WEBVTT 1 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:20.239 Hello, and welcome to Western Sieve. Episode two hundred and forty three, 2 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:27.920 The Battle for Technoshticlon after La Noche Triste, no one would have been criticized 3 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:33.320 for assuming Cortez was done for. I'm sure that many of us in his 4 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:37.359 place would have decided now was the time to cash out our chips and sail 5 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:44.640 home. But that was not how Cortes saw the situation. He desperately needed 6 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:51.200 Charles the Fifth to rubber stamp everything he had done in Mexico. For that 7 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:57.560 to happen, though, he needed to capture Technoshticlon. If he did not 8 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:03.759 conquer them Mexica, Charles would probably find someone else who could, and Cortez 9 00:01:03.519 --> 00:01:11.879 would lose everything. So he regrouped. After taking control of the Mexican province 10 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:19.879 of Tepecca, Charles set his sights firmly on Tenosticlan. It was time to 11 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:26.959 finish the job. Fortunately for Cortez, the Mexican people had just been ravaged 12 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:33.760 by smallpox and were in no position to resist his advance. Be that as 13 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:38.760 it may, Cortes knew the Mexica Emperor Quadamak would not go down without a 14 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:56.920 fight. The battle for technosht Klan was finally at hand. Quadamak had been 15 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:01.400 carefully fortifying the capital since taking power. Tanosht Clan still stood in all of 16 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:07.959 its glory, but the Mexica Empire was in tatters. The loss of Chalco 17 00:02:07.360 --> 00:02:15.000 had been a catastrophe. Already, Tenostclan was suffering from a lack of tribute, 18 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:19.840 and it wasn't just the loss of gold and precious feathers. This time, 19 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:27.159 the capital city was running out of food. Tanosht Clon was one of 20 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:34.159 the biggest cities in the world and had no capacity to support itself. It 21 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:39.680 was dependent on tribute for its very survival. But even in such dire circumstances, 22 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:46.919 the Mexica did not curtail their usual rituals unless a lack of ingredients forced 23 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:52.800 them to. In fact, in many cases they may have even intensified some 24 00:02:52.879 --> 00:03:00.280 ceremonies in a desperate effort to get the gods back on their side. In 25 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:06.680 terms of what to do about Cortez, Quadamak now faced a unique problem. 26 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:15.280 There was no standing army in old Mexico. Soldiers were all peasants and laborers. 27 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:21.680 Warriors had attended military school, but for many of them that might have 28 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:29.479 been a decade prior. Moreover, Mexican soldiers did not get paid. They 29 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:35.759 were dependent on war booty, and in a defensive struggle there wouldn't be any 30 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:43.960 spoils to recover. Still, there was a military system. The Mexicans weren't 31 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.800 no strangers to war. The soldiers were organized by their local clan leaders into 32 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.479 companies of around one hundred men. The leaders of these units were in charge 33 00:03:53.840 --> 00:04:00.639 of making sure everyone had the right gear, weapons and supplies. But even 34 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:04.719 that, given the constraints facing the Mexican capital, wasn't going to be easy. 35 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:13.479 There was a professional corps of officers drawn from the nobility, but again, 36 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:16.240 many of these men had been killed in the days leading up to La 37 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:25.279 noce Triste, so Katamac had his work cut out for him. Interestingly, 38 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:30.160 there never seems to have been any sense that the new strategies of the invaders 39 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:35.000 should be met by new policies by the Mexica. In fact, many Mexicans 40 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:42.480 had grown fatalistic at this point, after suffering through Cortes's first invasion and then 41 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:46.639 the devastation of smallpox, there was a sense that the old days were over. 42 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:55.040 Now for Cortes, he continued to hold solid positions around the outside of 43 00:04:55.040 --> 00:05:00.519 the lake. His main force remained at the south at Texcoco. It was 44 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:04.000 there on April the twenty eighth, fifteen twenty one, that he first launched 45 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:11.920 his ships into the lake surrounding ten Lushtiklan. These were the devices that Cortes 46 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:16.319 was counting on to shift the balance of power. These boats were flat bottomed 47 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:23.199 with sails and paddles. They could maneuver through the shallow lake without being rounded, 48 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:30.199 and each could carry twenty five to thirty men. But text Coco was 49 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:35.519 more than just a naval stageing ground. In May fifteen twenty one, the 50 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:43.759 former allies of the Mexica were busy sharpening swords, stockpiling arrows, building spears, 51 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:51.639 and otherwise supporting their new European allies. Simultaneously, Cortez sent out word 52 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:57.000 to all his Indian allies to send all the men they could to text Coco 53 00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:00.399 for the attack. Now, generally most of these men did not go to 54 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:06.439 fight. Rather, they would be used as auxiliary services, carrying weapons, 55 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:15.879 digging trenches, repairing canals, etc. Etc. The actual fighting would be 56 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:20.879 done by the Europeans and their Plascalan allies. Estimates for the amount of men 57 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:28.600 Cortes had at his disposal were all over the board. Some sources argue he 58 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:34.399 had more than fifty thousand pluscalans alone, others that he had two hundred thousand 59 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:45.360 or even half a million Allied warriors, but these are clearly all gross exaggerations. 