Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire
| Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas and Mexican Indian Wars | |||||||||
 Conquest of Mexico by Cortés, oil on canvas Spanish: Conquista de México por Cortés |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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 Cempoala
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 Aztec Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Hernán Cortés Pedro de Alvarado Xicotencatl the Younger † |
Motecuhzoma II † Cuitláhuac † Cuauhtémoc (POW) |
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| Strength | |||||||||
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Spain: |
300,000 | ||||||||
Aztec Empire is annexed by Spanish Empire
Spanish conquistadors
Tlaxcala
Spain:
90–100 cavalry
900–1,300 infantry
6 guns
13 brigantines
Tlaxcala: 80,000–200,000
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (begun February 1519) was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Following Christopher Columbus' establishment of permanent European settlement in the Caribbean, the Spanish authorized expeditions or entradas for the discovery, conquest, and colonization of new territory, using existing Spanish settlements as a base. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before. In fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a whole generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme (Central America), learning strategy and tactics of successful enterprises. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices.
The Spanish campaign began in February 1519, and was declared victorious on August 13, 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Hernán Cortés and Xicotencatl the Younger captured the emperor Cuauhtemoc and Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.
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