Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire

The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a campaign led by Hernan Cortes, who landed on the coast of Mexico with a few hundred men and, after reaching the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, was received by the ruler Moctezuma II. Cortes made alliances with indigenous peoples hostile to Aztec domination, above all the Tlaxcalans, whose warriors made up the bulk of his army. After the Spaniards were driven from the city in a night of heavy losses and an epidemic of smallpox devastated the population, they returned and besieged Tenochtitlan for months. It fell in August 1521 with the capture of the last emperor, Cuauhtemoc. The Spanish founded Mexico City on its ruins and created the viceroyalty of New Spain.

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