Within the city of Tenochtitlan itself, it was clear that not all the Aztecs were of one mind: some apparently thought that their emperor, Montezuma, was too friendly with Cortes. The situation deteriorated: the emperor went from being the host of the Spaniards to being their prisoner. Cortes decided to leave after the Aztecs assassinated Montezuma, although some say that Cortes killed Montezuma himself. In either case, Cortes decided that it was time to leave. Historian William Weir writes:
Their horses' hooves muffled, the Spanish troops and their Indian allies filed silently through the darkened streets of Tenochtitlan, the fabled city of the Aztec empire. It was raining lightly, and just past midnight on July 1, 1520. Hostility was on every side, but they were not alarmed. "The Aztecs do not fight at night," they had been assured by their commander, the conquistador Hernan Cortes.
Some historians have portrayed Cortes as a butcher who committed killings on a genocidal scale. But in reality the situation, as we have already seen, was complex, and various groups among the Aztecs and other local tribes were engaging in brutal killing among each other. Cortes, in fact, spent much of his time on the run, rather than engaging in brutal oppression. He and his men fled from the city Tenochtitlan, afraid for their own lives:
Then a lantern suddenly shone brightly in the darkness, and a woman's voice shattered the stillness. Out for water, she heard the hoofbeats of the enemy's horses and spotted the shadowy ranks. "Come quickly! Come quickly!" she shouted. "Our enemies are leaving! They are running away!" From a temple top, a priest called out: "Mexican chiefs, your enemies are leaving! Run for your canoes of war!"
The Spaniards now knew that they were in serious trouble. It would get worse. This event would later be known as La Noche Triste or "The Night of Sorrow" in which between 450 and 1,700 Spaniards would be killed along with several thousand Tlaxcalan. The Tlaxcalan were local tribesmen who'd been friendly to the Spanish.
The huge war drum atop the city's giant pyramid sounded, its notes echoing through the city and arousing the populace. Within minutes, volleys of stones, sticks, timbers, anything that could be dropped or thrown, cascaded from the rooftops, knocking marchers to the ground. A torrent of arrows pelted them. Men and women brandishing clubs, stones, and makeshift weapons attacked the fallen, many of whom were weighed down with gold and other loot and could scarcely struggle to their feet. Others rushed to set up the much rehearsed defense of the island city.
Tenochtitlan was a city built on a island in a lake. The island had been reshaped by the Aztecs, and connected to the mainland by bridges and causeways.
In 1520, Tenochtitlan had a population estimated at 200,000. It had been constructed on a blob of land in a volcanic lake in the Valley of Mexico, where the great metropolis of Mexico City stands now. The arriving Spanish marveled at the city, which rivaled in its urbanity the great cities of Europe. Tenochtitlan was linked to the shore by bridges and causeways, set up to allow sections to be dismantled quickly to forestall any attack. Thus Cortes' men had brought with them a makeshift span to cross any gap in a bridge or causeway.
For all its size, and the sophistication of its civil engineering, Tenochtitlan was different from large European cities in one important respect: its society was structured around human sacrifice. No mere sideshow, the frequent bloodlettings, in which healthy young people were dismembered atop the pyramidal temples, were part of the core values of the Aztecs. It was from this society that Cortes was escaping.
Led by Cortes himself, the Spanish soldiers, plus a few hundred Indian allies, now headed for the critical causeway, which would lead them to friendly territory. At its far end, a road would carry them to the land of the Tlaxcalans, many of whom were fighting alongside them. The Tlaxcalans and Aztecs had long been enemies, and the Tlaxcalans were thirsting for a fight.
As the situation unfolded, we see that Hernan Cortes was trying to make a quick, quiet, and peaceful exit from Tenochtitlan. He had no desire for a fight, because he knew that he would most likely lose, being both outnumbered and less familiar with the locale. But a major battle would take place, mainly between the Tenochtitlans and the Tlaxcalans.
Cortes's Indian allies were responsible for the massacre, which Cortes tried to stop. A severe outbreak of smallpox was a major contributor to the fall of Tenochtitlan.
If history accuses Hernando Cortes of anything, it is cowardice rather than butchery. He was simply trying to escape.
