Why go
The conquest explains why Mexico City carries two histories in the same place: the Mexica capital and the center of Spanish New Spain. Understanding that transition gives colonial architecture a sharper meaning, while the longer history of resistance prevents the fall of one city from standing for the whole country.
The full story
Hernán Cortés arrived at Veracruz in 1519 and advanced toward Tenochtitlan, the capital ruled by Moctezuma II. The struggle unfolded amid a devastating epidemic. Smallpox spread through Mesoamerica in the 1520s, causing immense loss of life and weakening communities already caught in warfare. Moctezuma’s successor, Cuitláhuac, was among those who died. Tenochtitlan fell in 1521. Cortés then directed the rebuilding of Mexico City, and the territory became the core of New Spain. That change established the setting for centuries of colonial government and the development of architectural and religious traditions still associated with Mexico. The city’s defeat did not mean that Spain immediately controlled every region. Warfare and resistance continued far beyond the capital. Keep that distinction in mind when moving from the history of Tenochtitlan to other parts of the country: the conquest was a prolonged and uneven process.