Cortes and the Conquest of the Aztec Empire

In spite of its effective organization and the efficiency of Aztec armies, the Aztec Empire felt apart shortly after Cortes’ arrival in Mexico. How did this happen? Soon after he landed in the Gulf coast in 1519, Cortes was told about the existence of a powerful and rich empire in the Mexican highlands and understood the enmity of many local chiefs towards it.

Entering Tenochtitlan, Cortes turned the Aztec hierarchical system—where every decision is made by the king—to his advantage and took Motecuhzoma hos­tage. He and his men were then under Motecuhzoma’s protection during several months until the latter was killed. Spanish sources report that the Mexica ruler was killed by his own subjects, who were angry with his apparent cooperation with the invaders. Aztec sources, on the other hand, report that Motecuhzoma was murdered by the Spaniards. With the election of a new king, the Aztecs were able to repel the Spaniards out of Tenochtitlan in just a few days. After this episode, known as la noche triste, Cortes and his men took refuge in Tlaxcalla, where he assembled an army composed of thousands of native soldiers. The siege of Tenochtitlan began on May 30, 1521, after every access to the city was cut. The Tenochcas, dying of hunger and diseases brought by the Spaniards (particularly smallpox), finally had to surrender on August 13.^[1747]

The initial success of Cortes was due to a combination of diplomatic skill, mili­tary prowess, and luck. Had Motecuhzoma sent his full armies to fight the Spaniards when they first landed, the Aztec forces almost certainly would have prevailed.

But Cortes’s exploitation of the resentment and enmity of provincial polities, combined with Motecuhzoma’s hesitation to attack the Spanish forces, led to the initial success of the Spanish side. Soon after la noche triste, however, smallpox was unleashed on the American continent, and its devastation led directly to the defeat of Tenochtitlan.

Bibliography

Badian, E. 1958. Foreign Clientelae. Oxford.

Berdan, F. F. 1987. “The Economics of Aztec Luxury Trade and Tribute.” In E. H. Boone, ed., The Aztec Templo Mayor, 161-184. Washington, DC.

Berdan, F. F., and P. R. Anawalt, eds. 1992. The Codex Mendoza. 4 vols. Berkeley, CA.

Berdan, F. F., R. E. Blanton, E. H. Boone, M. G. Hodge, M. E. Smith, and E. Umberger. 1996. Aztec Imperial Strategies. Washington, DC.

Blanton, R. E., and L. F. Fargher. 2008. Collective Action in the Formation of Pre-Modern States. New York.

Boone, E. H., ed. 1987. The Aztec Templo Mayor. Washington, DC.

Braund, D. 1984. Rome and the Friendly King: The Character of the Client Kingship. New York.

Burkhart, L. M. 1989. The Slippery Earth: Nahua-Christian Moral Dialogue in Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Tucson, AZ.

Calnek, E. E. 2003. “Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco: The Natural History of a City / Tenochtitlan- Tlatelolco: La Historia Natural de una Ciudad.” In W T. Sanders, A. G. Mastache, and R. H. Cobean, eds., El urbanismo en mesoamerica / Urbanism in Mesoamerica, 149-202. University Park, PA. and Mexico City.

Carrasco, D. 1982. Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire: Myths and Prophecies in the Aztec Tradition. Chicago.

Carrasco, P. 1999. The Tenochca Empire of Ancient Mexico: The Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. Norman, OK.

Chase, A. F., D. Z. Chase, and M. E. Smith. 2009. “States and Empires in Ancient Mesoamerica.” Ancient Mesoamerica 20:175-182.

Conrad, G. W, and A. A. Demarest. 1984. Religion and Empire: The Dynamics of Aztec and Inca Expansion. New York.

Dodds Pennock, C. 2008. Bonds of Blood: Gender, Lifecycle, and Sacrifice in Aztec Culture.

Gerring, J., D. Ziblatt, J. van Gorp, and J. Arevalo. 2011. “An Institutional Theory of Direct and Indirect Rule.” World Politics 63, no. 3: 377-433.

Goldstone, J. A., and J. F. Haldon. 2009. “Ancient States, Empires, and Exploitation: Problems and Perspectives.” In I. Morris and W Scheidel, eds., The Dynamics of Ancient Empires: State Power from Assyria to Byzantium, 3-29. New York.

Graulich, M. 1994. Montezuma, ou lapogee et la chute de lempire azteque. Paris.

Graulich, M. 1995. “La conquete de Mexique: Une nouvelle interpretacion.” Bulletin des Seances, Academie Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer 40: 365-374.

