Accessibility links
Aztec Empire Aztec Empire
Stories About

Aztec Empire

Tenochtitlan: A Retelling of The Conquest

Retreat of Hernando Cortes form Tenochtitlan, Mexico, 1520. Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images

Throughline

Tenochtitlan: A Retelling of The Conquest

In a sense, 1521 is Mexico's 1619. A foundational moment that has for a long time been shaped by just one perspective, a European one. The story of how Hernán Cortés and his small army of conquistadors conquered the mighty Aztec Empire, in the heart of what's now modern Mexico City, has become a foundational myth of European dominance in the Americas. This is the story that for centuries was largely accepted as the truth. But in recent decades researchers have pieced together a more nuanced, complicated version based on indigenous accounts, a version that challenges many of the bedrock assumptions about how European Christians came to control the Western Hemisphere. In this episode, the story of the fall of Tenochtitlán.

Tenochtitlan: A Retelling of The Conquest

Listen · 53:13
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1043792004/1049372407" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Taking In Mexico City's History By Canoe And Bike

Three Mexican farmers, called chinamperos, navigate a trajinera, a small traditional boat of the area, through water canals on Xochimilco Lake, Mexico, in June. Victoria Razo for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Victoria Razo for NPR

Wish You Were Here

Taking In Mexico City's History By Canoe And Bike

There is a lot to see around the Mexican capital. NPR's correspondent recommends canoeing and biking along some of Mexico City's tucked-away sites.

Taking In Mexico City's History By Canoe And Bike

Listen · 7:15
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1026828034/1027537485" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org