60 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:49.439 The Europeans are much more easily numbered than the Allies Cortez had as a 61 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:56.319 result of recent reinforcements, now nearly ninety horsemen, about one hundred and twenty 62 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:01.800 crossbowmen and arquebussers about seven hundred and fifty infantrymen. He also had three large 63 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:08.079 iron guns and fifteen small ones, though he really didn't have enough gunpowder to 64 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:15.000 use those effectively. Nearly every soldier equipped himself with well quilted body armor, 65 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:18.000 neck guards, and leggings, as well as a steel headpiece, shield and 66 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:23.959 sword. Instructions were given that no one was to sleep unless he was both 67 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.879 armed and had on his sandals, that no one was to go to any 68 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:31.680 nearby village for food, that no gambling was allowed for horses or for arms, 69 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:36.560 and that no one was to mistreat allies or season e loot. The 70 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:44.680 penalty for sleeping on guard duty, as for desertion, was death. Cortes's 71 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:48.480 plan to crush tenosh Declan had a series of parts. The first part was 72 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:56.560 to conduct a siege. He wanted to starve the population until ideally it's submitted. 73 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.360 If not, he wanted to weaken it enough to make the final conquest 74 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:07.120 easier. Cortes, in a perfect world, did not want to lose a 75 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:13.519 single European life, so they would cut the causeways and dominate the lake with 76 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:20.319 their ships, and this would bring the Mexica to their knees. Cortez organized 77 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:28.079 his forces into four divisions. Three of these would fight on land under three 78 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:33.360 different commanders. The fourth would fight on the water and be under Cortes's direct 79 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:41.240 control. Each commander had around twenty five to thirty horses, fifteen crossbowmen and 80 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:46.279 arquebusers, and one hundred and fifty foot soldiers. Each of the land divisions 81 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:50.960 was assigned a different causeway with instructions to hold it and keep the Mexica bottled 82 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:56.519 up inside their city. Alvarado, yeah, he's still in command for some 83 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:03.600 reason, went with one division. Know his Telescalan allies immediately engaged the Mexican 84 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:09.559 the causeway and fought for several hours before nightfall. As early as made the 85 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:13.879 twenty second. At the same time, the men got to work filling in 86 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:20.720 any gaps in the causeway the Mexica deliberately cut to keep them out. This 87 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:26.600 wasn't easy as expected. The attackers were assaulted on two sides from the word 88 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:31.879 go by war canoes. No Europeans were killed, but at least thirty were 89 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:39.960 wounded. Meanwhile, the land commanders dispatched small forces to the countryside where they 90 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:43.879 could commandeer as much corn as they were able. When the peasants did not 91 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:50.639 give up willingly, the soldiers simply killed them. Sandoval, one of Cortes's 92 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:58.279 three lieutenants, captured the key town of Iztapalapa that had evaded Cortes the year 93 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:03.960 earlier, made the thirty first. On June first, the ships were finally 94 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:11.440 ready. Cortes's initial plan was to sail to Ishtapala, where Sandoval had continued 95 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:18.360 to fend off Mexican counter attacks, but when he saw smoke signals rising from 96 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:24.240 the rocky island of Tipepoloco, he changed his mind and attacked there instead. 97 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:30.720 Not only was the island an important religious site for the Mexica and therefore would 98 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.759 be a blow to their morale of Cortez took it. But if he could 99 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:39.759 cut the Mexican ability to communicate, then he would be able to move his 100 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:48.240 forces around the edges of the lake more easily. Cortes landed about one hundred 101 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:52.320 and fifty men on the island, storm the temple, and dispatch those present. 102 00:10:54.519 --> 00:11:00.600 Unfortunately, not everything had gone according to plan. His flagship how to 103 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:05.000 run aground during the maneuver, and large numbers of Mexico swarmed over the ship. 104 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:11.159 Luckily for Cortez, the captain on board the vessel kept his cool. 105 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:16.960 He fended off the attackers long enough that he was able to notice the Mexican 106 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:22.039 commander standing on a canoe several yards away. He shot the man with the 107 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:28.679 crossbow, and after he fell, the attackers lost their cohesion and fled. 108 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:35.039 Despite this near miss, In his letters home, Cortes described the incident as 109 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:41.559 a great victory. Much of the success in this case really did have to 110 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:48.279 do with technology. The Mexica had no answer for European firearms or crossbows, 111 00:11:48.279 --> 00:11:54.960 and on the water there just wasn't any way to avoid either. After the 112 00:11:54.039 --> 00:12:00.240 victory, Cortes Agans changed his plans and decided to an attack a fortress on 113 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:05.240 one of the causeways called Shallock. In the evening of May the thirty first, 114 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:11.159 he sailed to Shallock and landed with thirty men. Mexica viciously defended the 115 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:16.759 fort but again European technology was too much, and Cortes carried the day. 116 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:20.879 Still, the Mexica did not give up. Late into the evening, the 117 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:26.799 lake remained chalk full of canoes bearing new warriors to the contest. Around midnight, 118 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:31.799 the Mexica launched another counterattack, which was rare for them, since normally 119 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:35.399 the Mexica did not fight at night. More than