Expansion
Here is a timeline and summary of the Aztec expansion between 1428 and 1521:
1428 - The Triple Alliance is formed between the Aztec city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. This alliance defeats the rival city of Azcapotzalco and begins a period of expansion and conquest.[1][5][8]
1430s-1440s - Under the rule of Itzcoatl and Montezuma I, the Aztec Triple Alliance expands to control most of the Valley of Mexico through conquest and alliances. The Aztecs establish their capital at Tenochtitlan.[1][6][10]
1440-1469 - Montezuma I continues expanding the empire to include areas outside the Valley of Mexico such as Oaxaca and Guerrero.[6]
1486-1502 - Ahuitzotl becomes ruler and oversees the Aztec Empire’s greatest territorial expansion. He conquers areas as far south as present-day Guatemala and consolidates Aztec control over conquered territories.[1][5][6]
1502-1520 - Montezuma II rules the Aztec Empire at its height. By this time, the Aztecs dominate most of central and southern Mexico either directly or through tributary states. However, resentment grows among conquered peoples due to harsh Aztec rule and demands for tribute and sacrifices.[1][6]
1519 - Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico and is initially welcomed into the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan by Montezuma II.[1][2]
1520-1521 - Cortés is driven out of Tenochtitlan after fighting breaks out. He gathers Spanish forces and indigenous allies to lay siege to the city. The Aztecs, weakened by smallpox and cut off from food and water, fall to the Spanish in August 1521, ending the Aztec Empire.[1][2][5]
In summary, the Aztec Empire rapidly expanded from 1428 to the early 1500s through a combination of military conquest and strategic alliances orchestrated by the Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. At its height under Montezuma I and Ahuitzotl, the empire stretched from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico and south into Guatemala. However, the arrival of the Spanish led by Hernán Cortés in 1519 and the fall of the Aztec capital in 1521 brought the empire to a sudden and violent end after less than 100 years as a major Mesoamerican power.
Citations:
[1] https://www.ducksters.com/history/aztec_empire/timeline_aztec_empire.php
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_Empire
[3] https://www.britannica.com/summary/Aztec-Empire-Timeline
[4] https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/aztec-civilization
[5] https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-aztec-empire-timeline
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_Empire
[7] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aztec
[8] https://time.graphics/period/1952160
[9] https://www.worldhistory.org/timeline/Aztec_Civilization/
[10] https://www.worldhistory.org/Aztec_Civilization/
[11] https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/aztec-civilization/
[12] https://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php
[13] https://time.graphics/period/152903
[14] https://time.graphics/period/630497
[15] https://www.thoughtco.com/aztec-triple-alliance-170036
Spanish Conquest
Here is a timeline and summary of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire:
Timeline
1517: Spanish expedition led by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba lands on the Yucatan coast and makes first contact with the Aztec Empire.
1519:
- February: Hernán Cortés defies the governor of Cuba and sets sail for Mexico with 11 ships, around 500 men, 16 horses and some cannon.
- March: Cortés lands on the coast, founds the city of Veracruz.
- August: Cortés marches inland towards the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, making alliances with indigenous enemies of the Aztecs like the Tlaxcalans along the way.
- October: Massacre at Cholula where Cortés kills thousands.
- November 8: Cortés and his men peacefully enter Tenochtitlan and are welcomed by Aztec emperor Moctezuma II.
- November 14: Cortés takes Moctezuma prisoner.
1520:
- May: Cortés leaves Tenochtitlan to fight Spanish forces sent to arrest him. His lieutenant Pedro de Alvarado massacres Aztec nobles during a festival, causing an uprising.
- June 30: Cortés returns but is driven out of Tenochtitlan on “La Noche Triste” (The Night of Sorrows), losing over half his men. Moctezuma is killed.
- July 7: Cortés defeats a large Aztec army at the Battle of Otumba.
1521:
- May: Cortés begins the siege of Tenochtitlan after building ships to attack from the lake. Smallpox epidemic devastates the Aztecs.
- August 13: Tenochtitlan falls to the Spanish after 80 days. The Aztec Empire is conquered.
Summary
In 1519, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés landed in Mexico with a small force. Through a combination of skill, daring, brutality, and luck, he was able to conquer the mighty Aztec Empire in just two years, marking one of history’s most audacious military feats.
Cortés made alliances with indigenous tribes who resented Aztec rule, like the Tlaxcalans, giving him thousands of native warriors to back his few hundred Spaniards. Superior Spanish weapons and tactics, like steel swords, guns, cannons, horses and armor, proved decisive.
In Tenochtitlan, Cortés was initially welcomed but soon took Emperor Moctezuma prisoner. An Aztec uprising drove the Spanish out, but they regrouped and returned, laying siege to the city. Weakened by smallpox brought by the Spanish, the Aztecs finally fell in August 1521. Their defeat ended the Aztec Empire and began the Spanish colonization of Mexico[1][2][3].
The conquest had profound consequences, leading to the deaths of millions of indigenous people from disease and initiating centuries of Spanish rule. But Cortés’ unlikely victory remains one of the most dramatic events of the Age of Exploration[1].
Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_Empire
[2] https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Aztec_Empire
[3] https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/teaching-and-learning-in-the-digital-age/the-history-of-the-americas/the-conquest-of-mexico/for-students/what-the-textbooks-have-to-say-about-the-conquest-of-mexico
[4] https://www.britannica.com/summary/Aztec-Empire-Timeline
[5] https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/teaching-and-learning-in-the-digital-age/the-history-of-the-americas/the-conquest-of-mexico/timeline
[6] https://www.oup.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/58197/Chapter-19-The-Spanish-conquest-of-the-Americas-1492-1572.pdf
[7] https://www.mexperience.com/lifestyle/history-of-mexico/spanish-conquest/
[8] https://www.ducksters.com/history/aztec_empire/spanish_conquest.php
[9] https://public.websites.umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/conquest/timeline.htm
[10] https://library.norwood.vic.edu.au/aztecs/spanishconquest
[11] https://www.worldhistory.org/timeline/Hernan_Cortes/
[12] https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/spanish-conquest-of-the-aztec-empire
[13] https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7fa1a3be14074882ace96f9a34a85f5b
[14] https://www.thoughtco.com/hernan-cortes-conquest-of-aztecs-timeline-2136533