New Spain
The Spanish colony of New Spain, centred on Mexico City, from the conquest of Tenochtitlan in 1521 and its viceroyalty from 1535.
Category: States, Places
- 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.
- December 30, 1521 – October 12, 1524Cortés governs New Spain as its first governor
From 30 December 1521 until 12 October 1524, according to the infobox of the source used, Cortés governs the conquered Aztec lands as the first governor of New Spain.
- 1524 – 1526Cortés leads an expedition to Honduras against Cristóbal de Olid
From 1524 to 1526 Cortés marches to Honduras against Cristóbal de Olid, who had claimed the territory, and takes Cuauhtémoc with him; Cuauhtémoc is executed on the way. The trip takes him away from Mexico for months.
- May 1524The Twelve Franciscans arrive in New Spain to begin the conversion of the Aztec heartland
A group of twelve Franciscans led by Martín de Valencia reaches Veracruz in May 1524, with one source giving 13 May. They begin the mass evangelisation of central Mexico.
- 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.
- May 1528Cortés returns to Spain with treasure and is honoured by Charles V
Arriving in May 1528 with treasure and 40 Aztecs, Cortés is received with honour at court and decorated with the Order of Santiago. He then pleads for confirmation of his rights in New Spain.
- 1529Cortés is named Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca
In 1529 Charles V grants Cortés the title of Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca and the style of don. The source gives no day or month.
- April 17, 1535Charles V appoints Antonio de Mendoza first viceroy of New Spain
The royal commissions of 17 April 1535 appoint Mendoza viceroy; another account dates the decree creating the viceroyalty to 12 October. He takes office on 14 November 1535 and serves until about 1550.
- 1536Cortés leads his last major expedition and reaches Baja California
In 1536 Cortés explores the Pacific coast of northwestern Mexico and is credited with discovering the Baja California peninsula. In 1539 Francisco de Ulloa names the Gulf of California the 'Sea of Cortés'.
- January 6, 1536The Franciscans open the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco for sons of Nahua nobles
Opened on 6 January 1536, the college teaches the sons of Nahua leaders the trivium and quadrivium, though a school had run there since 1533. It is often called the first European higher-education school in the Americas.
- 1540 – 1542The Caxcan peoples rise against Spanish rule in the Mixtón War
In 1540 Caxcan towns in northern New Spain revolt against the encomienda. Pedro de Alvarado dies on 4 July 1541 after a failed assault, and Viceroy Mendoza's army takes Mixtón in early 1542, enslaving survivors.
- 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.
- 1546Zacatecas is founded after the discovery of rich silver veins
In 1546 Juan de Tolosa founds the town of Zacatecas after one of the world's richest silver veins is found nearby. Silver mining draws roads and settlers into Chichimeca lands.
- December 2, 1547Hernán Cortés dies in Castilleja de la Cuesta
Cortés, born c. 1485 in Medellín, dies on 2 December 1547 in Spain, having been named Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca in 1529. His birth year is uncertain; the source gives his age at death as 61 or 62.
- 1550 – 1590The Chichimeca War begins over the silver roads of northern New Spain
From late 1550 attacks on Spanish roads and caravans lead to decades of war with the Zacatecos and other Chichimeca peoples. The viceroy declares the 'Purchase for Peace' policy a success in 1590, though the war's exact end is unclear.
- September 21, 1551A royal decree founds the Royal University of Mexico
A decree of 21 September 1551 creates the university in Mexico City, which is inaugurated on 25 January 1553. Whether it or Lima's San Marcos is the oldest university in the Americas depends on how founding is counted.