anything else, this shows 120 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:41.720 just how desperate the Mexica had become. Ultimately, the Mexica withdrew, leaving 121 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:46.559 Cortes and his men to an uneasy but triumphant sleep. And once more. 122 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:52.399 Of course, it's worth mentioning that in all these battles, the tlus Galands 123 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:56.840 played an integral part, and without their aid, Cortes might not have one. 124 00:12:56.360 --> 00:13:01.440 The following morning, Cortes and for reinforcements and about fifty soldiers, seven 125 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:07.120 or eight horsemen and fifty crossbowmen and arquebusers joined him at Shalak. Just when 126 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:11.399 they arrived the Mexica launched an attack down the road from the capital. There 127 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:16.600 were also attacks on both sides the causeway from canoes. The Mexica came shouting 128 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:22.039 so loudly that Cortes remarked that it sounded as if quote, the world was 129 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:26.480 coming to an end end quote. But he gained the advantage since by temporarily 130 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:31.320 opening a bridge just to the south of Shalak, he made it possible for 131 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:33.559 some of his ships to move to the west side of the lake. Four 132 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:37.919 went through, then, keeping close to the causeway, They, with the 133 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:41.960 others on the other side, assisted the foot soldiers and horsemen to fight their 134 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:46.360 way north to the capital. The Europeans crossed one channel whose bridge had been 135 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:50.559 removed by using a ship as a stepping stone. When they reached the north 136 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:54.919 side of it, with guns and horses, they drove back the Mexica to 137 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:00.600 the first houses of the city. Some ships were carefully paddled into the city 138 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:03.559 past the stakes which had been set in the water to obstruct them. The 139 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.679 crews of these vessels set fire to the houses in the south of the city, 140 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:13.639 whereby opening a new and drastic dimension to the war. This was going 141 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:20.399 to be a war of attrition and destruction. The next weeks, though were 142 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:24.840 slow and painful for the Europeans, the Mexico were quick opponents who adjusted to 143 00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:31.480 Cortes as every move. They built defensive walls of earth on the causeways and 144 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:35.639 defended each to the last man. They dug hidden pits that Europeans and plus 145 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:41.639 Scalinds fell into. They created makeshift swords, attaching blades to existing wooden swords, 146 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:48.919 thereby augmenting the already obsidian tips. They threw javelins, and of course, 147 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:54.759 they peppered the Europeans endlessly with arrows. Fighting on the north south causeway 148 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:58.360 was also far from a walk in the park for Cortes and his crew. 149 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:05.159 Every day, the Tlascalans would fill in the holes of the Mexico made in 150 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:09.679 the causeway the night before. Each subsequent night the Mexico would dig out new 151 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:16.799 ones or hollow out the originals. Each day, the Europeans would press forward 152 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:22.000 until they had almost reached the first houses of the city, but then they 153 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:26.240 had to retreat to shellac. Each night, the Mexico would come out from 154 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:33.080 behind their fortifications and reverse any progress the Europeans had made. For Cortes and 155 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:39.559 his men, it was maddeningly frustrating. Granted, throughout these early days, 156 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:45.600 the Europeans lost few men their Indian allies for the brunt of the battle in 157 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:50.639 these early days, yet Cortes remained determined to starve the city into submission. 158 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:56.320 Early on, he received a report from Alvarado that the Mexico were still moving 159 00:15:56.360 --> 00:16:03.960 supplies in and out of the city via the North causeway, so Cortes dispatched 160 00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:10.960 Sandoval with a company that included twenty three horsemen and eighteen crossbowmen. It took 161 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:15.480 Sandoval several days, but he managed to establish himself on a sound position on 162 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:22.279 the causeway. From that point forward, all of the causeways were in Corstes's 163 00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:30.279 possession. If the Mexica were going to get food and supplies in and out 164 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:36.519 of the city, it would needs be over the water, so without an 165 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:41.559 escape route, the Mexica were now stuck trying to fend off Cortes's attacks. 166 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:48.039 They were now in a completely defensive position. They could not sally forth even 167 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:56.559 had they wanted to. Cortes held strong defensive positions along each of the causeways, 168 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:03.759 marching straight into European in firearms and crossbow bolts. In that situation would 169 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:11.720 have been tantamount to suicide. At the same time, Cortes had begun to 170 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:17.240 land his ships at various points in the city itself, torching homes as he 171 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:22.880 saw fit, in order to try and bring matters to a head quickly without 172 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:27.599 more damage being caused to a city that Cortes still wanted to salvage. He 173 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:33.039 resolved, after about another ten days, around the tenth of June, to 174 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:36.680 make a coordinated drive as far as he could into the heart of Kenoshti Klan. 175 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:41.640 He took command of all of the two hundred foot soldiers which had been 176 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:45.960 allocated in the original division of the army. He also, of course, 177 00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:49.720 had the support of his ships on both sides the causeway. He gave orders 178 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:55.000 to Alvarado and Sandoval to the west and north to meet him near the main 179 00:17:55.119 --> 00:18:00.039 temple where the Spaniards had had their quarters back in fifteen twenty when they of 180 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:06.400 the guests of Montezuma. Cortes set off behind the Europeans on the causeway. 