APRIL 24, 1519

HERNAN CORTÉS MAKES CONTACT WITH AZTEC EMISSARIES OF MOCTEZUMA II

On February 18, 1519, Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés left Cuba with 10 ships, 530 soldiers, 16 horses, 14 artillery pieces, and 4 Indian interpreters. He arrived on April 20^th off the coast of modern-day Veracruz. On Easter Sunday, April 24^th, two Aztec governors, Tendile and Pitalpitoque, met with Cortés as emissaries of Aztec Emperor Montezuma II. Gifts were exchanged and the emissaries attended the first Easter mass in Central America. Cortés, displaying Spanish military might, fired his cannons. The emissaries fell to the ground in fright. They then returned to Tenochtitlan. In July, Cortés took over Veracruz, scuttled his ships, and began his bloody march toward Tenochtitlan reaching the Aztec capital on November 8, 1519. While received peacefully by Moctezuma II and lavished with gifts of gold, Cortés almost immediately took Moctezuma II hostage. The emperor would be killed in July 1520 and Tenochtitlan would fall to Cortés by August 13, 1521.

Source:

Tristan Siegel, “The Environmental and Cultural Effects on the Conquest of Mexico,” Bard College, Spring 2012.   Retrieved 12/18/2022, The Environmental and Cultural Effects on the Conquest of Mexico (bard.edu)

Drawing:  Author unknown, circa 1550.  Tenochtitlan, Entrance of Hernan Cortes. Cortez and La Malinche meet Moctezuma II. November 8, 1519. Public Domain.

*   This date is subject to question. The meeting took place on Easter Sunday. However, in 1519, its observance was on March 30th.