Tax Payment and Conquest of Altepetl

The Aztec Empire officially collapsed in 1521 when the capital city of Tenochtitlán fell to Spanish forces commanded by Hernán Cortés and thousands of Indigenous allies. The defeat ended the rule of the Aztec imperial state in central Mexico and marked the beginning of Spanish colonial administration under the territory that became known as New Spain. Tenochtitlán, located on an island in Lake Texcoco in present day Mexico City, had served as the political, military, and religious center of the Aztec Empire. The empire itself was built through the Triple Alliance formed in 1428 between Tenochtitlán, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. By the early 16th century, the Aztecs governed a vast tribute network across central Mexico through military expansion and agreements with subordinate city-states. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in 1519 and gradually advanced inland. During the campaign, he secured alliances with Indigenous groups hostile to Aztec domination, particularly the Tlaxcalans. These alliances proved decisive because Indigenous allied forces vastly outnumbered the Spanish troops themselves. Tensions escalated after Cortés entered Tenochtitlán in November 1519 and Emperor Moctezuma II was taken into Spanish custody. After violent clashes in the city and the Spanish retreat during La Noche Triste in June 1520, Cortés reorganized his forces and launched a full scale siege against Tenochtitlán in May 1521. The siege lasted approximately 93 days. Spanish brigantines controlled movement across Lake Texcoco while coordinated attacks cut supply routes into the city. At the same time, famine, disease, and constant warfare devastated the population inside the capital. Smallpox outbreaks, introduced from Europe, had already spread across central Mexico and weakened resistance. The defense of the city was led by Cuauhtémoc, the final Huey Tlatoani, or emperor, of the Aztec Empire. Despite determined resistance, the city’s defenses gradually collapsed under sustained assaults. On 13/08/1521, Cuauhtémoc was captured while attempting to flee across Lake Texcoco. His capture effectively ended organized Aztec military resistance and completed the Spanish conquest of the capital. Following the fall of Tenochtitlán, the Spanish began rebuilding the destroyed city as Mexico City, which became the capital of New Spain. Spanish colonial rule introduced new political institutions, Catholic religious authority, and European economic systems across former Aztec territories. The conquest also accelerated demographic collapse among Indigenous populations due to disease, forced labor, and social disruption during the 16th century. Historical Significance The fall of Tenochtitlán marked the end of one of the largest Indigenous empires in the Americas and initiated nearly three centuries of Spanish colonial rule in Mexico. The conquest reshaped the political and cultural landscape of Mesoamerica through the combination of European expansion, Indigenous alliances, and the transformation of existing imperial structures into colonial administration.