181 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:11.079 Came an army of what he described eighty thousand Indian allies, though in practice 182 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:15.519 it would be surprising if the figure was maybe a tenth of that, even 183 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:21.559 so it would have constituted a major force. The drive at first was successful. 184 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:26.200 The Mexica tried to stam me the attack by raising a large bridge connecting 185 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:30.720 the causeway to the city, but Cortes had his ships carefully placed as a 186 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:36.799 makeshift pontoon bridge, which enabled Cortes, at the head of a division of 187 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:41.960 horsemen, to cross into the city with ease. From there, the Europeans 188 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:45.319 pressed due north into the heart of the city. When Cortes came upon a 189 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:52.240 large earthwork of adobe and stone, he ordered his cannons dispatched. After a 190 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.880 few shots, the Mexica again fell back, but once Cortes penetrated too far 191 00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:03.519 into the city, it became clear that the Mexica vastly outnumbered his force, 192 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:10.079 and that those numbers were so overwhelming that the Europeans had no choice but to 193 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:17.480 withdraw. Cortes lost one cannon in the process. The Mexica captured the gun, 194 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:19.640 but unsure what to do with it, they simply hurled it into the 195 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:25.640 lake. By that time, it was late and Cortes ordered to withdraw. 196 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:30.319 He and his men set fire to as many Mexican homes as they could as 197 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.480 they made their way out of the city. At this point, evidently Cortes 198 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:38.920 had given up on the idea of handing over a pristine quote unquote great venice 199 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:45.319 to his far off King Charles the fifth. By this time, so many 200 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:51.240 houses had been burned and reduced to rubble on the outskirts of the city that 201 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:56.759 it was almost impossible for the Mexican war canoes to operate. On June the 202 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:03.839 fifteenth, Cortes launched another major attack. It had been five days since his 203 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:08.680 last big push, so the Mexica had successfully entrenched themselves along most of their 204 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:17.160 defensive positions. Even so, the Europeans broke through. They crossed the bridges 205 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:22.319 into the city and captured the vaunted Eagle Gate. But by this point two 206 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:29.480 truths had settled themselves down upon Cortez like a cold, wet blanket. First, 207 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:33.759 he was never going to get back the gold he lost on La No 208 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:40.599 Christe. The notion that the Mexica would capitulate and hand it all over with 209 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:48.759 the city was clearly absurd. Second, Mexica were going to fight to the 210 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:55.119 death. There would be no surrender. If Cortez was going to take the 211 00:20:55.160 --> 00:21:00.079 city, he would need to result to a total war strategy. Years later, 212 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:04.640 members of the Spanish royal government pressed Cortez about his decision to raise the 213 00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:12.480 city, had he not been maybe overly harsh, Most members of Cortes's expedition 214 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:18.680 defended their captain. No, said one Luis Manin. Had they not raised 215 00:21:18.680 --> 00:21:25.920 the houses block by block, then the Mexica would have reoccupied them each night 216 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:30.880 in the army would have found itself fighting over the exact same piece of land 217 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:38.799 the next day. But the cost was immense. Tenuchti Clan, one of 218 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:47.279 the largest cities in the entire world, was completely destroyed. And it was 219 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:53.920 not destroyed by chance. Cortes destroyed it deliberately, block by block, brick 220 00:21:55.119 --> 00:22:02.799 by brick. The Tlascalans, for their part, were jubilant, and why 221 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:11.160 not their enemy of centuries old was dead. Why shouldn't they celebrate. They 222 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:17.759 didn't know what history held in store for them. At this point, Cortez 223 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:22.279 decided he would launch a war of attrition against the Mexica. Every day he 224 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:27.680 would enter the city at four different points, destroy a section, and retire. 225 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:33.200 If he kept this up, Cortes reasoned, the Mexica would have to 226 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:41.079 capitulate by June the twentieth. Cortez had penetrated so far that he was beyond 227 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:48.920 the main center square of Tenushtiklan and was close to linking up with Alvarado's forces. 228 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:57.119 Be that as it may, the Mexica still had enough reserves to hold 229 00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:03.839 Cortez at bay. He could advance, but he couldn't hold any new ground. 230 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:11.599 Each night Cortes found himself compelled to retreat back from whence he came. 231 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:18.400 Each night, a Mexican relief force, mostly women and children, would come 232 00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:26.480 out and dig up all of the trenches which the European allies and their Indian 233 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:32.200 allies had filled. In fact, on June the twenty third, several ships 234 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:37.599 ran aground in five Europeans were captured and sacrificed. Had Cortes not been nearby 235 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:44.079 with the contingent of horsemen, the disaster would have been worse. Mexica simply 236 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:51.799 weren't ready to give up. Not yet. At late June, Cortes was 237 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:56.519 in an overwhelmingly strong position. However, he had the backing of almost all 238 00:23:56.559 --> 00:24:02.039 the cities around the lake, and he could penetrate to nusht Clan itself at 239 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:07.279 will. By June the twenty third, the Mexica had essentially withdrawn from the 240 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:14.000 area between the now ruined Gate of the Eagle and the main square. By 241 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:18.079 the end of June, it seemed like victory was all but certain. Alvarado, 242 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:23.119 Sandoval, and Cortez were now all about to link their forces, at 243 00:24:23.160 --> 00:24:29.240 which time they could make a final and concerted push toward the main temple. 