Conquistadors and Aztecs by Stefan Rinke;

Author:Stefan Rinke;
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Oxford University Press USA
Published: 2023-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

According to Durán, the Mexica responded to Cuauhtemoc’s invocation of the glorious past with great enthusiasm. However, the ruler had not bothered to provide the city with enough food to withstand a long siege. Surely the tlatoani and his advisors had not forgotten the supply problem; the difficulty lay in the fact that the producers of the food, such as the Chalca, were simply no longer available. Other neighbors took advantage of the plight of the Mexica to enrich themselves by exchanging corn for jewels and gold. The city’s dependence on the surrounding areas had become a significant liability. Ultimately, Tenochtitlan lived on the tributes, which were mainly brought to the city across the lake. Even the drinking water came from the outside, since the brackish lake water was undrinkable. The supply was ensured by an aqueduct, which was built at the end of the fifteenth century, under the tlatoani Ahuizotl, and carried water from the hills of Chapultepec into the city.48

In the second week of May, the battalions, whose Spanish contingents were commanded by Alvarado and Olid, marched together from Texcoco. Along the way, there were disagreements between the two Spanish captains, which were further inflamed by the allocation of the quarters. A personal animosity developed between them, which Cortés was able to mediate only temporarily through the dispatch of pastor Melgarejo de Urrea and captain Luis Marín. Subsequently, the soldiers traveled along already-familiar paths through deserted villages until they reached Tlacopan. The first skirmishes between the Tlaxcalans and the Mexica took place there, along the causeway, the night they arrived. The Mexica tried to provoke their enemies by shouting out to them and luring them onto the dam.49

The next day, after a mass, the army marched toward its first major objective, the destruction of the water pipeline on Chapultepec. After heavy combat, the men fulfilled their mission. From this point onward, the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan were dependent on the few freshwater wells in the city itself. The battles on subsequent days concentrated on the dam. Once again, the Mexica followed their strategy of smashing large craters into the street. While the allies tried to fill the cavities with their sappers, they had limited success, as they were exposed to fierce land and water attacks. According to Bernal Díaz, the allies suffered a defeat and lost many lives. Soon the battalion to which Olid belonged continued on to Coyoacán, where it encountered the same difficulties. Olid and Alvarado parted amicably, but remained enemies. Their subsequent avoidance of contact hampered the coordination of the troops. They cooperated only when absolutely necessary, such as to fortify the road for the cavalry or locate provisions in the hinterland.50

Meanwhile, the third battalion of Sandoval’s Spaniards had also begun its march. At the end of May, they moved from Texcoco through already “pacified” territory to Iztapalapa. Here numerous houses were destroyed and the first battles with the Mexica, who attacked via the lake, ensued. The allies spotted smoke signals rising from an island in the lake that were apparently answered from other Mexica bases.

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