<P> The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , or the Spanish -- Aztec War ( 1519 -- 21 ) , was the conquest of the Aztec Empire by the Spanish Empire within the context of the Spanish colonization of the Americas . It was one of the most significant and complex events in world history . There are multiple 16th - century narratives of the events by Spanish conquerors , their indigenous allies and the defeated Aztecs . It was not solely a contest between a small contingent of Spaniards defeating the Aztec Empire but rather the creation of a coalition of Spanish invaders with tributaries to the Aztecs , and most especially the Aztecs ' indigenous enemies and rivals . They combined forces to defeat the Mexica of Tenochtitlan over a two - year period . For the Spanish , the expedition to Mexico was part of a project of Spanish colonization of the New World after twenty - five years of permanent Spanish settlement and further exploration in the Caribbean . </P>
<P> The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , or the Spanish -- Aztec War ( 1519 -- 21 ) , was the conquest of the Aztec Empire by the Spanish Empire within the context of the Spanish colonization of the Americas . It was one of the most significant and complex events in world history . There are multiple 16th - century narratives of the events by Spanish conquerors , their indigenous allies and the defeated Aztecs . It was not solely a contest between a small contingent of Spaniards defeating the Aztec Empire but rather the creation of a coalition of Spanish invaders with tributaries to the Aztecs , and most especially the Aztecs ' indigenous enemies and rivals . They combined forces to defeat the Mexica of Tenochtitlan over a two - year period . For the Spanish , the expedition to Mexico was part of a project of Spanish colonization of the New World after twenty - five years of permanent Spanish settlement and further exploration in the Caribbean . </P>
when did the spanish conquest of the aztecs began
when did the spanish conquest of the aztecs began
1519
1519