244 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:36.680 There was no food coming into the city. Cortez had now destroyed all the 245 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:42.400 small community gardens from which the Mexica might have drawn some small amount of sustenance, 246 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:49.279 and Cortes's ships made it impossible for the Mexica to fish in the lake. 247 00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:57.759 They were, in other words, starving. Sure, the Mexican still 248 00:24:57.799 --> 00:25:03.720 had some stores of horn, but those were dwindling, and within the Mexican 249 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:08.599 ranks divisions had begun to form. Some wanted to open negotiations with the Europeans, 250 00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:15.000 others wanted to fight to the death. K Adamak was still emperor and 251 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:22.799 he was in the war party, so generally dissent was still silenced with the 252 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:29.799 blade. But it wasn't over yet. The Mexican continued to show astonishing resiliency. 253 00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:34.079 Every night they re dug the ditches in the causeway which the Spaniards or 254 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:41.319 their allies had filled in the previous day. They still seemed able day after 255 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:47.559 day to withstand heavy attacks on three fronts. They were able to adapt themselves 256 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:52.480 to facing the horses, the guns, even the steel swords. With skill, 257 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:59.720 they were able to inflict far more damage than Europeans could possibly have supposed 258 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:06.480 possible with their obsidian edged weapons, their stones, their arrows, even rudimentary 259 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:11.559 clubs and sticks. They rarely killed. That's true, their weapons weren't made 260 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:17.200 for that. But they wounded often, and they were able to hold up 261 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:23.200 European and Indian allied advances remarkably still, making it impossible, after a month 262 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:29.000 of the siege for the Europeans to move down a street whose buildings they and 263 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:36.839 their friends had not previously cleared or burned. One explanation for this resiliency was 264 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:41.599 that the education of all these young men in the military schools was showing its 265 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:45.599 benefits. Of course, when boys would set out for those schools, fathers 266 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:48.000 would say to them, quote, listen, you're not going to be honored, 267 00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:52.599 nor obeyed, nor esteemed. You're going to be looked down upon, 268 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:57.680 humiliated and despised. Every day you will cut agave thorns with penance, and 269 00:26:57.720 --> 00:27:02.559 you will draw blood with those finds, and you obey that night, even 270 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:06.759 when it's very cold, to harden your body end quote. Everything had been 271 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:11.400 done to prepare these boys for war, and this is a moment that it 272 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:18.119 showed that the positive benefits of this spartan like system paid dividends. But youth 273 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:25.079 wasn't the only thing sustaining the Mexico at this point. Many scholars believe the 274 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:33.000 Mexico were getting assistance from hallucinogenic mushrooms and peyote. Obviously, we cannot confirm 275 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:37.880 these theories today, but it certainly wouldn't be the only time in history warriors 276 00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:42.759 used substances to improve their stamina and fearlessness in battle. Throughout most of the 277 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:48.799 end of June, most days followed a predictable pattern. Each morning, Cortez 278 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:52.960 would sally forth. His Indian allies would fill in the gaps in the causeway 279 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:57.519 in Mexico cleared the night before. Then, the horsemen would ride in and 280 00:27:57.799 --> 00:28:03.960 the general havoc would commence. Every night, the Mexican would come out dig 281 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:11.000 the holes again, in the entire process would repeat itself. Cortes consulted his 282 00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:15.720 captains as to whether to attempt another combined offensive, with Alvarado and Sandoval asking 283 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:22.079 them to take the marketplace at Talteco. If that's where we're taken, the 284 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:26.640 Mexico would have literally to defend. Divided, they would have to choose between 285 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:33.000 surrendering and dying of hunger and thirst. Still, Cortez was a little concerned 286 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:38.000 about the scheme. After all, even if the Europeans were able to establish 287 00:28:38.079 --> 00:28:42.920 headquarters in the square of Talteco, it could easily be surrounded. There was 288 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:48.880 no shortage of numbers among the enemy. To reach Talteco, it was necessary 289 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:52.079 to cross one of the several broad causeways, which, however wide, could 290 00:28:52.119 --> 00:28:56.720 always be cut in the square. No ships would be able to reach them. 291 00:28:57.400 --> 00:29:03.039 Besiegers might become the busy aged, but many of Cortes's captains kept pressing 292 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:08.880 the ideal. Alvarado and his captains insisted that they wanted to just get to 293 00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:15.119 the square first. It was kind of a race. Cortez took this recommendation 294 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:19.640 seriously, more so perhaps than he should have, so Eventually, against his 295 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:26.319 better judgment, he decided that they would advance. Cortez agreed to go ahead 296 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:33.000 with the combined attack on June thirtieth fifteen twenty two. Now it's important to 297 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:38.359 point out that Teleteco is actually a separate political ethnic entity from