How did the Spanish describe Tenochtitlan?
The city is as large as Seville or Cordova; its streets, I speak of the principal ones, are very wide and straight; some of these, and all the inferior ones, are half land and half water, and are navigated by canoes.
When did the Spanish enter Tenochtitlan?
November 8, 1519
On November 8, 1519, the Spaniards and their 1,000 Tlaxcaltec warriors were allowed to enter Tenochtitlán unopposed.
How did Cortés react to the city of Tenochtitlan?
When Cortés heard of this, he took a garrison of Spanish and Tlaxcalan soldiers and marched on the Spanish. Cortés defeated the Spanish force, but when he returned to Tenochtitlán he was met with a shock. The Aztecs were in the midst of a full rebellion. Cortés and his men fled the city.
Why did the Spanish leave Tenochtitlan?
On June 30, under pressure and lacking food, Cortés and his men fled the capital at night. In the fighting that ensued, Montezuma was killed—in Aztec reports by the Spaniards, and in Spanish reports by an Aztec mob bitter at Montezuma’s subservience to Spanish rule.
How did the Aztecs come to live in Tenochtitlan?
Tenochtitlan was located on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco in what is today south central Mexico. The Aztecs were able to settle there because no one else wanted the land. At first, it wasn’t a great place to start a city, but soon the Aztecs built up islands where they could grow crops.
How did the Aztecs expand Tenochtitlán?
The Aztec built their capital city, Tenochtitlan, on Lake Texcoco. Built on two islands, the area was extended using chinampas—small, artificial islands created above the waterline that were later consolidated. Tenochtitlan eventually reached an area of more than 13 square kilometers (five square miles).
How did the Aztecs live?
Wealthy people lived in homes made of stone or sun-dried brick. The king of the Aztecs lived in a large palace with many rooms and gardens. Bathing was an important part of the Aztec daily life. Poor people lived in smaller one or two room huts that had thatched roofs made from palm leaves.
Who lived in Tenochtitlan?
Aztec empire
Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire, was founded by the Aztec or Mexica people around 1325 C.E. According to legend, the Mexica founded Tenochtitlan after leaving their homeland of Aztlan at the direction of their god, Huitzilopochtli.