Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire, ultimately reshaping the course of human history. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, and his small army of soldiers and indigenous allies, overthrowing one of the most powerful empires in Mesoamerica.
Cortés and his counselor, the Nahua woman La Malinche, meet Moctezuma in Tenochtitlan, 8 November 1519
The death of Moctezuma, depicted in the Florentine Codex
Smallpox depicted in Book XII on the conquest of Mexico in the Florentine Codex
The Capture of Cuauhtemoc, 17th century, oil on canvas.
Aztec Empire
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The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexico from 1428 until the combined forces of the Spanish conquistadores and their native allies who ruled under Hernán Cortés defeated them in 1521.
First page of the Codex Boturini, showing the migration of the Mexica.
Jaguar warriors in a flowery war from the Codex Zouche-Nuttall
Codex Azcatitlan depicting the Spanish army, with Cortés and Malinche in front
Cristóbal de Olid led Spanish soldiers with Tlaxcalan allies in the conquests of Jalisco and Colima of West Mexico.