By: Marcia Abramson
In 1519 at the height of prosperity, the Aztec Emperor Montezuma (Moctezuma) II welcomed the fair-skinned, golden-haired, bearded Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes and his Spanish army of 400 soldiers with open arms. He thought Cortes was the fulfillment of a prophesy and was the mighty plumed serpent-god Quetzalcoatl from the east to rule the land. Cortes also arrived at the right time according to the Aztec calendar to fulfill this prediction. Montezuma showered him with gold and palatial housing only to find that this case of mistaken identity was to be his downfall. The Spaniards launched a bloody massacre and took the hapless emperor captive. This lasted for two years.
The Aztecs staged an uprising against the Spaniards on June 30, 1520 and stoned Montezuma to death on what is remembered to this day as La Noche Triste, or Sad Night. They also succeeded in driving Cortes from Tenochtitlan. I was told that there is a legend that the fleeing Spaniards who tried to take the stolen gold with them drowned in Lake Texcoco and that Cortes was found weeping under a large tree in the town of Tacuba during the retreat.
It was in 1521 that the Aztec city fell and came under Spanish rule as a result of a four-month blockade and many battles. Famine, thirst and disease brought in by the foreigners was another factor in the demise of the mighty Aztec empire.
The victorious Cortes and his men built the new colonial capital which he named Nueva Espana or New Spain on top of the razed Aztec capital, using the stone of the great palaces and temples to erect their own churches and buildings. I was able to see some of these ruins and the impressive main ceremonial pyramid at the museum of Templo Mayor on my recent visit to the main square or Zocalo. This square ranks third in size only to Moscow