the Nush Declan, 298 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:47.240 and at this point, the Ennush Declon deasperately needed Teleteco. It needed 299 00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:52.440 its manpower and its land. So Qadamak made a direct appeal to Teleteco for 300 00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:59.720 aid. They agreed, but insisted on a hefty price. If Tenoshdklan survived 301 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:03.319 this deal, it would no longer be in charge of the lake. Teleteco 302 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:10.839 would be in charge. U Adamok agreed. He had no choice, and 303 00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:15.440 also he had tele taken blood, so it made some sense from an ethnic 304 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:22.240 standpoint. U Adamok moved his headquarters to Teleteco. He moved all his remaining 305 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:27.880 military forces there and most of the civilians. The most colon had effectively ceded 306 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:33.359 their city to Cortes. They would make their final stand on foreign soil. 307 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:38.720 Deleteco, however, was confident. They believed their hour of glory was at 308 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:45.119 hand, and for a few days even this seemed possible. Cortes's new joint 309 00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:51.799 offensive ended very badly. Cortes wrote to Sandoval and Alvarado to tell them of 310 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:55.920 the plan and establish a camp in the market of Teleteco. Sandoval was to 311 00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:00.079 join Alvarado, but he was to leave behind his horsemen on the mainland and 312 00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:04.279 give the impression he was breaking camp all together. This would enable the cavalry, 313 00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:07.759 at least in theory, to lure the Mexica in the north of the 314 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:12.480 city into an ambush. Alvarado would, in the meantime advance from the west 315 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:19.279 in collaboration with Sandoval's infantrymen. Cortez divided his own troops. They would drive 316 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:26.079 up the southern causeway in the normal way. Once inside Tinoshtiklan, they would 317 00:31:26.079 --> 00:31:30.880 divide into three. One column would move up the main street, which the 318 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:34.319 Europeans by now knew well, first to the main square before the temple precinct, 319 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:38.720 and then northwest to Teleteco. They would be supported by a large number 320 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:42.400 of allies to fill in the breaches which Cortes knew would have been made in 321 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:51.000 the streets. Another force would with a similar size of infantry, advanced from 322 00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:56.279 the road which led east to west. Cortez himself would take the third contingent. 323 00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:00.759 He would travel north along a narrower road with about one hundred foot soldiers 324 00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:05.559 and eight horses as well as, of course, a large contingent of Indian 325 00:32:05.559 --> 00:32:08.960 allies. Each of them would have to cross the large waterway, which divided 326 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:13.960 to much declan from Teleteco, but it would do so at different points. 327 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:19.400 The Europeans crossed the Gate of the Eagle, which was now in ruins, 328 00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:24.960 and divided their main force into three as planned. Cortes quickly found himself facing 329 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:30.359 a concerted Mexican counter attack and was forced to halt. From the matter of 330 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:37.400 a few seconds, the tide began to turn. Suddenly, the entire European 331 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:44.759 line was forced back. Cortes tried to organize a retreat, but the retreat 332 00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:51.680 turned into a route. Before he could do anything, the Mexicans suddenly realized 333 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:57.240 that they might have a real chance to inflict major damage on the European army. 334 00:32:57.400 --> 00:33:01.519 War canoes streamed to the battle, trying to cut off the European advance. 335 00:33:02.680 --> 00:33:09.240 Yet again, the Mexica insistence on taking hostages for sacrifice held them back. 336 00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:16.440 Had the Mexica simply shot to kill Cortez and his men went of all 337 00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:23.519 parish that day, they didn't, but the losses were still the worst Cortes 338 00:33:23.599 --> 00:33:30.720 had suffered since Lance Triste twenty Europeans lay dead, another fifty captured. Two 339 00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:37.839 thousand Indian allies had died, one cannon and one ship had been lost in 340 00:33:37.880 --> 00:33:45.480 the struggle. They got worse for those who survived. As they regrouped, 341 00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:51.400 the survivors heard the beating of drums in the distance. The men who had 342 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:57.400 just been captured were about to be sacrificed, and the words of one Spaniard 343 00:33:57.480 --> 00:34:01.440 quote, our comrades were being carried by force up the steps of the Great 344 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:06.519 Temple. When they got them up to the little square in front of the 345 00:34:06.559 --> 00:34:10.639 shrines of the gods, we saw them place plumes on their heads with things 346 00:34:10.679 --> 00:34:15.679 like fans. They forced them to dance before their God. Then they placed 347 00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:21.679 them on their back on some stones, and with large fint knives they saw 348 00:34:21.719 --> 00:34:27.760 it opened their chests, drew out their palpitating hearts, and offered them to 349 00:34:27.840 --> 00:34:32.559 the gods. They kicked the bodies down the steps, and the Indian butchers 350 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:37.599 who were waiting below, cut off the arms and legs, and flayed the 351 00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:44.000 faces, and prepared them afterwards as a kind of glove leather with the beard 352 00:34:44.119 --> 00:34:49.159 still on for use and drunken fiestas. While the bodies were eaten with molae, 353 00:34:49.800 --> 00:34:53.719 and the stomachs and guts they threw to the tigers, lions and snakes, 354 00:34:54.320 --> 00:35:01.440 which were kept in the wild animal zoo. The fallout from the failed 355 00:35:01.480 --> 00:35:08.119 attack was instantaneous. Most of Cortez's Indian allies disappeared. Men who had moments 356 00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:14.440 before been filling gaps in the causeway melted away. The support from some of 357 00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:20.480 the smaller cities around the lake vanished, and this was qw Adamak's opportunity. 