When the detained Moctezuma could no longer control Tenochtitlán’s residents, the Spaniards either allowed him to die during a skirmish in 1520 or killed him-depending on varying accounts.ĭriven from the capital, the Spanish later circled back with a small fleet of ships. Tenochtitlán residents demanded the Spanish be removed from the city. Cortes's men defeated the troops and took the surviving Spanish soldiers back with him as reinforcements to Tenochtitlán. In Cortés' absence, Alvarado had hundreds of Aztec nobles killed during a ceremonial feast, leading to further unrest among the Aztec people.

Leaving his top lieutenant Pedro de Alvarado in charge of Tenochtitlán, Cortés took men to attack the Spanish forces at the coast. Soon Cortés received word that the Cuban governor had sent a Spanish force to arrest Cortés for insubordination. When Cortés became concerned that Moctezuma's people would turn against his men, he placed Moctezuma under house arrest and Cortés attempted to rule through the detained Moctezuma.

With La Malinche and Aguilar in tow, the conquistadors made their way to the island city of Tenochtitlán where they were initially welcomed by Emperor Moctezuma II. La Malinche spoke both the Aztec language of Náhuatl and Mayan Chontal and worked alongside the Spanish invaders, providing the conquistadors with the ability to communicate with any Indigenous groups they encountered. With Aguilar at his side, Cortés and his conquistadors continued traveling the region, battling Indigenous groups along the way.Ĭortés and his men then acquired another asset when an Aztec chief gifted them some 20 enslaved young Mayan women, including Malinalli, a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast. Malinalli became baptized with the Christian name Marina and was later known as La Malinche. Aguilar turned out to be an invaluable asset to Cortes due to his ability to speak Chontal, the local Mayan language. Cortes freed Jerónimo de Aguilar, a Franciscan friar, from the Mayans and made Aguilar part of his crew. He set sail from Cuba on the morning of February 18, 1519, to begin an unauthorized expedition to Mesoamerica.Īrriving on the Yucatán coast, Cortés encountered Indigenous people who told him about other Europeans who had been shipwrecked and captured by local Mayans. While stationed in Cuba, he convinced Cuban Governor Diego Velázquez to allow him to lead an expedition to Mexico, but Velázquez then canceled his mission. Eager to appropriate new land for the Spanish crown, convert Indigenous people to Christianity and plunder the region for gold and riches, Cortés organized his own rogue crew of 100 sailors, 11 ships, 508 soldiers and 16 horses. Hernándo Cortés formed part of Spain’s initial colonization efforts in the Americas. Hernándo Cortés, Spanish conquistador who conquered Mexico, with Moctezuma II, last Aztec emperor, 1519. Hernándo Cortés Makes Allies with Local Tribes While the Aztec’s monetary and religious demands empowered the empire, it also fostered resentment among surrounding city-states. Other city-states were forced to pay periodic tributes to Tenochtitlán’s public markets and to its religious center, the Templo Mayor or “Great Temple.” Religious tributes sometimes took the form of human sacrifices.

It featured gardens, palaces, temples and raised roads with bridges that connected the city to the mainland. From its central location, Tenochtitlán served as a hub for Aztec trade and politics. It was situated on a human-made island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. The city had prospered and was estimated to host a population of between 200,000 and 300,000 residents.Īt first, the conquistadors described Tenochtitlán as the greatest city they had ever seen. When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Aztec imperial city in 1519, Mexico-Tenochtitlán was led by Moctezuma II. Tenochtitlan, the ancient capital of the Aztec empire, and the Valley of Mexico.

Cortez journal