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Battle of Colhuacatonco

1521 in Mexico1521 in military historyBattles involving SpainBattles involving TlaxcalaBattles involving the Aztec Empire
Conflicts in 1521Spanish conquests in the AmericasTenochtitlan
Momento en el que Hernán Cortés es capturado en la batalla de Colhuacatonco, en el Lienzo de Tlaxcala
Momento en el que Hernán Cortés es capturado en la batalla de Colhuacatonco, en el Lienzo de Tlaxcala

The Battle of Colhuacatonco was fought on 30 June 1521 during the late stages of the Siege of Tenochtitlan between Spanish-Tlaxcalan forces and the Mexica Empire (also typically referred as Aztec Empire). It is regarded as the most important victory achieved by the Mexica during the siege.The battle was fought as a result of the Spanish soldiers growing dissatisfied with the lack of progress done during the siege thus far, as the Spanish-Tlaxcalan forces had failed to take any important amount of territory since the beginning of June. Captain Hernán Cortés of the Spanish decided to launch a massive assault onto the city to take the market of Tlatelolco. The Spanish faced a much stronger resistance than expected and were eventually forced to retreat, suffering their worst losses since La Noche Triste and the Battle of Otumba a year earlier. Though much of the fighting occurred elsewhere in Tlatelolco, northern Tenochtitlan and Tacuba, the battle became known as such because most of the fighting occurred in this neighborhood; the Spaniards suffered their worst losses in this battle in this site.The battle became famous among modern historians as a result of the Spanish defeat, which was perceived as humiliating and retroactively seen as a demonstration of indigenous resistance against colonialism even in the most dire circumstances, as by this point the city was already facing widespread starvation and disease and yet still achieved victory, though the battle did not stop the city from falling to the Spanish Empire in August of the same year. The battle also became famous because Cortés narrowly escaped death during the fighting, as he was captured by multiple Mexica warriors, who typically didn't spare their prisoners, before he was rescued.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Battle of Colhuacatonco (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Battle of Colhuacatonco
Calle Comonfort, Mexico City

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N 19.44339 ° E -99.13528 °
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Calle Comonfort
06010 Mexico City
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Momento en el que Hernán Cortés es capturado en la batalla de Colhuacatonco, en el Lienzo de Tlaxcala
Momento en el que Hernán Cortés es capturado en la batalla de Colhuacatonco, en el Lienzo de Tlaxcala
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