Aztec History up to Cortes' Conquest
From *Mexico of the Mexicans* by Lewis Spence, 1917.
From: Unknown To: 1521 C.E.
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Mexico of the Mexicans by Lewis Spence.
Aztec history could not lay claim to any great antiquity prior to the arrival of Cortes. Coming from the North, probably from the region of British Columbia, inhabitants of which their speech, art and religion indicate a common origin, the Aztecs wandered over the Mexican plateau for generations, settling at length in the marshlands near Lake Tezcuco. For a space they were held in bondage by the Tecpanecs, but such truculent helots did they prove, that at length the Tecpanec rulers were fain to "let the people go"; and, once more their own masters, they founded the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan in 1325.
For generations they failed to assimilate the civilisation which surrounded them, and which was at its best represented by the people of Tezcuco on the north-eastern borders of the lake of that name. In 1376 they elected a ruler. Tezcuco had been assailed by the Tecpanecs, and its rightful king, Nezahualcoyotl, forced to flee. But with the assistance of the Aztecs and the people of Tlascala, he regained his crown. The Tecpanecs, however, sent an expedition against Mexico, but were signally defeated by the Aztecs under their monarch Itzcoatl, who, in his turn, attacked their chief city and slew their king. These events raised the Aztecs to the position of the most powerful confederacy in the valley of Anahuac. Itzcoatl formed a strong alliance with Tezcuco and Tlacopan, a lesser city, and Mexico entered upon a long career of conquest. Its policy was not to enslave its neighbours, but merely to establish a suzerainty over them and to exact a tribute.
Under the able rule of Motecuhzoma (Montezuma) I, the Aztecs pushed their conquests farther afield. After subduing the more southerly districts, this able soldier-king turned his eyes eastwards, and in 1458 sent an expedition against the Huastecs of the Maya stock on the Mexican Gulf and the Totonacs. But he was also occupied in quelling disturbances in several of the conquered cities nearer his own capital.
The Tlascalans, a folk of warlike and turbulent mood, were the hereditary and implacable enemies of the Aztecs, who relied upon constant strife with them for the larger proportion of their sacrificial victims, and, indeed, regarded Tlascala as a species of preserve to supply the altars of their war-god. On the other hand, did an Aztec fall into the hands of the Tlascalans, he became the prey of the military divinity of that people.
This unnatural strife between related tribes was fostered by the belief that, unless the sun constantly partook of the steam arising from blood-sacrifice, he would wane and perish; and, because of this belief, thousands were annually immolated upon the pyramids of Huitzilopochtli of Mexico or his prototype Camaxtli of Tlascala. The hatred nourished between these people by this deplorable superstition proved the undoing of both when, at the advent of Cortes, that leader was enabled to employ the warriors of Tlascala against their ancient foes of Mexico.
The reign of Motecuhzoma was marked by a public work of great importance to the city of Mexico. A great dam or dyke was constructed across the lake of Tezcuco from a point on the northern side of the lake to one upon its southern shore.
The purpose of this ten-mile barrier, which also did service as a causeway, was to guard the growing city against the inundations which frequently threatened it and had on more than one occasion submerged it. Motecuhzoma was followed on the throne by Axayacatl, a monarch of equal ability, who succeeded in annexing the city of Tlatelolco, which shared the same island with Mexico, and dispatched an expedition to the wealthy and enlightened Zapotec country, even as far south as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, thus opening the way to the fertile district of Soconusco with its cocoa plantations, its mines of precious stones and great natural resources.
Other regions equally desirable fell before the Aztec advance. Axayacatl died in 1469 (? 1477) and Tizoc in 1482 (? 1486), and Auitzotl came to the throne. He continued the Aztec career of conquest, and even penetrated to Chiapas and Guatemala, although he did not occupy these regions. He completed the great temple of Huitzilopochtli in the city of Mexico, commenced by his predecessor, and constructed an aqueduct which supplied water from Coyoacan on the southern shores of Lake Tezcuco. He was accidentally killed in an inundation by striking his head against the lintel of a flooded building from which he was trying to escape.
He was succeeded in 1502 by Motecuhzoma II, the king whose name has been rendered famous by reason of the coming of Cortes in his time. This monarch trained both as a soldier and a priest, but the sacerdotal part of his education had perhaps been amplified at the expense of the military.
Intensely superstitious, he was yet enough of a soldier to suppress nascent rebellions in the Mixtec and Zapotec countries, and energetically attack the Tlascalans, who, however, eventually beat him off after a strenuous invasion of their territory. He cultivated a truly Oriental magnificence in the city of Mexico, and employed the inexhaustible tributes which flowed into his coffers to render the capital city worthy of its position of eminence.