358 00:35:20.599 --> 00:35:25.199 He sent messages to the chiefs of the cities of Chauco, Shamalinko and Cornavaca 359 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:30.280 and elsewhere with the flayed heads of his captives, as well as their hands 360 00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:35.639 and feet. He set several horses heads too. He assured the lords that 361 00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:39.119 half the invaders had been killed, that the rest had been wounded. After 362 00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:45.559 all, he was able to insist that the gods had not abandoned the Mexica. 363 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:49.960 Hugh Adammak pointed out how the Indian allies of Cortes had fled overnight. 364 00:35:50.599 --> 00:35:53.519 He said that he was learning from the captured crossbowmen how to use the bows 365 00:35:53.559 --> 00:36:00.480 of the Europeans, even in fact that he had secured five crossbow to fight 366 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:07.119 for him. These arrangements actually didn't do well. They cross bowmen who were 367 00:36:07.159 --> 00:36:09.159 captured were ordered to shoot at their countrymen, and they did, but they 368 00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:13.719 always shot in the air and the every arrow fell harmless. In response, 369 00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:17.679 the Mexica killed them on the spot. But the days came and went, 370 00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:22.719 and by the middle of July, Cortes recognized Quadamak had not capitalized on his 371 00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:28.000 victory. He needed to be aggressive and attacked the European camp, and he 372 00:36:28.039 --> 00:36:32.159 had not. Perhaps this wasn't his fault. This point, q adam Mok 373 00:36:32.280 --> 00:36:37.960 was down to bare bones resources. He might not have had the capacity to 374 00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:43.639 launch a counter attack. They had no food or munitions, plus Cortez's remaining 375 00:36:43.639 --> 00:36:49.239 ships still controlled the lake. In reality, that had been q Adamok's last 376 00:36:49.239 --> 00:36:55.000 throw of the dice. He and his people were spent. By mid July, 377 00:36:55.079 --> 00:37:00.400 the Europeans were back to making tentative new attacks into the city. Point. 378 00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:04.719 It was the rainy season. The rain started every afternoon and continued ceaselessly 379 00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:09.079 for hours. This slowed down Cortez, but it didn't stop him. The 380 00:37:09.159 --> 00:37:14.719 Mexica continued to fight bravely and repair the damage. The Europeans were causing, 381 00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:21.800 but the reality was by this point simply weren't enough men left, and if 382 00:37:21.800 --> 00:37:24.079 there were a few men, there was even less food and even less fresh 383 00:37:24.119 --> 00:37:30.599 water. Around this time, the Mexica sent an emissary to Cortes, offering 384 00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:35.880 to discuss peace. Cortez made his way with an armed guard to the Great 385 00:37:35.880 --> 00:37:38.760 Temple, but it was a ruse. No sooner had Cortez shown himself than 386 00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:44.519 he and his party were peppered with arrows and javelins. This actually might not 387 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:49.960 have been an intentional trick. However, It's possible that many of the Mexica 388 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:52.960 did want peace, but Hugh ad Amok or someone else overruled them at the 389 00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:59.719 last moment. Regardless, as a result of this fighting, Cortes did capture 390 00:37:59.719 --> 00:38:04.280 three prominent nobles that he sent back to q Adam Mok, insisting he was 391 00:38:04.360 --> 00:38:09.800 interested in real peace negotiations. Q Adamok held a conference of his captains and 392 00:38:09.960 --> 00:38:15.480 well angry, it seems even he was willing to accept at least discussing peace. 393 00:38:15.519 --> 00:38:20.000 By this point. Oddly, it was now his captain's turn to disagree. 394 00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:25.039 They didn't want peace with Cortes or the Europeans. Mostly this is because 395 00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:30.079 they believed no matter what Cortez said, he would just break his word anyway, 396 00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:35.920 so agreeing to anything was totally pointless. But the tide had turned. 397 00:38:36.760 --> 00:38:40.880 Every day was bringing new victories for the Europeans. On July the twenty third, 398 00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:47.119 Sandoval executed a spectacularly successful ambush on the Mexica. The next day, 399 00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:53.079 Cortes captured hordes of Mexican women and children as they worked to dig holes in 400 00:38:53.119 --> 00:38:59.760 the causeway. Every man, women or child lost was another source of labor 401 00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:07.440 q Adamok desperately needed. He was running out of time. Quartz still wanted 402 00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:10.920 peace. The Mexica might now only control the small zone of the city, 403 00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:15.559 but Cortes wanted to be able to present as much of it intact as possible 404 00:39:15.599 --> 00:39:22.079 to Charles the Fifth. But the Mexica continued to refuse negotiations. The sheer 405 00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:28.920 enormity of the situation seems to have paralyzed them. Whether they realized it or 406 00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:34.920 not, their civilization was ending in a real existential way. Why not fight 407 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:38.280 to the end if the world is ending? I guess that was their thinking. 408 00:39:40.079 --> 00:39:45.519 Q Adamok's response to Cortes's new attacks was to name a quetzawattle warrior. 409 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:52.199 The domination of a quezawattle warrior was always the final action of the Mexica at 410 00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:57.880 war, and in the past it had always brought the Mexico victory. The 411 00:39:57.960 --> 00:40:04.119 quetzaowl warrior dressed as the Mexican god come to life, wearing a dazzling costume 412 00:40:04.159 --> 00:40:07.920 of feathers, gold, and silver. According to some, the Europeans were 413 00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:13.239 in fact astonished at the sight of this warrior. At first, his body 414 00:40:13.320 --> 00:40:16.280 was quite hidden beneath the birds feathers, which had been skillfully assembled on cloth 415 00:40:16.360 --> 00:40:22.320 frame. The plumes, gold and other decorations were so grand it seemed as 416 00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:27.159 if quote a mountain burst. The Castilians fought as if they had seen something 417 00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:32.039 inhuman end quote. In fact, in subsequent fightings, three men were apparently 418 00:40:32.119 --> 00:40:37.639 captured by quets A wattle. They were instantly sacrificed by Qadamak in person. 419 00:40:38.760 --> 00:40:45.239 For a moment, the Europeans seemed to want to withdraw, but an isolated 420 00:40:45.280 --> 00:40:49.880 active valuer just couldn't end the reality that the Mexico had lost the siege. 