Military History of Mexico - Spanish Conquest

Spanish Conquest

In 1519, the native civilizations of Mexico were invaded by Spain, and two years later in 1521, the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was conquered. Francisco Hernández de Córdoba explored the shores of southeast Mexico in 1517, followed by Juan de Grijalva in 1518. The most important of the early Conquistadores was Hernán Cortés, who entered the country in 1519 from a native coastal town which he renamed "Puerto de la Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz" (today's Veracruz). In a series of wars and counter-rebellions over the next two centuries, Spain would expand and consolidate its Mexican territories.

The Aztecs, the dominant empire in Mexico, believed "that Quetzalcoatl would return on in 'Ce-Acatl' or one-reed year. The Pre-Columbian calendar was divided into 52 year periods or cycles. Every 52nd year was a Ce-Acatl; the year 1467 was such a year. On their arrival in the new world, the Aztecs thought the Spanish conquerors had been sent by the gods, so they initially offered little resistance to the advances of the conquerors. (Ironically, Cortés does not mention the alleged "god worship" episode in his letters to King Charles V of Spain.)

After a major battle in 1519, during which the Spanish forces were defeated and sent into retreat, the Spaniards regrouped outside the Valley of Mexico. After eight months they were back, this time with an even larger contingent of native allies. By then, Spanish smallpox had ravaged the Aztec population, drastically reducing the Aztec fighting forces. The Spaniards surrounded and laid siege to the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan, bringing about the Aztecs' total defeat in 1521. Despite their metal weapons, horses, cannons, and thousands of indigenous allies, the Spanish were unable to subdue the Mexica for seven full months. It was one of the longest continuous sieges in world history.

Three major factors contributed to Spanish victory. First, the Spanish had superior military technology, including firearms, the crossbow, iron and steel weapons, and the horse. The Spanish were further aided in their conquest by the Old World diseases (primarily smallpox) they brought with them, to which the natives had no immunity, and which became pandemic, killing large portions of the native population. Finally, the Spanish enlisted the help of various subject peoples in the Aztec Empire who saw the Spanish as a means to free themselves from Aztec rule, mainly the Tlaxcalans.