Mexico City Marks 500 Years Since Conquest Battle Began
2021-05-22
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1The 500th anniversary of the Spanish battle to conquer Mexico arrives on May 22.
2Some believe the battle for Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital now called Mexico City, was the birth of modern Mexico.
3Others believe it was the start of a tragedy that has lasted for centuries.
4The battle lasted for months before the city fell to Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadores, or conquerors.
5The battle was one of the few times an Indigenous army fought European colonial powers.
6"The fall of Tenochtitlan opened the modern history of the West," said historian Salvador Rueda.
7He is director of the city's Chapultepec Museum.
8The event is memorialized by a plaque in the city's Plaza of Three Cultures.
9It honors Indigenous Mexico, Spanish colonialism and the mixed-race Mexico, also called Mestizo, that came from the conquest.
10"It was neither a triumph nor a defeat.
11It was the painful birth of the Mestizo (mixed-race) Mexico today," the plaque reads.
12The Mexican government has backed that idea ever since: Mexico is a non-racial, non-racist, unified nation where everyone is mixed-race, bearing the blood of both conquerors and conquered.
13A few streets away is a different message.
14On the wall of the small church of Tequipeuhcan, another plaque reads: "Tequipeuhcan: The place where slavery began."
15It says this is the place where the Aztec Emperor was taken prisoner after his defeat.
16"The fall of México-Tenochtitlán started a tale of epidemics, abuses and 300 years of colonial rule in Mexico," said the city's mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
17Over the next three centuries, colonizers stole the land from Indigenous peoples and made them work it, taking the wealth for themselves.
18David M. Carballo is a professor of Latin American studies at Boston University.
19He said the conquest of Mexico "connected the transatlantic to transpacific world and all the habited continents.
20That kicked off what we now call globalization."
21Cortés and his 900 Spanish soldiers started the battle on May 22, 1521.
22The Spanish army was strong and experienced.
23It had spent hundreds of years fighting to take back Spain from the Moors.
24They also brought in other Indigenous peoples who were oppressed by the Aztecs to join the fight.
25They stopped water and food from entering the city.
26Their most powerful weapon, however, was the disease smallpox, which they brought with them from Spain.
27Against this disease, the Aztecs were defenseless.
28Carlo Viesca is a medical historian at Mexico's National Autonomous University.
29He said about 150,000 of the city's 300,000 citizens died of smallpox before the Spaniards took control.
30One Spaniard described it as "walking on corpses," said Viesca.
31Because of the number of bodies and the smell of death, the Spanish cold not live in the city for months.
32Eventually, they destroyed all the buildings to bury the dead in the wreckage.
33The history of Mexico might have been very different if the former leader, Emporer Cuauhtemoc, had not died of smallpox in 1520.
34He had successfully led the Aztec resistance, but was captured and tortured by the Spanish before dying of smallpox.
35He is still a beloved figure in Mexican history.
36The defeat of the Aztecs showed the hopelessness of any attempt by Indigenous peoples in South America to fight the Europeans and their huge armies.
37There were some battles, mostly between the Spanish and Inca armies during the conquest of Peru.
38But eventually, the Indigenous peoples fell back on guerrilla actions, such as raids followed by retreats into the remote countryside.
39I'm Susan Shand.
1The 500th anniversary of the Spanish battle to conquer Mexico arrives on May 22. 2Some believe the battle for Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital now called Mexico City, was the birth of modern Mexico. Others believe it was the start of a tragedy that has lasted for centuries. 3The battle lasted for months before the city fell to Hernan Cortes and the Spanish conquistadores, or conquerors. The battle was one of the few times an Indigenous army fought European colonial powers. 4"The fall of Tenochtitlan opened the modern history of the West," said historian Salvador Rueda. He is director of the city's Chapultepec Museum. 5The event is memorialized by a plaque in the city's Plaza of Three Cultures. It honors Indigenous Mexico, Spanish colonialism and the mixed-race Mexico, also called Mestizo, that came from the conquest. 6"It was neither a triumph nor a defeat. It was the painful birth of the Mestizo (mixed-race) Mexico today," the plaque reads. 7The Mexican government has backed that idea ever since: Mexico is a non-racial, non-racist, unified nation where everyone is mixed-race, bearing the blood of both conquerors and conquered. 8A few streets away is a different message. On the wall of the small church of Tequipeuhcan, another plaque reads: "Tequipeuhcan: The place where slavery began." It says this is the place where the Aztec Emperor was taken prisoner after his defeat. 9"The fall of México-Tenochtitlán started a tale of epidemics, abuses and 300 years of colonial rule in Mexico," said the city's mayor Claudia Sheinbaum. 10Over the next three centuries, colonizers stole the land from Indigenous peoples and made them work it, taking the wealth for themselves. 11David M. Carballo is a professor of Latin American studies at Boston University. He said the conquest of Mexico "connected the transatlantic to transpacific world and all the habited continents. That kicked off what we now call globalization." 12Cortés and his 900 Spanish soldiers started the battle on May 22, 1521. The Spanish army was strong and experienced. It had spent hundreds of years fighting to take back Spain from the Moors. They also brought in other Indigenous peoples who were oppressed by the Aztecs to join the fight. 13They stopped water and food from entering the city. Their most powerful weapon, however, was the disease smallpox, which they brought with them from Spain. Against this disease, the Aztecs were defenseless. 14Carlo Viesca is a medical historian at Mexico's National Autonomous University. He said about 150,000 of the city's 300,000 citizens died of smallpox before the Spaniards took control. One Spaniard described it as "walking on corpses," said Viesca. 15Because of the number of bodies and the smell of death, the Spanish cold not live in the city for months. Eventually, they destroyed all the buildings to bury the dead in the wreckage. 16The history of Mexico might have been very different if the former leader, Emporer Cuauhtemoc, had not died of smallpox in 1520. 17He had successfully led the Aztec resistance, but was captured and tortured by the Spanish before dying of smallpox. He is still a beloved figure in Mexican history. 18The defeat of the Aztecs showed the hopelessness of any attempt by Indigenous peoples in South America to fight the Europeans and their huge armies. There were some battles, mostly between the Spanish and Inca armies during the conquest of Peru. But eventually, the Indigenous peoples fell back on guerrilla actions, such as raids followed by retreats into the remote countryside. 19I'm Susan Shand. 20The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 21___________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23conquer - v. to defeat 24indigenous - adj. produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular region or environment 25plaque - n. a flat, thin piece of metal or wood with writing on it that is used especially as a reminder of something (such as a historic event or an achievement) 26triumph - n. a victory 27habited - adj. referring to a place where human beings live 28globalizeation- v. to make (something) cover, involve, or affect the entire world 29We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.