Tenochtitlán & The Spanish Conquest. In 1978, electric company workers digging in Mexico City made a major discovery. Buried under the city’s main square they unearthed a 25-ton carved-stone disk. Excavators found what had been demolished and built over hundreds of years prior during the Spanish Conquest -- the remains of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlán.

Tenochtitlán was the original Aztec settlement where Mexico City now stands. The nomadic Aztec tribe followed a prophecy to build their major city where an eagle grasping a snake landed on a cactus in water. This exact spot happened to be on a small patch of land in the middle of Lake Texcoco. In 1325, the determined Aztec expanded this patch of land and built upon it their impressive structures. Turning swampland into the focal point of their Empire was quite a feat of engineering. In the early 1500s, when Hernán Cortés arrived in México, this is the striking city where he first encountered the Aztec.

Like other empires throughout history, this great city was not bound for long term success. The Spanish troops gathered surrounding tribes already opposed to the reign of the oppressive Aztec. This, along their advanced weaponry, was used to take down Emperor Moctezuma and his five million people. To make matters even more difficult, the Spanish introduced diseases the Aztec had no immunity against. The Spanish defeated the Aztec empire in a mere 80 days. My guess is that it was a very bloody and unfair battle.

Templo Mayor. In August of 1521, Cortés gained control of Tenochtitlán. He destroyed existing buildings and stacked upon the ruins his own structures, founding New Spain. Among the many leveled buildings was Templo Mayor, the most important religious structure in Tenochtitlán. This temple honored the God of War, Huitzilopochtli. Ritual sacrifices in his honor sometimes involved the death of tens of thousands of captive soldiers on these steps. Skulls of the victims were proudly displayed on a skull rack, called a tzompantli at the base of the pyramid, to ward off opposing tribes.

Wondering how the powerful Aztec were so easily defeated? Be sure to watch The Legend of Quetzalcoatl video for one possible answer.

Turn the page: For México’s turning points.

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