421 00:40:50.920 --> 00:40:53.960 The quets A wattle warrior fighting with his spears and arrows was seen for some 422 00:40:54.039 --> 00:40:59.239 time from a distance to the middle of the fray, then reporting one European 423 00:40:59.280 --> 00:41:06.519 he quote dropped from a terrace quote and was seen moan more so. Little 424 00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:13.079 by little, the Mexican quote drew back along the walls and they retreated, 425 00:41:14.199 --> 00:41:19.360 but still the Mexican leaders didn't give up. Angry Cortez ordered Alvarado to attack 426 00:41:19.400 --> 00:41:22.920 again with everything he had. This time, the counquistador broke through the last 427 00:41:22.960 --> 00:41:28.960 line of the Mexican defenses. Allied Indians poured in behind him, and before 428 00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:32.960 long the scene devolved into a general slaughter. Men, women, and children 429 00:41:34.159 --> 00:41:37.840 were all killed. Some estimates where that forty thousand Mexicans died that day. 430 00:41:38.239 --> 00:41:45.519 August the twelfth, fifteen twenty two. Q Adam Mock knew he couldn't keep 431 00:41:45.519 --> 00:41:50.079 going. It was over. He held a final meeting with his advisers, 432 00:41:50.079 --> 00:41:53.760 and he told them to surrender. He would not you, Adam Mock, 433 00:41:53.800 --> 00:42:00.159 would sail away on a canoe. Why we're not totally sure. You might 434 00:42:00.159 --> 00:42:02.440 not have been able to deal with the indignity of being the last ever Mexican 435 00:42:02.480 --> 00:42:07.119 emperor, or perhaps he truly believed he could return north from where his people 436 00:42:07.480 --> 00:42:15.840 originally legendarily came and returned with a fresh army. Still as dawn broke on 437 00:42:15.880 --> 00:42:21.079 August thirteenth, Hugh adam Mok was preparing to make his escape. Cortez that 438 00:42:21.159 --> 00:42:27.039 same morning was marshaling his men for one last assault. He wanted q Adamak 439 00:42:27.079 --> 00:42:29.239 alive, and he told his men to keep out an eye for him, 440 00:42:30.199 --> 00:42:35.320 but there would be no great final battle. When Courtes rode out that day, 441 00:42:35.920 --> 00:42:42.360 the surviving Mexicans surrendered. They had nothing left to give. Q adam 442 00:42:42.360 --> 00:42:49.440 Mok was captured trying to escape. The triumphant Europeans turned and took their captives 443 00:42:49.480 --> 00:42:53.840 straight to Cortes. Courtes received q Adamak as an emperor in a theatrical if 444 00:42:53.880 --> 00:43:00.000 appropriate ceremony. Hugh Adamak made a speech recorded along the following lines. Quote 445 00:43:00.639 --> 00:43:05.320 Captain, I have done everything in my power to defend my country and keep 446 00:43:05.320 --> 00:43:07.800 it out of your hands, and my luck has not been good. I 447 00:43:07.840 --> 00:43:12.960 beg you to end my life. That would be just, and with that 448 00:43:13.000 --> 00:43:16.480 you can finish with the Mexican kingdom, since you have destroyed and killed my 449 00:43:16.559 --> 00:43:23.320 city and my vassals. Quote Quartez, at least, according to reports, 450 00:43:23.960 --> 00:43:30.719 responded affectionately. He said that he esteemed the emperor the more for having defended 451 00:43:30.719 --> 00:43:36.400 the city with such courage. He only wished that q Adamak had made peace 452 00:43:36.840 --> 00:43:40.039 before. So much of the city had been destroyed. Now, he suggested 453 00:43:40.079 --> 00:43:45.599 that he should rest thereafter quote he would be able to rule over his empire 454 00:43:45.639 --> 00:43:50.440 as before end quote. According to his own account, he told q Adamok 455 00:43:50.960 --> 00:43:59.039 that he should quote fear nothing. Of course, all of these reassurances relies. 456 00:44:00.880 --> 00:44:06.519 The following day, Cortes held one final meeting with the remaining Mexican nobility. 457 00:44:06.639 --> 00:44:10.559 We have no record of what exactly was said. The Mexico were not 458 00:44:10.639 --> 00:44:16.199 made to sign a treaty. Cortes did not read the requimiento, but the 459 00:44:16.280 --> 00:44:24.920 meeting officially ended the hostilities. Old Mexico was over. New Spain had begun 460 00:44:27.960 --> 00:44:30.719 for the defeat of the days after the fall of ten Lush Declan was a 461 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:36.920 horror show. The plus Galins and tex Cocins decided now is the time for 462 00:44:37.039 --> 00:44:43.199 vengeance, and they killed indiscriminately. We just don't have any really firm numbers 463 00:44:43.239 --> 00:44:49.119 about how many people were killed. But between the siege the smallpox in the 464 00:44:49.199 --> 00:44:52.760 days after the siege, suffice it to say that in Mexico were all but 465 00:44:52.840 --> 00:44:59.039 wiped out. Quote there is no house left to be burned and destroyed, 466 00:44:59.480 --> 00:45:06.920 and quote wrote one Spaniard present. The only movable loots or booty that Cortes 467 00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:10.239 and his men could find were the women. Some went with counquistadors willingly. 468 00:45:12.039 --> 00:45:15.760 Their husbands and fathers were all dead. There was nothing left for them. 469 00:45:15.760 --> 00:45:24.480 Now Slavery wasn't their choice, it was the only choice. Years later, 470 00:45:24.519 --> 00:45:30.920 a Mexican poet would commemorate the defeat with a final lament. It was called 471 00:45:30.920 --> 00:45:36.360 the jaguar Sun. Then it happened that the sky was crushed. The sun 472 00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:40.360 did not follow its course. When the sun arrived at noon, immediately it 473 00:45:40.440 --> 00:45:45.519 was dark, And when it became dark, jaguars ate the people. The 474 00:45:45.639 --> 00:45:52.039 giants greeted each other. Thus, do not fall down, for whoever falls 475 00:45:52.079 --> 00:46:00.480 falls forever. As for the Europeans, Cortes commemorated his victory with the banquet 476 00:46:00.519 --> 00:46:04.039 held the day after the city fell. We don't know what everyone ate, 477 00:46:04.119 --> 00:46:08.280 but they certainly drank themselves into a stupor. Soldiers made speeches about how they 478 00:46:08.280 --> 00:46:14.199 were looking forward to owning horses with golden saddles. As we'll see next week, 479 00:46:15.159 --> 00:46:20.000 that wasn't going to happen. I want to end this episode by quoting 480 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:22.880 directly from one of the historians that I've read on the subject, Hugh Thomas, 481 00:46:22.880 --> 00:46:28.400 who writes quote the sense of triumph felt by Cortes at these moments was 482 00:46:28.440 --> 00:46:31.880 touched with melancholy time and time again. In his account of the last stages 483 00:46:31.920 --> 00:46:37.760 of the siege, he used phrases such as we could not be but saddened 484 00:46:37.800 --> 00:46:43.000 by their determination to die. There was the destruction of technolody. Decline to 485 00:46:43.039 --> 00:46:47.039 consider for the prospect of capturing the beautiful city of which he had heard tell 486 00:46:47.079 --> 00:46:52.880 when he was still at Faracus had surely fired his imagination. Now it was 487 00:46:52.960 --> 00:47:00.159 rubble. Sacred books have been destroyed in hundreds. Cortes organized the omplicated siege. 488 00:47:00.719 --> 00:47:05.599 He had inspired the ships. He had built an unlikely alliance with the 489 00:47:05.599 --> 00:47:12.239 Indian subject peoples through clever diplomacy. He had even made alliance between different European 490 00:47:12.280 --> 00:47:15.719 groups. He had seen his friends killed. He had won a great victory 491 00:47:15.760 --> 00:47:22.320 with modest losses to his own men. His fellow Cunquistadors had fought bravely against 492 00:47:22.320 --> 00:47:27.760 what seemed in the beginning to have been great odds for a time he and 493 00:47:27.840 --> 00:47:31.000 his friends seemed to have been looked upon by some Mexica at least as being 494 00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:37.159 the reincarnations of deities, but in the end, to be honest, it 495 00:47:37.280 --> 00:47:45.000 had been to Mexica who had fought like gods. As always. If you're 496 00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:49.039 interested in more content, check out the various links and the show notes, 497 00:47:49.039 --> 00:47:54.519 including the link to the website. Add free shows and Western sieve two point 498 00:47:54.559 --> 00:48:04.639 zero lay and