Spanish colonization of the Americas (the broader European colonization of the Americas), marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire with its American Indian allies.
AltepetlThe altepetl (Classical Nahuatl: āltepētl, plural altepeme or altepemeh) was the local, ethnically-based political entity, usually translated into English as "city-state", of pre-ColumbianNahuatl-speaking societies in the Americas. The altepetl was composed of smaller units known as calpolli and was typically led by a single dynastic ruler known as a tlatoani, although examples of shared rule between up to five rulers are known.
AztecsThe Aztecs ( AZ-teks) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico from about 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those who spoke Nahuatl. Aztec culture was organized into city-states (altepetl), some of which joined to form alliances, political confederations, or empires.
TenochtitlanTenochtitlan, also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican altepetl in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the city. The city was built on an island in what was then Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico.
NahuasThe Nahuas ( NAH-wahz) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnic group and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as the largest population out of any North American Indigenous people group who are native speakers of their respective Indigenous language. Amongst the Nahua, this is Nahuatl.
Azcapotzalco (altepetl)Azcapotzalco was a pre-ColumbianNahuaaltepetl (state), capital of the Tepanec empire, in the Valley of Mexico, on the western shore of Lake Texcoco. The name Azcapotzalco means "at the anthill" in Nahuatl. Its inhabitants were called Azcapotzalca. According to the 17th-century annalist Chimalpahin, Azcapotzalco was founded by Chichimecs in the year 995 AD. The most famous ruler (tlatoani) of Azcapotzalco was Tezozomoctli.
Valley of MexicoThe Valley of Mexico (Spanish: Valle de México; Nahuatl languages: Anahuac, lit. 'Land Between the Waters'), sometimes also called the Basin of Mexico, is a large natural basin on the highland plateau of central Mexico.
Tetzcoco (altepetl)Tetzcoco (Classical Nahuatl: Tetzco(h)copronounced, Otomi: Antamäwädehe) was a major Acolhuaaltepetl (city-state) in the central Mexican plateau region of Mesoamerica during the Late Postclassic period of pre-ColumbianMesoamerican chronology. It was situated on the eastern bank of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico, to the northeast of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.
ConquistadorSpanish and Portuguese colonizers of the Age of DiscoveryConquistadors exploring the Grand Canyon during Coronado's 1540–1542 expedition, by Augusto Ferrer-DalmauConquistadors (, also , UK also ) or conquistadores (Spanish:; Portuguese:; lit. 'conquerors') were Spanish and Portuguese colonists who explored, traded with, and conquered many parts of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania during the Age of Discovery.
Hernán CortésSpanish conquistador and explorer (1485–1547)Hernán Cortés, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (c. 1485 – 2 December 1547) was a Spanish conquistador,military commander, explorer, captain general, and writer who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century.
TlacopanTlacopan, also called Tacuba, (Classical Nahuatl: Tlacōpan, [t͡ɬaˈkóːpan̥], Otomian languages: Abotto, 'in the forest of trees') was a Tepanec / Mexica altepetl on the western shore of Lake Texcoco. The site is today the neighborhood of Tacuba, in Mexico City.Classical NahuatlClassical Nahuatl, also known simply as Aztec or Nahuatl, is a set of variants of Nahuatl spoken in the Valley of Mexico and central Mexico as a lingua franca at the time of the 16th-century Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Indigenous languages, including Classical Nahuatl, remained dominant until the time when New Spain (Mexico) became independent in 1821.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.