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The Siege of Mexico-Tenochtitlan: Cortés's Final Campaign
Description
In 1521, Hernán Cortés and his Indigenous allies laid siege to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. This episode focuses on the eighty-day blockade and assault that brought down the Mexica empire. Lucas and Luna walk through the strategic deployment of thirteen brigantines on Lake Texcoco, the cutting of the Chapultepec aqueduct, and the daily grind of battle on causeways and rooftops. They discuss the role of Tlaxcalan and other native warriors, the tactical decisions of Cuauhtémoc, and the horrific toll of famine, smallpox, and urban warfare. The episode also covers the controversial question of whether the siege was a 'fair fight' or extirpation, the fate of survivors, and how modern Mexico remembers the fall of Tenochtitlan on August 13, 1521. Specific names include Cortés, Cuauhtémoc, García Holguín, Malinche, and Xicotencatl the Younger. The conversation draws on chronicles by Bernal Díaz del Castillo and the Florentine Codex, but keeps the focus on the gritty, tactical reality of the final conquest.