The city is spread out in circles of jade,
radiating flashes of light like quetzal plumes,
Besides it the lords are borne in boats:
over them extends flowery mist. (Coe and Koontz 1984:192)
This map of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Triple Alliance or Aztec Empire, was published in Nuremberg in 1524. Based on a Nahua map, this was the first representation of the city seen in Europe.
Tenochtitlan was founded around 1325 in the marshes of Lake Texcoco. Spanning more than 13 square kilometers of natural and artificial islands, it was one of the busiest and most formidable cities in the world. Its center was a walled precinct of towering temples honoring the gods Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, and its periphery was divided into four neighborhoods that housed hundreds of thousands of people. Thousands gathered in impressive markets to acquire all kinds of basic goods and luxuries; in a single precinct, one could acquire fruits and jade, chocolate and jaguar skins, spices and colorful birds. Magnificent chambers, treasure houses, and a zoo and aviary were all connected by wide streets and narrow canals packed with boats and pedestrians.
After finding welcome in Tenochtitlan in the fall of 1519, the Spanish expedition was expelled in the summer of 1520 after committing a treacherous attack. In October 1520, a devastating epidemic outbreak triggered by the Europeans decimated the city, killing countless people—some sources claim between a third and a half of the population—in less than three months. In May 1521, without time to recover from the epidemic, the city was besieged by Spanish armies and their numerous Tlaxcalteca and Tetzcoca allies, losing its supplies and potable water. Tenochtitlan eventually fell in August 1521, abruptly ending its magnificent rule over Mesoamerica. In its place, the invaders founded what is now Mexico City.
Image Source
- Nuremberg Map of Tenochtitlan, 1524. Courtesy the Newberry Library, Chicago, Edward E. Ayer Digital Collection.
Further Reading
- Coe, Michael D., and Rex Koontz. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1984.
- “Cortés Describes Tenochtitlan.” Letters from Hernán Cortés, edited by Nancy Fitch, American Historical Association. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/teaching-and-learning-in-the-digital-age/the-history-of-the-americas/the-conquest-of-mexico/letters-from-hernan-cortes/cortes-describes-tenochtitlan.
- Olmedo Vera, Bertina. “Tenochtitlan.” Arqueología Mexicana, no. 107 (2011): 59–65.
- Restall, Matthew. When Montezuma Met Cortés: The True Story of the Meeting That Changed History. New York: Ecco, 2018.
More Exhibit Items
