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The Forgotten Bridge: Ixtlapalapan and the Siege of Tenochtitlan
Description
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the overlooked role of the Ixtlapalapan causeway in the Spanish siege of Tenochtitlan. While the Tacuba causeway dominates the narrative of the Noche Triste and the final assault, the southern causeway at Ixtlapalapan was equally crucial. We trace its strategic importance from the initial Spanish entry in 1519 to the brutal fighting in 1521, examining how Cortés, with thousands of Tlaxcalan and other indigenous allies, used it to cut off supplies, launch attacks, and eventually break the city's defenses. Along the way, we meet figures like Ixtlapalapan's ruler Cuitláhuac, who would later become the Aztec emperor, and we consider the environmental challenges of the lake itself. Drawing on Bernal Díaz del Castillo and the Florentine Codex, we piece together a part of the conquest that often gets skipped—showing how a 'simple' causeway shaped the fate of an empire.