Aztec Empire
The Mexica-led Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco and Tlacopan that dominated central Mexico from 1428 until the Spanish conquest of 1521.
Category: States
- c. 1325The Mexica found Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco
Tradition dates the foundation of the Mexica capital to 1325, though the exact date is unclear and 13 March 1325 was fixed only in 1925 for the city's 600th anniversary. It grows into the centre of the Aztec Empire.
- c. 1428Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco and Tlacopan form the Aztec Triple Alliance
After defeating Azcapotzalco in 1428, the three cities ally to dominate central Mexico. The article gives 1428 for the foundation, while another passage dates the treaty to 1430.
- 1502Moctezuma II succeeds his uncle Ahuitzotl as ruler of the Aztec Empire
In 1502 Moctezuma II becomes tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, ruling the empire until 1520, when the Spanish arrive and he dies in circumstances sources dispute.
- 1519Cortés founds Veracruz and takes command of the expedition on the Mexican coast
After landing near the site at Easter, on 21 or 22 April 1519, Cortés founds the town of Veracruz, the base for the expedition. The article places the founding in early June; other accounts earlier.
- February 10, 1519Hernán Cortés sails from Cuba for Mexico despite the governor's order
On 10 February 1519 Cortés leaves Cuba with an expedition to the mainland, though governor Diego Velázquez had cancelled his commission. It begins the conquest of the Aztec Empire.
- August 31, 1519 – September 1519Tlaxcala makes peace with Cortés and allies against the Mexica
After fighting that begins on 31 August 1519, the Tlaxcalans, who had cost the Spanish about a fifth of their men and half their cavalry, make peace in September. Their armies later become essential to the conquest.
- October 1519Spanish and Tlaxcalan forces massacre the people of Cholula
In October 1519 Cortés's men and their Tlaxcalan allies kill unarmed Cholulans and sack the city on the road to Tenochtitlan. The exact day is not given in the sources used.
- November 8, 1519Cortés and Moctezuma II meet as the Spanish enter Tenochtitlan
On 8 November 1519 Cortés enters the Aztec capital, a city of more than 200,000 people by most estimates, and meets Moctezuma II. The Spanish hold the ruler captive within the following weeks.
- May 1520Pedro de Alvarado's men attack Aztec nobles at the festival of Toxcatl
In mid-May 1520, while Cortés is away fighting Narváez, Alvarado's forces attack Aztec elites at the Toxcatl festival in Tenochtitlan. The killings provoke the uprising that drives the Spanish out.
- June 30, 1520The Spanish are driven out of Tenochtitlan on the Noche Triste
On 30 June 1520 Cortés's army retreats from the city with heavy losses, estimated at about 400 to 1,000 Spaniards and many allies. Moctezuma II had died days earlier; sources disagree on who killed him.
- October 1520 – December 1520A smallpox epidemic devastates the Valley of Mexico
From about October to December 1520 smallpox, introduced by the Spanish, spreads through central Mexico, killing the Aztec ruler Cuitláhuac on 4 December. Estimates of the dead run into the millions.
- May 1521 – August 13, 1521Cortés besieges Tenochtitlan, which falls on 13 August 1521
The siege begins in May 1521, with sources giving 10 or 22 May. After more than 90 days the Aztec defenders surrender on 13 August and Cuauhtémoc is captured. Estimates put Aztec dead at about 200,000.
- February 1525Cortés has the last Aztec rulers executed during the Honduras expedition
In February 1525, on the march to Honduras, Cortés executes Cuauhtémoc and two other former rulers of the Triple Alliance. The exact day is not given in the source used.
- 1545 – 1590Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua scholars compile the Florentine Codex
From 1545 until his death in 1590 the Franciscan Sahagún works with Nahua elders and former Tlatelolco students on a twelve-book study of Aztec life in Nahuatl and Spanish. The final version is dated 1569 in the source used.