Massacre in the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan facts for kids

Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 614: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). The Massacre in the Great Temple, also known as the Alvarado Massacre, happened on May 22, 1520. This event took place in Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztec Empire. It occurred during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. A big Aztec festival called Toxcatl ended with many Aztec leaders being killed.

At the time, the Spanish leader Hernán Cortés was in Tenochtitlan. He learned that other Spaniards, led by Pánfilo de Narváez, had arrived from Cuba to arrest him. Cortés had to leave the city to fight them. While he was away, the Aztec emperor Moctezuma asked Pedro de Alvarado, who was in charge, for permission to celebrate Toxcatl. This festival honored Tezcatlipoca, an important Aztec god. It was a major religious event that sometimes involved special ceremonies, including an offering to their god.

After the festival began, Alvarado suddenly stopped the celebration. He ordered his soldiers to kill all the warriors and noblemen inside the Great Temple. Only a few people managed to escape by climbing over the walls. They quickly told the community about the terrible act the Spaniards had committed.

The Spanish version of the story says the soldiers stepped in to stop a religious offering ceremony at the Templo Mayor. The Aztec version says the Spaniards attacked because they wanted the gold the Aztecs were wearing. This attack then led to an Aztec rebellion against Moctezuma's orders. Even though the reasons for Alvarado's actions are different in both stories, both agree on one thing: the people celebrating were not armed. They also agree that the attack happened without any warning or reason.

The Aztecs were already upset with the Spaniards for being in their city. They were also angry that Moctezuma was being held under house arrest. When Cortés and his men, including those who had joined him from Narváez's group, returned, the Aztecs started a full-scale fight against the Spaniards. The Spaniards had no choice but to leave the city. They retreated on a night known as the Sad Night (La Noche Triste). Many of their men were killed in battle or captured and sacrificed.

The Aztec Story of the Event

Here is a part of the Aztec account of what happened:

This is how the Spaniards killed the Mexicans who were celebrating the Fiesta of Huitzilopochtli. This happened in a place they called The Patio of the Gods.

Everyone was enjoying the celebration. They were dancing and singing. The songs were loud like waves. At that exact moment, the Spaniards decided to kill people. They came into the patio, ready for battle.

They closed all the exits, the steps, and the entrances to the patio. This included The Gate of the Eagle, The Gate of the Canestalk, and the Gate of the Snake of Mirrors. Once they closed them, no one could get out.

After doing this, they entered the Sacred Patio to kill people. They walked in, carrying swords and shields made of wood and metal. Immediately, they surrounded those who were dancing. Then they rushed to where the drums were played. They attacked the man who was drumming.

At that moment, they attacked everyone. They wounded them with their swords. Some were struck from behind and fell to the ground right away.

Some tried to escape, but the Spaniards killed them at the gates while laughing. Others climbed the walls, but they could not save themselves. Some went into a communal house, where they were safe for a short time. Others lay among the victims and pretended to be dead. But if they stood up again, the Spaniards would see them and kill them.

The Spaniards walked everywhere, searching the communal houses to find those who were hiding. They ran everywhere and searched every place.

When people outside the Sacred Patio heard about the massacre, shouting began. "Captains, Mexicas, come here quickly! Come here with all your weapons, spears, and shields! Our captains have been murdered! Our warriors have been slain! Oh Mexica captains, our warriors have been destroyed!"

Then a loud roar was heard, and screams. People cried out, beating their palms against their lips. Quickly, the captains gathered, as if they had planned it. They carried their spears and shields. Then the battle began. The Mexicas attacked them with arrows and even small javelins used for hunting birds. They threw their javelins furiously at the Spaniards. It looked like a layer of yellow canes spread over the Spaniards. -- From The Broken Spears (Visión de los Vencidos)

The Spanish Story of the Event

Here is a part of the Spanish historian Francisco López de Gómara's account:

Cortés wanted to understand why the Indians rebelled. He asked his men. Some said it was because of a message from Narváez. Others said the people wanted to throw the Spaniards out of Mexico City. This plan had been made as soon as the ships arrived. When they fought, the Aztecs shouted "Get out!" at them. Others said it was to free Moctezuma, because they fought saying, "Free our god and King if you don't want to die!" Still others said it was to steal the gold, silver, and jewels the Spaniards had. They heard the Indians say, "Here you shall leave the gold that you have taken!" Some also said it was to keep the Tlaxcalans and other enemies out of Mexico. Finally, many believed that the Aztecs worshipped idols as gods and had given themselves to the devil.

Any of these reasons would have been enough to cause the rebellion. But the main reason was that a few days after Cortés left to fight Narváez, it was time for a festival the Mexicas wanted to celebrate in their traditional way. They asked Pedro de Alvarado for his permission. They wanted to make sure the Spaniards wouldn't think they planned to kill them. Alvarado agreed, but only if there were no offerings, no people killed, and no one had weapons.

More than 600 gentlemen and several lords gathered in the yard of the largest temple. Some said there were over a thousand people there. They made a lot of noise with their drums, shells, bugles, and other instruments that sounded like a loud whistle. They were preparing their festival. They were not wearing clothes, but they were covered with precious stones, pearls, necklaces, belts, bracelets, and many jewels of gold, silver, and mother-of-pearl. They wore very rich feathers on their heads. They performed a dance called the mazeualiztli. This dance was a holiday from work. They laid mats in the temple patio and played drums on them. They danced in circles, holding hands, to the music of the singers, to which they responded.

The songs were sacred, not ordinary. They were sung to praise the god honored in the festival. They asked the god to provide water, grain, health, and victory. Or they thanked him for healthy children and other good things. Those who knew the language and these ceremonies said that when people danced in the temples, they performed very differently from other dances. Their voices, body movements, head, arms, and feet showed their ideas of good and evil. The Spaniards called this dance an areito, a word they brought from the islands of Cuba and Santo Domingo.

While the Mexica gentlemen were dancing in the temple yard of Vitcilopuchtli [Huitzilopochtli], Pedro de Alvarado went there. We don't know if it was his own idea or a group decision. Some say he had been warned that the Indian nobles of the city had gathered to plan a rebellion, which they later carried out. Others believe that the Spaniards went to watch this famous dance. When they saw how rich the dancers were and wanted the gold the Indians were wearing, Alvarado placed ten or twelve Spaniards at each entrance. He went inside with more than fifty Spaniards. Without any regret or Christian kindness, they brutally killed the Indians and took what they were wearing.

See also

In Spanish: Matanza de Tóxcatl para niños