The Decisive Battles of World History

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Noche Triste, “the Sad Night.”

x Cortés retreated to the territory of his Tlaxcalan allies and began

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that a new factor made its presence known: A smallpox epidemic

broke out and swept through both the Aztecs and their allies.

x In 1521, Cortés returned to Lake Texcoco and began systematically

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of 13 small ships, each equipped with a light cannon. These were

used to seize control of the lake and cut off the causeways, thus

preventing food and reinforcements from reaching the city.

x The Aztecs were driven back into Tenochtitlán, and Cortés and his

allies laid siege. Under the leadership of Cuauhtémoc, the Aztecs

refused to surrender, and Cortés had to invade. After months of

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in Spanish hands and the Aztecs had been virtually exterminated.

x The conquest of Mexico was a pivotal event: It opened up the

Americas to European exploitation, with vast economic, cultural,

and religious consequences, and it set the model for the era of

European colonization that transformed the world.

Díaz, The Conquest of New Spain.

Hassig, Aztec Warfare.

Thomas, Conquest.

Robinson, The Spanish Invasion of Mexico.

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