The Aztec meet the Spanish

The Spanish had landed - Potonchan (a)

May 11, 1519

Moctezuma was told that the Spanish landing at Potonchan, so Moctezuma had sent a couple of people to go to the Spanish leader (Cortes) with gifts to try to convince them to leave. Among the gifts Moctezuma sent Cortes the clothing of one of their gods,Quetzalcoatl. When Cortes put on the clothing the aztec believed that Cortes was the Quetzalcoatl, even Moctezuma. They also got allies to help with their expedition, a girl named Malinche that can tranlate languages.

The start of the expedition- Veracruz (b)

Jul 13, 1519

Cortes and his men started to head to the tenochtitlan, but Cortes realized he couldn’t defeat the Aztec empire with only 500 men. Cortes learned that there were many city-states that wasn’t dominated by the Aztec. So Cortes and his men headed to one of the city states (Tlaxcala). The Tlaxcalans group fought the Spanish, Spanish soldiers held them off and offered to make peace. The Tlaxcalans agreed and added 1000 of their own soldiers to the Spanish forces.

Moctezuma and Cortes meet- Tenochtitlan (c)

Nov 13, 1519

Cortes was determined to conquered Tenochtitlan for God,Glory and Gold. From the help of La Malinche, Cortes was sending messages saying he came in peace and wish to meet Moctezuma. Finally Cortes and his men made it to Tenochtitlan Moctezuma greeted Cortes has Quetzalcoatl. The Aztec showed the Spanish around the land, treated like royalty and even the Atec showed the Spanish their gold. Later Cortes had Moctezuma so he will do anything for cortes or he will die.

The Aztec massacre

Apr 14, 1520

Cortes had received a message that Velazquez was sent to arrest Cortes for disobeying orders, Velazquez was already in Veracruz. Cortes had to leave, he left Alvarado in charge. During when Alvarado was in charge, the Aztecs were getting ready for a religious ceremony but Alvarado mistake that for attack on the Spanish so Alvarado told his men to surround the courtyard and killed everyone. When Cortes went back to Veracruz to fight the men sent to arrest him but he wins their loyalty.

Moctezume Death

Apr 15, 1520

As soon as Cortes heard word about the masscare he travel backed with other conquistador. Whne they got back, Cortes amid the confusion, he got Mocezuma to speack to his people but they were angry. As Moctezuma was trying to talk to his people, the Aztecs sarted to throw stones at him or the spanish stab him in the back, in the end Moctezuma died.

The escape plan

Apr 16, 1520

The Aztecs fight back.In a desperate move, the Spanish and their Tlaxcalan allies decided to take advantage of a dark, rainy night to escape from Tenochtitlan. Cortes loaded his mens horses and with gold from the treasure house. When the Spanish were trying to escape from the bridges but the Aztec surprise attack a lot of men died from drowning with a heavy weight of gold.

Smallpox

May 14, 1520

Cortes retreated to Tlaxcala, where he gained new troops and supplies from Cuba, trained new Tlaxcalan allies, and planned an attack by water on Tenochtitlan. he Aztecs, under their new leader Cuauhtemoc, were ready and had built barricades of rubble and removed the bridges in the causeways. They had also put sharpened stakes underwater in the canals. As the Aztecs prepared for war, smallpox continued to devastate the native population of Tenochtitlan,The Aztec were get weaker.

The Final Battel

May 21, 1520

Cortes attacked Tenochtitlan from three directions at once with 13 new ships. It took Cortes three months to reach the sacred center of Tenochtitlan. –The fighting was so fierce that the lake water turned red with blood. Aztec soldiers sacrificed Spanish soldiers along the causeways. The Spanish could not move "without treading on the bodies and heads of dead Indians.“ In the final all-out attack on the center of the city, 15,000 Aztecs died that day alone.

The last Aztecs surrender

Aug 14, 1520

After the attack, Cortes blosked coswasys from preventing food and water for three months. The Aztec people started to die with food or water, then finally the few remaining Aztecs surrender to the Spanish.

The governor of New Spain

Apr 15, 1521

Now Cortes has become the governor of New Spain. The Spanish started to destroy Tenochtitlan and set fire to everything so no one could hide they filled cause ways with ruble so no one could escape by boat and they built a church where the great temple was.

Mexico City

Apr 15, 1522

After the Aztec empire, the spanish built a whole new city, called Mexico city.