Cortes Captures Tenochtitlan: The Aztec Empire Falls
Hernán Cortés's forces seize Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and topple the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan after a grueling siege. This conquest shatters the empire's political structure, enabling the rapid imposition of Spanish colonial rule and triggering a demographic collapse among Indigenous peoples through warfare and introduced diseases.
August 13, 1521
505 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Aztec
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conquistador
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Tenochtitlan
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Cuauhtémoc
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Hernán Cortés
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Fall of Tenochtitlan
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Tlatoani
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Mexico City
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Tenochtitlan
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Spanish Empire
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Conquistador
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Aztecs
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Cuauhtémoc
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Hernán Cortés
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Fall of Tenochtitlan
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New Spain
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Tlatoani
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Pueblo maya
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Tenochtitlan
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1470
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Gonzalo Guerrero
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