But the end of this teeming and picturesque civilisation was at hand. Cortes sailed from Santiago, in Cuba, on a November morning in 1518, when Motecuhzoma reign was some sixteen years old.
The Spanish leader had a following of about six hundred men, thirteen of whom were armed with firelocks and sixteen of whom were mounted. On arriving at the mainland, he was met by the emissaries of the Aztec monarch, who received him courteously but coldly, and tendered him presents of gold and gems, which merely excited his cupidity. To the chagrin of Cortes, the Aztec emperor refused an interview.
Destroying his ships, the intrepid Spaniard left a small detachment at Vera Cruz, and set forth with 450 men and numerous Indian “friendlies" for Mexico. He desired passage through the country of the Tlascalans; but its inhabitants, fearful of his approach, instigated the Otomi tribes on their frontier to attack him: 30,000 of them gave him battle. He succeeded in routing them, but 50,000 Tlascalans advanced to attack him in a temple-pyramid where he had fortified himself. Charging down upon the enemy, he found himself in a most precarious position until, the Otomi deserting the Tlascalans, the latter were forced to retire. Overtures of peace were sent to the Tlascalans, and these were accepted. The alliance between his enemies greatly alarmed Motecuhzoma, who attempted to placate the Spaniards with a tribute of gold and gems, but to no purpose.
Cortes entered Tlascala in triumph; and Motecuhzoma, now in real consternation, at last sent him a friendly invitation to visit him in Mexico. Cortes set out from Tlascala accompanied by 5,000 Tlascalans. Halting at Cholula, the sacred city of Mexico, he was informed by his native allies that treachery was intended by its people, whom he attacked and slaughtered in thousands ere their conspiracy to destroy him had reached fruition.
It was October ere the Spaniards arrived at the capital, where they were met by the Emperor in person, surrounded by all the exotic grandeur of an Aztec monarch. The streets were thronged with spectators as the Teules, or gods as the natives styled them, entered the city. The fated ruler conducted Cortes to a spacious palace, where he seated him on a gilded dais decked with gems, and feasted him royally, saying, "All that we possess is at your disposal." The Spaniards feared treachery and, at a later stage, seized upon the person of the unhappy emperor as a hostage for their safety.
Velasquez, the governor of Cuba, not content with Cortes’s conduct of affairs, which he believed to be governed by selfish motives, fitted out an expedition to Mexico, the purpose of which was to wrest the power he had achieved from the adventurous leader. This armada of 18 vessels and 900 soldiers was commanded by one Panfilo de Narvaez; but on Narvaez's arrival at Vera Cruz, Cortes, who had made a forced march to the coast with but 280 men, attacked him by night and signally defeated him. Cortes had left Pedro de Alvarado in command at Mexico, and this captain committed the barbarous indiscretion of attacking and slaying the Mexican chiefs whilst celebrating a religious festival within the bounds of the great temple. He was at once closely besieged by the Aztecs, and on the return of Cortes with Narvaez's men, the whole party was beleaguered; Motecuhzoma, in attempting to conciliate his own subjects, was wounded, and survived but a few days.
The desperate expedient of evacuating the city in the face of a hostile and deeply irritated population was risked. This resulted in what is known as the "Noche Triste,” the night of woe, in which, in making their escape by one of the great stone causeways leading to the mainland, the Spaniards were almost decimated.
Cortes now found it necessary to rest and refresh his sorely tried troops after their dread experience, and withdrew to Tlascala. Reinforcements arrived from Cuba, swelling the Spanish numbers to about 900 Castilians, and some 50,000 Tlascalan allies. Building numerous brigantines, which he transported in parts on the shoulders of native carriers to Lake Tezcuco, Cortes laid siege to the Aztec capital in May, 1521. At first the Spaniards were driven back, but, reinforced by tribes hostile to the Aztecs to the number of nearly 200,000 warriors, they pressed the investment, which dragged along for seventy-five days. At length, Cortes resolved upon the demolition of the city, building by building, and by this barbarous method at last broke down the stubborn Aztec defence. The great pyramid-temple of Huitzilopochtli was overthrown, and only a single quarter of the city, commanded by Guatamotzin (“chief Guatamo"), the nephew of Motecuhzoma, remained in Aztec hands. Guatamo was eventually captured; and Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the city of the most warlike people in Anahuac, became the prey and spoil of the conquering Spaniards.
A portion of the city was rebuilt for the occupancy of the Spaniards, but, needless to say, its architectural character was substantially altered.
Spence, Lewis. Mexico of the Mexicans. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1917.
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
