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The Conquest of Cholula: Massacre or Misunderstanding
Description
In 1519, Hernán Cortés and his army—along with thousands of Tlaxcalan allies—marched into the sacred city of Cholula, home to the great pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. What happened next is one of the most debated episodes of the conquest: a preemptive massacre, a brutal act of terror, or a misunderstood moment of political violence? This episode unpacks the evidence from Spanish accounts, including Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Cortés's own letters, against the Nahua perspective preserved in the Florentine Codex and the Lienzo de Tlaxcala. We explore the shifting alliances among the Cholulteca, the Mexica, and the Tlaxcalteca, and the role of La Malinche—rumored to have uncovered a plot—and the question of whether the massacre was justified or a calculated act of intimidation. Lucas and Luna also examine the aftermath: how Cholula became a staging ground for Cortés's advance on Tenochtitlan, and how the event echoes in Mexican memory today. A nuanced look at a pivotal, violent moment in the clash of worlds.