Key Terms
- Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan + Texcoco + Tlacopan (1428)
- Encomienda: grant of indigenous labour to Spanish settlers
- La Noche Triste: Spanish expelled from Tenochtitlan, 30 June to 1 July 1520
- Chinampas: raised garden platforms that fed Tenochtitlan
- Tlaxcalans: indigenous allies who provided most of the conquest's military force
Key Dates
- Feb 1519: Cortés lands on Mexican coast
- Sept 1519: Tlaxcalan alliance
- Nov 1519: Spanish enter Tenochtitlan
- 30 June to 1 July 1520: La Noche Triste
- Late 1520: Smallpox epidemic in Tenochtitlan
- 13 Aug 1521: Cuauhtémoc surrenders; Tenochtitlan falls
- 1535: first viceroy of New Spain
- 1542: Las Casas, Short Account; New Laws
Key People
- Hernån Cortés: Spanish commander; scuttled his ships; built brigantines for siege
- La Malinche: indigenous interpreter and adviser to Cortés
- Moctezuma II: Aztec emperor; taken hostage; killed June 1520
- Cuauhtémoc: last Aztec emperor; surrendered 13 August 1521
- Bartolomé de las Casas: friar who condemned encomienda abuses
Must-Know Facts
- Tenochtitlan had perhaps c.200,000 people, one of the largest cities in the world
- Cortés had fewer than 1,000 Spaniards but many thousands of indigenous allies (Spanish sources claim up to 200,000)
- Siege lasted 75 to 80 days; smallpox may have killed around 40% of the city before the siege
- Central Mexico population: a commonly cited estimate is 25 million (1519) to c.1 million (1620)
- DIMAL: Disease, Indigenous alliances, Military technology, Aztec fragility, Leadership
Common Mistakes
- Saying a tiny Spanish force alone defeated the Aztecs: Always state that Tlaxcalan and other indigenous allies provided the majority of the military force. The conquest was a coalition war, not a Spanish solo achievement.
- Treating disease as the only cause: Smallpox was one factor among five (DIMAL). In explain or essay questions, link the causes: disease weakened Aztec resistance, which made the indigenous alliance more effective during the siege.
- Writing narrative instead of analysis: Avoid "then Cortés did X, then Y happened." Instead explain WHY each event mattered: "La Noche Triste shows that Spanish forces could be defeated, which means military technology alone was insufficient without indigenous alliances."
- Omitting the aftermath: The encomienda system and the population collapse are key consequences. Address the significance of the conquest, not just the events of 1519 to 1521.