México - Cortés and the Colonial Conquest

July 1-6

Hello everyone!

In the previous post, I looked at the pre-Hispanic history of Mexico City, which was known as Tenochtitlan. The suggestion was that I am pleasantly surprised at the number of artefacts and nuggets of information society has been able to gather about this period. This is because of the attitude of some future visitors…

The Cathedral and Zocalo, Mexico City's main square

A chariot used by important people at Chapultepec Castle

In 1519, a Spanish expedition led by Hernan Cortes landed at Potachan or Tabasco. By the end of the year, he had arrived at Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire and home to the Mexican ruler Montezuma II.

As seen in the previous blog, Montezuma's
Mexica civilisation was very powerful

The Spanish made alliances with other tribes,
which helped them when conflict ensued

What happened next was…strange. There are many far more detailed and interesting resources out there about this. To summarise, Montezuma was nice to Cortes, who was not nice in return and put him under house arrest. A rebellion happened in 1520 whilst Cortes was out of town, and he returned furious…and to find Montezuma was dead. 

A painting depicting the famous first meeting of Montezuma and Cortes

Superior weaponry helped the Spanish prevail

Montezuma’s brother, Cuitláhuac, took charge and drove the Spanish out of the city. However, smallpox had started spreading throughout Tenochtitlan, killing over half of the local population. The city was besieged the following year by Cortes and other tribes who saw the Aztecs as rivals. Eventually, the Spanish broke through the Mexica defences, slaughtering all in sight. 

Signs around the city show where Montezuma used to live

As you'll see later on, fighting and resistance
has played a key part of Mexico's history

The Spanish conquistadors decided that they needed to remove previous cultural elements and convert the remaining folk to Christianity. It was with this in mind that they destroyed many of the buildings of Tenochtitlan, using the materials to rebuild the city in their own image. Cortes wasn’t around for this and he may have actually stopped it, as he is said to have described Tenochtitlan as one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Chapultepec Castle sits in a beautiful green park 

This church was built in the early 1700s after the previous two iterations sank into the soft soil of Mexico City

So what did they create whilst deconstructing Aztec and Mexica culture? Well, one of the main aims of the Spanish was to suffocate the indigenous religion and bring the power of Catholicism to bear. In that regard, an innumerable amount of churches and chapels were built. 

Templo de El Carmen was built in 1615

The interior has lovely tiles and a golden altar

The one above was a convent dedicated to Carmelites, which I think is a brand or version of Catholicism. The people here were barefoot. As well as being a beautiful church and building with spectacular tiling from nearby Puebla, it has interesting art which gives some insight into some Spanish attitudes. The hands in the picture below, for example, are different shades, which could represent the coming together of different ethnicities. 

Squint and you'll see the different coloured hands

The museum attached to the temple was created in 1929

Another reason to come here is slightly more morbid: mummies! ‘Accidental mummies’, as our guide delightfully put it. Buried in volcanic soil, possibly after an eruption, they are stupendously preserved figures who were discovered by revolutionaries in the 20th century who were looking for treasure.

The first mummies were found in 1916

Most are wearing clothing and some even have their hair

This fascinating area is quite far south in the metropolis, however. The obvious place to start is what religious building replaced those nextdoor to it at Templo Mayor: the Cathedral.

By area, it’s the 8th largest church building in the Americas

A terrace across the road gives a great view

Construction started in 1573 but took a long time to complete, meaning that there are many different architectural styles on show. Within the grand building itself, there are a couple of interesting elements. One of these is the Senor del Veneno: Lord of the Poison. The story goes that this figure of Christ obtained its colour by absorbing poison through its feet from the mouth of a drugged clergyman.

The Cathedral is 60m tall - 15m taller than the main
Mexica temple which was at Templo Mayor

Poison in those veins!

Nearby is the Palacio Nacional, a long, low-standing building in which the president of Mexico resides. Not true at this moment, as newly-elected Claudia Sheinbaum is yet to officially take office. This is why I wasn’t allowed in to see things such as large murals created by the famous artist Diego Rivera: visits have been halted until October.

The first palace was built by Montezuma in the early 16th century 

Sheinbaum with AMLO, who had been president since 2018

Both of these buildings border one of the world’s largest city squares: the Zócalo, or ‘base’. Though there was a square like this during the time of Tenochtitlan, it formed in its current guise after a planned independence monument was started and then scrapped. This left the pedestal upon which there is an enormous flagpole and flag. I imagine it gets packed for certain events; I visited multiple times, and each time felt that there was a lot of space and relative peace.

It is 220m by 240m in size

I’m not sure whether the important bigwigs of the colonial era lived here at any point. Chances are they stayed a little bit to the west, near Alameda Central. This park, apparently Mexico City’s version of Central Park but much smaller, was created in the late 1500s by the Spanish. Before this it is said to have been a delightful Aztec marketplace, then a less delightful place to burn people during the Spanish Inquisition.

The park is immediately west of the iconic Palacio de Bellas Artes

Apparently this was the template for Central Park

Where they didn’t live, but something which seems strange to see in the Americas, is a large castle sitting high in a park. Castillo de Chapultepec was started during the Spanish era in 1785, but not finished before Mexico gained independence in 1821. The castle now hosts the National Museum of History, outlining the challenges faced over the last 500 years.

The castle was refurbished as a residence when Maximilian I
arrived in 1864 to rule the country after
being approached by Mexican monarchists

The surrounding park is beautiful to run in

Mexican independence wasn’t the end of fighting for the young nation. They had attempts from Spain to retrieve what had been lost, and had threats from the United States of America to the north. Texas seceded in 1836, the same year in which Spain finally recognised Mexico as an independent nation. 

A globe in the castle shows the land Mexico
had before it was annexed by the USA

The castle was part of the government which withstood American attacks in 1847

Mexico had a revolution which lasted 10 years from 1910. The usual triggers for the people (lack of food, equality and justice) led to the previously popular Porfirio Diaz leaving the country in 1911. A tall, slightly strange monument to the revolution can be found a short walk from Alameda Central park.

This mural depicts significant moments of Mexican history

Ironically the construction of the Monument to the
Revolution was interrupted by...the Mexican Revolution

History has left an indelible mark on Mexico City. The three eras - Mexica, Spanish and Mexican - have helped to shape a fascinating place. It has the potential to give someone a happy headache from learning so much in so many different places in the metropolis, one which I’m happy to have to learn ever more about this wonderful place.

Soldier statues at Chapultepec Castle

I visited Templo de El Carmen with my Spanish class 

Love you all,

Matt