You Weren’t Supposed to See This Drawing

This one single meeting would change the course of history. On November 8, 1519, the Aztec king Moctezuma II* came face-to-face with Spanish captain Hernando Cortés. Moctezuma ruled over much of what is now Mexico. Cortés was a conquistador leading a group of armed men in search of gold and other treasures.

With great ceremony and gifts, Moctezuma welcomed Cortés and his men into the Aztecs’ capital, Tenochtitlan (tay-nawch-TEET-lahn). But that moment marked the beginning of the end.

Within two years, Tenochtitlan would lie in ruins. Moctezuma and many of his people would be dead or dying. And Cortés and his men would be on their way to capturing the rest of the Aztec Empire.

This one single meeting would change the course of history. It was November 8, 1519. The Aztec king Moctezuma II* came face-to-face with Spanish captain Hernando Cortés. Moctezuma ruled over much of what is now Mexico. Cortés was a conquistador. He led a group of armed men in search of gold and other treasures.

With great ceremony and gifts, Moctezuma welcomed Cortés and his men into the Aztecs’ capital. It was called Tenochtitlan (tay-nawch-TEET-lahn). But that moment marked the beginning of the end.

Within two years, Tenochtitlan would lie in ruins. Moctezuma and many of his people would be dead or dying. And Cortés and his men would be on their way to capturing the rest of the Aztec Empire.

How did Cortés justify this violence? In letters to the Spanish king, he painted a ghastly picture of the Aztecs. In Cortés’s telling, they were “barbarous people” who worshipped false gods. The Spanish were merely bringing them the “True Faith” of Christianity, he wrote.

Spaniards who arrived soon after Cortés echoed his reasoning. “The Spaniards were invested in painting the Aztecs as the world’s worst villains,” says Camilla Townsend, a historian at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Their accounts were recorded and shared over time, largely forming the story we know today. But in recent decades, scholars have been translating sources from the Aztecs’ own Nahuatl (NAH-wah-tl) language into English. These sources offer the Native perspective.

“To really know a people, we must hear them speaking,” Townsend says. Gradually, a more complicated picture is emerging of the Aztecs, the last Indigenous empire in Mexico. 

How did Cortés justify this violence? In letters to the Spanish king, he painted a ghastly picture of the Aztecs. He described them as “barbarous people.” He said they worshipped false gods. He wrote that the Spanish were just bringing them the “True Faith” of Christianity.

Some Spaniards arrived soon after Cortés. They echoed his reasoning. “The Spaniards were invested in painting the Aztecs as the world’s worst villains,” says Camilla Townsend. She is a historian at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Their accounts were recorded and shared over time. They largely formed the story we know today. But in recent decades, scholars have been translating sources from the Aztecs’ own Nahuatl (NAH-wah-tl) language into English. These sources offer the Native perspective.

“To really know a people, we must hear them speaking,” Townsend says. Gradually, a more complicated picture is emerging of the Aztecs. They were the last Indigenous empire in Mexico.

Why did Moctezuma welcome Cortés on that fateful day in 1519? Historians studying the Nahuatl records offer some insight. Moctezuma’s spies had brought him word of the Europeans’ weapons—guns, steel swords, and cannons that the Mexica had limited defense against. Probably, say scholars, the king wanted time to study the Spaniards, or to persuade them to go away.

Almost immediately, the visit brought tragedy. The Spaniards exposed the Mexica to diseases from Europe, including smallpox. Many of Moctezuma’s people fell ill. “There was much death,” reads the Codex Mexicanus, one Nahuatl history. Over the next few decades, tens of millions of Indigenous people throughout the conquered land perished from those diseases.

The Spaniards also brought unprovoked violence. “The Aztecs were shocked at sudden, random Spanish massacres” in different parts of the empire, including Tenochtitlan, says Mendoza. The Mexica did fight back, and they forced Cortés to retreat in June 1520. But the next summer he returned with some 800 Spanish reinforcements.

Tens of thousands of Indigenous soldiers also fought alongside Cortés. Some resented Moctezuma’s control. Others had been defeated by Cortés and his men. Says Mendoza: “They saw that resistance to the Spanish would be too costly”—and that the Spaniards would win in the end.

