Coasting the Yucatan Peninsula

The Spanish would have sailed close to the coast.

Sailing to the mainland

Cortes left Cuba with 11 ships, 500 men, 13 horses, and a few cannons. They crossed the Straits of Yucatan in February, 1519.

The Final Seige

The Spanish embarked for Tenochtitlan in December and spent four months subduing and enlisting Valley tribes. In April, 900 Spanish and 50,000 Indian troops arrived at Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan, which had been ravaged by a smallpox epidemic in Fall, 1520, was greatly weakened. Neverthless, under the leadership of the new emperor, Cuauhtemoc, they fought ferociously for four months. On August 13, 1521, the Conquest of Mexico came to an end.

In defeat, Cuauhtemoc told his people: “Our Sun has been lost from view and has left us in complete darkness. But we know it will return again that it will rise again to light us anew. Let's join together, let's embrace each other and in the very center of our being hide all that our hearts love and we know is the Great Treasure. Let us hide our Temples our schools, our sacred soccer game our youth centers our houses of flowery song so that only our streets remain. Our homes will enclose us until our New Sun rises.”

Headquarters at Tepeaca

The Tepeacans, a Spanish ally, had killed 12 Spaniards. Cortes ordered an attack to make an example to other tribes and to secure Tepeaca's strategic location. The Spanish then established fort "Security of the Frontier" at Tepeaca and prepared for their final assault on Tenochtitlan.

Rest at Tlaxcala

The Spanish then recuperated at Tlaxcala for several weeks. The Aztecs negotiated with the Tlaxcalans to switch sides but the Tlaxcalans refused.

The Battle of Otumba

On their retreat, a large Aztec army confronted the Spanish at Otumba. Cortes singlehandedly killed the Aztec general and led the Spanish and Tlaxcalans to victory.

La Noche Triste

With Cortes gone, the hot-headed Pedro de Alvarado commanded Tenochtitlan with only 100 soldiers. Fearing an Aztec ambush, Alvarado struck first. The Aztecs responded by closing off the exits from Tenochtitlan. Cortes returned on June 25 and forced Moctezuma to plead for peace. Moctezuma was killed as he spoke to the masses and the Aztecs attacked. As they fled back to Tlaxcala, between 600 and 1,000 Spanish and several thousand Tlaxcalans were killed.