Rethinking the Spanish-Aztec War of 1519–1521

Abstract

Abstract This chapter presents a rethinking of the Spanish-Aztec War of 1519–1521. For the past five centuries, narratives of the 1519 Spanish invasion of Mexico have tended to focus on the activities of the invading Spanish conquistadors and initial colonial settlers. The events triggered by the Spanish arrival on the Gulf Coast in April of that year, through to the fall of the besieged city of Tenochtitlan in August 1521, have traditionally been known as “the Conquest of Mexico.” As such, these narratives reflect the Spanish point of view. Within the last half-century, however, and especially in the last quarter-century, scholars have begun to look at the period using documents written in Indigenous languages that offer different perspectives on the events. By reading the sources more critically, another narrative is revealed, one that is less tidy, less reassuring, but more believable and far better supported by evidence. The chapter then considers the role of Hernando Cortés, the Indigenous groups of the region, and Mexica resistance and civilization.