After a three-month siege, Tenochtitlan fell. Countless Mexica were killed in the process.

Nahuatl writings reveal the Spaniards’ violence afterward. The Mexica were routinely assaulted, jailed, and hanged. One drawing shows Nahua men being burned at the stake by a Spaniard for not paying “tribute”—or taxes.

Why did Moctezuma welcome Cortés on that fateful day in 1519? Historians studying the Nahuatl records offer some insight. Moctezuma’s spies had brought him word of the Europeans’ weapons. Those included guns, steel swords, and cannons. The Mexica had limited defense against them. Scholars say the king probably wanted time to study the Spaniards. Or maybe he wanted to persuade them to go away.

Almost immediately, the visit brought tragedy. The Spaniards exposed the Mexica to diseases from Europe. That included smallpox. Many of Moctezuma’s people fell ill. “There was much death,” reads the Codex Mexicanus, one Nahuatl history. Over the next few decades, tens of millions of Indigenous people throughout the conquered land died from those diseases.

The Spaniards also brought unprovoked violence. “The Aztecs were shocked at sudden, random Spanish massacres” in different parts of the empire. That included Tenochtitlan, says Mendoza. The Mexica did fight back. In June 1520, they forced Cortés to retreat. But the next summer he returned with some 800 Spanish reinforcements.

Tens of thousands of Indigenous soldiers also fought alongside Cortés. Some resented Moctezuma’s control. Others had been defeated by Cortés and his men. “They saw that resistance to the Spanish would be too costly,” Mendoza says. And they knew that the Spaniards would win in the end.

After a three-month siege, Tenochtitlan fell. Countless Mexica were killed in the process.

Nahuatl writings reveal the Spaniards’ violence afterward. The Mexica were routinely assaulted, jailed, and hanged. One drawing shows Nahua men being burned at the stake by a Spaniard for not paying “tribute”—or taxes.

The records don’t end there. Later voices share the Nahuas’ resilience. “They got on with their lives,” says Townsend. Over time, many of them adopted the Roman Catholic faith and the Spanish language. “Even though conquered, they were not destroyed,” she explains.

Cortés renamed the conquered land New Spain. But Moctezuma’s city did not wholly disappear. It became the capital of New Spain and was renamed Mexico City after the people who lived there. Some three centuries later, in 1821, the people whose ancestors had been conquered by the Spaniards finally won their freedom. They named their country Mexico.

More than 200 years later, the secrets of the Aztecs are still being uncovered. Some are found as archaeologists dig through the city that the Spaniards built on top of Tenochtitlan. Others are in the old Nahuatl sources, which have been neglected partly because they are so hard to understand.

Today about 1.5 million people speak Nahuatl. There is much more to learn about the Aztecs, Townsend says, and understanding the language is key to uncovering it.

“The scholars up until now have mostly just been studying what Europeans wrote,” she says. Really learning how the Native people spoke—“that’s the next frontier.”

The records do not end there. Later voices share the Nahuas’ resilience. “They got on with their lives,” says Townsend. Over time, many of them adopted the Roman Catholic faith and the Spanish language. “Even though conquered, they were not destroyed,” she explains.

Cortés renamed the conquered land New Spain. But Moctezuma’s city did not wholly disappear. It became the capital of New Spain. It was renamed Mexico City after the people who lived there. Some three centuries later, in 1821, the people whose ancestors had been conquered by the Spaniards finally won their freedom. They named their country Mexico.

More than 200 years later, the secrets of the Aztecs are still being uncovered. Some are found as archaeologists dig through the city that the Spaniards built on top of Tenochtitlan. Others are in the old Nahuatl sources. They have been neglected partly because they are so hard to understand.

Today about 1.5 million people speak Nahuatl. There is much more to learn about the Aztecs, Townsend says. And understanding the language is key to uncovering it.

“The scholars up until now have mostly just been studying what Europeans wrote,” she says. Really learning how the Native people spoke—“that’s the next frontier.”