Graulich, M. 1997. Myths of Ancient Mexico. Translated by B. R. Ortiz de Montellano and T. Ortiz de Montellano. Norman, OK.

Hansen, M. H., ed., 2000. A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures. Copenhagen.

Hassig, R. 1985. Trade, Tribute, and Transportation: The Sixteenth Century Political Economy of the Valley of Mexico. Norman, OK.

Hassig, R. 1988. Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. Norman, OK.

Hassig, R. 1994. Mexico and the Spanish Conquest. New York.

Hodge, M. G. 1984. Aztec City-States. Ann Arbor, MI.

Leon-Portilla, M. 1963. Aztec 'Thought, and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nàhuatl Mind. Norman.

Lopez Lujan, L. 1994. The Offerings of the Tempio Mayor of Tenochtitlan. Translated by B. R. Ortiz de Montellano and T Ortiz de Montellano. Boulder, CO.

Lopez Lujan, L. 2006. La Casa de las Aguilas: Un ejemplo de arquitectura religiosa de Tenochtitlan, 2 vols. Mexico City.

Mann, M. 1984. “The Autonomous Power of the State: Its Origins, Mechanisms and Results.” European Journal of Sociology / Archives Europeennes de Sociologie 25:185-213.

Mann, M. 1986. The Sources of Social Power, Vol. 1: A History of Power from the Beginning to A.D. 1760. New York.

Mann, M. 2008. “Infrastructural Power Revisited.” Studies in Comparative International Development 43: 355-365.

Mine, L. D. 2006. “Monitoring Regional Market Systems in Prehistory: Models, Methods, and Metrics.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 25: 82-116.

Rojas, J. L. de. 2012. Tenochtitlan: Capital City of the Aztec Empire. Gainesville.

Sergheraert, M. 2009. Lexpansion mexica (1430-1520 après J.-C.): La question du controle imperial dans les provinces exterieures de l’Empire. Ph.D. diss., Department of Archaeology, Universite Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne.

Smith, M. E. 1986. “The Role of Social Stratification in the Aztec Empire: A View from the Provinces.” American Anthropologist 88: 70-91.

Smith, M. E. 1992. Archaeological Research at Aztec-Period Rural Sites in Morelos, Mexico, Vol. 1: Excavations and Architecture / Investigaciones arqueologicas en sitios rurales de la època Azteca en Morelos, Tomo 1: excavaciones y arquitectura. Pittsburgh, PA.

Smith, M. E. 2001. “The Aztec Empire and the Mesoamerican World System.” In S. E. Alcock, T N. DAltroy, K. D. Morrison, and C. M. Sinopoli, eds., Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History, 128-154. New York.

Smith, M. E. 2003. “Economic Change in Morelos Households.” In M. E. Smith and F. F. Berdan, eds., The Postclassic Mesoamerican World, 249-258. Salt Lake City, UT.

Smith, M. E. 2008. Aztec City- State Capitals. Gainesville, FL.

Smith, M. E. 2012. The Aztecs, 3rd ed. Oxford.

Smith, M. E. 2015. “The Aztec Empire.” In A. Monson and W Scheidel, eds., Fiscal Regimes and the Political Economy of Premodern States, 71-114. New York.

Smith, M. E. 2016. At Home with the Aztecs: An Archaeologist Uncovers Their Domestic Life. New York.

Smith, M. E. 2017. “Cities in the Aztec Empire: The Interplay of Commerce, Imperialism and Urbanization.” In D. Nichols, F. Berdan, and M. E. Smith, eds., Rethinking the Aztec Economy, 44-67. Tucson, AZ.

Smith, M. E., and F. F. Berdan, eds., 2003. The Postclassic Mesoamerican World. Salt Lake City, UT.

Smith, M. E., T. Dennehy, A. Kamp-Whittaker, E. Colon, and R. Harkness. 2014. “Quantitative Measures of Wealth Inequality in Ancient Central Mexican Communities.” Advances in Archaeological Practice 2, no. 4: 311-323.

Tarschys, D. 1988. “Tributes, Tariffs, Taxes and Trade: The Changing Sources of Government Revenue.” British Journal of Political Science 19: 1-20.

Tomaszewski, B. M., and M. E. Smith. 2011. “Politics, Territory, and Historical Change in Postclassic Matlatzinco (Toluca Valley, Central Mexico).” Journal of Historical Geography 37: 22-39.

Whitmore, T M., and B. L. Turner, II. 2001. Cultivated Landscapes of Middle America on the Eve of Conquest. New York.