Final answer:
The conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernán Cortés, assisted by native alliances and European diseases, culminated in the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521. Artistic and narrative accounts over time have both romanticized and provided differing perspectives on the conquest, incorporating Spanish and indigenous viewpoints.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Conquest of the Aztec Empire
The fall of the Aztec Empire is a significant event in history, marked by Hernán Cortés's arrival on the coast at Veracruz in 1519 and the eventual capture of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521. While initially the Aztec leader Montezuma II mistook the Spanish for legendary gods, Cortés, with far fewer resources than the Aztecs, sought alliances with native peoples disillusioned by Aztec rule. Notably, Doña Marina, known for her linguistic prowess, facilitated these alliances, particularly with the Tlaxcalans, a prominent enemy of the Aztecs. The conquest was facilitated further by European diseases, to which the indigenous population had no immunity.
Artistic depictions, such as the 17th-century painting The Conquest of Tenochtitlan from the Conquest of Mexico Series, romanticized the conquest, simplifying the complex months-long conflict into a single dramatic event. However, contemporary historical narratives now include not only Spanish perspectives, like those of Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo but also indigenous accounts such as The Broken Spears, which offer a critical view of the Spanish conquest from the Aztec viewpoint.
These accounts juxtapose the romanticized and often one-sided historical narratives created in the aftermath of the conquest with the harsh realities of the subjugation and subsequent cultural devastation experienced by the indigenous peoples.
Cortés's successful capture of Tenochtitlan was not without opposition; after the Spanish killed Aztec nobles during a festival, the people of Tenochtitlán fought back fiercely. The subsequent retreat of the Spanish and their allies to Tlaxcala, coupled with the strategic acquisition of allies against the Aztecs, eventually led to the surrender of the great Aztec capital after a prolonged siege, marking the end of one of the greatest Mesoamerican civilizations.