Battles & Wars › Gunpowder empires › Fall of Tenochtitlan
Hernán Cortés
1485–1547· Person· Americas
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
The Spanish adventurer who led the 1519–21 expedition that overthrew the Aztec Empire.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Born in Medellín, Spain, Cortés settled in Cuba and in 1519 sailed for Mexico, defying the governor who tried to cancel his mission. He scuttled his ships to rule out retreat, relied on the Nahua interpreter Malintzin (La Malinche), and allied with the Tlaxcalans. He took the emperor Moctezuma hostage, was driven out in 1520, and returned to besiege Tenochtitlan in 1521. Later sidelined by the crown, he died in Spain in 1547.
Why it matters
His campaign became the template for the conquest of the Americas: a few Europeans, many Indigenous allies, and the seizure of rulers.
Legacy and how we know
His five letters to Emperor Charles V, Bernal Díaz's eyewitness memoir and Nahua accounts. In Mexico he remains divisive, with few public monuments; his remains lie in a Mexico City church.
Still debated
How much credit belongs to him rather than Malintzin, his allies and disease is debated; his letters were written to justify himself.
Connections (2)
▸Hernán Cortés commanded the Spanish and allied forces in Fall of TenochtitlanWell documented
The connection
Driven out of Tenochtitlan on the Noche Triste ('Sad Night') of June 1520, Cortés regrouped in Tlaxcala. He had 13 brigantines built and carried in pieces to Lake Texcoco, rallied tens of thousands of Indigenous allies, and cut the island city's causeways and fresh water. After about three months of siege and street fighting, the city fell.
When and how
Lake Texcoco and Tenochtitlan, May–August 1521; Cortés with about 900 Spaniards and Tlaxcalan and Texcocan allies, against the Mexica under Cuauhtémoc.
How we know
Cortés's third letter to Charles V, Bernal Díaz's memoir and Nahua accounts in the Florentine Codex all describe the siege.
Debates and open questions
How much Cortés led versus allied leaders such as Ixtlilxochitl of Texcoco is debated; estimates of ally numbers range from tens of thousands to 200,000.
▸Hernán Cortés led the first great campaign of Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empiresWell documented
The connection
Cortés's 1519–21 campaign was the first conquest of a large American empire. His playbook, exploiting local rivalries, seizing the ruler and recruiting Indigenous allies, was copied by Francisco Pizarro, a distant relative, who seized the Inca ruler Atahualpa at Cajamarca in 1532.
When and how
Mexico, 1519–21; Cortés with about 500 men at first, interpreters Malintzin and Jerónimo de Aguilar, and allies from Tlaxcala and Cempoala.
How we know
Cortés's letters to Charles V, printed in Europe from 1522, made his methods famous, and Pizarro met Cortés in Spain in 1528.
Debates and open questions
Whether Pizarro consciously copied Cortés, or both simply followed conquistador habits already used in the Caribbean, such as seizing local rulers, is debated.