Old World & New World · Article 7 of 22 · 1519–1533
Indigenous alliances determine the conquest of empires
People & builders: Hernán Cortés (1485–1547); Malintzin or Doña Marina (c. 1500–c. 1529); Cuauhtémoc (c. 1495–1525); Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478–1541); Atahualpa (c. 1502–1533)
Tenochtitlan fell through coalition warfare
Cortés landed on the Gulf of Mexico coast in 1519 without an army capable by itself of occupying the Mexica empire. Communities such as Tlaxcala had powerful reasons to challenge Mexica tribute and military dominance. Their warriors joined the Spanish expedition in large numbers. Malintzin, who translated and mediated between languages, influenced negotiations in ways that make her far more than a minor character in Cortés’s letters.
In 1520 fighting and disease worsened conditions in and around Tenochtitlan. Moctezuma II died amid the crisis. Under Cuauhtémoc, Mexica defenders resisted a siege that used brigantines on Lake Texcoco and cut supplies. The city fell in August 1521 after sustained fighting, deprivation and epidemic loss. Spanish commanders brought horses and firearms, but the coalition of Indigenous opponents and knowledge of local terrain were crucial to the campaign’s outcome.
In the Andes the timing was different, the vulnerabilities familiar
In the Inca world, a recent succession conflict between Atahualpa and Huáscar had undermined political unity. Spanish soldiers under Francisco Pizarro seized Atahualpa at Cajamarca in November 1532. Atahualpa’s capture disrupted the ruling structure, while epidemics and regional rivalries compounded uncertainty. The execution of Atahualpa in 1533 and the occupation of Cuzco did not end Andean resistance; it continued in changing forms for decades.
The eventual destruction of imperial governments did not mean that every community supported the previous ruler. Some local leaders sought advantage from the newcomers. Others later recognized that Spanish claims to land and labor threatened their autonomy as thoroughly as earlier tribute demands.
What conquest reorganized
New colonial administrations drew revenue from mines, taxes and labor. Tenochtitlan was largely destroyed and Mexico City was built over its site; in the Andes, Spanish and Indigenous institutions interacted under colonial rule. People adapted languages, religious practices and family networks while struggling to preserve property and local authorities.
Modern Mexico and Peru cannot be understood merely as overseas copies of Spain. Their languages, landscapes, food systems and political disputes reflect societies formed through the collision, survival and adaptation of multiple American and European institutions. The loss included independent imperial governments, but also local freedom when new colonial rule displaced it.
Dates & turning points
- 1519: Cortés enters central Mexico; alliances and warfare expand.
- 1520: Epidemic disease and fighting destabilize Tenochtitlan.
- August 1521: Mexica defenders under Cuauhtémoc are defeated; Tenochtitlan falls.
- 1532–1533: Pizarro captures Atahualpa at Cajamarca; Spanish forces occupy Cuzco.