10 Questions
What was the Mexica capital that surrendered after a 75-day siege?
Tenochtitlan
Who led the few thousand Spaniards in the war alongside Indigenous warriors?
Hernando Cortés
Where was Tenochtitlan constructed?
On an island in the Valley of Mexico's Lake Texcoco
How many people did Tenochtitlan house in the early sixteenth century?
As many as 200,000 people
Who described the city's grandeur as defying language?
Bernal Díaz del Castillo
What event directly followed the founding of Mexico City on Tenochtitlan's ashes?
Spanish attempts to control flooding in the Valley
What did the film '499' explore?
Contemporary violence in Mexico through the eyes of a sixteenth-century Spaniard
What did the popular strategy game 'Medieval II: Total War' revive?
The heroic narrative of conquest in its presentation of the Battle of Otumba
What did Hugo Sánchez, a street vendor of Mexico City, suggest in 2006?
Conquest was never complete and has never ended
What is the central task for scholars of the period according to the text?
Dispelling the myth of Europeans toppling a tyrannical empire
Study Notes
Conquest of the Aztec Empire
- The Mexica capital that surrendered after a 75-day siege was Tenochtitlan.
- Hernán Cortés led the few thousand Spaniards in the war alongside Indigenous warriors.
Tenochtitlan
- Tenochtitlan was constructed on an island in Lake Texcoco.
- The city housed approximately 200,000 people in the early sixteenth century.
Descriptions of Tenochtitlan
- The Spanish conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo described the city's grandeur as defying language.
Founding of Mexico City
- The founding of Mexico City directly followed the conquest of Tenochtitlan.
- The city was built on the ashes of Tenochtitlan.
Pop Culture
- The film '499' explored the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
- The popular strategy game 'Medieval II: Total War' revived interest in the Aztec Empire.
Modern Developments
- In 2006, Hugo Sánchez, a street vendor of Mexico City, suggested that tourists could learn about the Aztec Empire while visiting the city.
Scholarly Pursuits
- The central task for scholars of the period is to reconstruct the Aztec Empire's history from the remaining records and artifacts.
Test your knowledge of the fall of Tenochtitlan and the conquest of the Aztec Empire in this quiz. Delve into the events, key figures like Hernando Cortés, and the impact of the brutal 75-day siege.
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