Spanish Conquest of Tenochtitlan

The Spanish Erasure of Tenochtitlan

On August 13, 1521, the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captured the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, marking the beginning of the end for the city. Cortés, with the help of his indigenous allies, had been laying siege to the city since May of that year. The fall of Tenochtitlan was a pivotal moment in the conquest of the Aztec Empire, and it paved the way for the construction of Mexico City on the same site.

What Everyone Knows

Most people think that the Spanish simply built Mexico City on top of the ruins of Tenochtitlan, but the standard story goes that the new city was constructed with little regard for the old one. The general understanding is that the Spanish conquistadors, led by Cortés, destroyed much of the Aztec city and then built their own colonial capital on the same site. However, this oversimplifies the complex and often brutal process of conquest and construction that actually occurred.

What History Actually Shows

Historian Matthew Restall, in his book "When Montezuma Met Cortés", describes the intense fighting that took place in the streets of Tenochtitlan during the summer of 1521. By June of that year, the Spanish had managed to capture several key locations within the city, including the temple of Tlatelolco. The Spanish deliberately targeted the city's infrastructure, including its sophisticated system of canals and aqueducts, which were destroyed in an effort to weaken the Aztec resistance. According to the accounts of Spanish soldier Bernal Díaz del Castillo, who participated in the conquest, the city was largely in ruins by the time the Spanish finally captured it. Díaz del Castillo's eyewitness account, "The Conquest of New Spain", provides a detailed description of the city's destruction and the subsequent construction of Mexico City. The Spanish began building their new city immediately, using the labor of thousands of indigenous workers to construct new buildings and roads on top of the old Aztec ones. By 1524, the city was already taking shape, with the construction of the cathedral and the palace of the viceroy. Historian Charles Gibson, in his book "The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule", notes that the construction of Mexico City was a gradual process that took many years to complete, with the city continuing to evolve and grow throughout the 16th century. As the Spanish continued to build their new city, they worked to erase the memory of the old one, suppressing the history and culture of the Aztecs and imposing their own language, religion, and customs on the indigenous population.

The Part That Got Buried

Historians like Francisco López de Gómara and Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés deliberately downplayed the severity of the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, portraying it as a necessary step towards civilization. The Spanish crown and the Catholic Church also played a significant role in suppressing the true story, as they sought to justify their actions and maintain control over the newly conquered territories. A concrete reason why this history was not told is that the Spanish destroyed many of the Aztecs' written records, leaving few firsthand accounts of the event. This destruction of records, combined with the rewriting of history by Spanish historians, has made it difficult for the true story of Tenochtitlan's destruction to be told. The actions of these individuals and institutions have had a lasting impact on our understanding of this period in history.

The Ripple Effect

The destruction of Tenochtitlan and the subsequent building of Mexico City on top of it has had a lasting impact on the city's architecture and infrastructure. Many of the city's modern-day problems, such as flooding and sinking foundations, can be directly attributed to the fact that the Spanish built their city on the ruins of the Aztec capital, which was itself built on a lake. The city's drainage system, for example, is still struggling to cope with the legacy of the Spanish conquest, with many areas of the city prone to flooding during heavy rainfall. One specific modern thing that traces directly back to this event is the city's ongoing struggle to maintain its historic center, which is slowly sinking into the soft soil.

The Line That Says It All

The Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan resulted in the deaths of an estimated 200,000 Aztecs and the destruction of a sophisticated and complex city, which was then replaced with a European-style metropolis that has been struggling to cope with its legacy ever since.

A Note on Sources

This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and the founding of Mexico City.