The Siege of Tenochtitlan: Water, Famine, and the Fall of an Empire

In 1521, the Spanish and their Indigenous allies laid siege to Tenochtitlan, cutting off the island city's water supply from Chapultepec and destroying its aqueduct. Lucas and Luna examine the strategic decisions of Cortés, the desperate defense led by Cuauhtémoc, and the role of brigantines on Lake Texcoco. They discuss the famine caused by destroyed chinampas, the smallpox epidemic that ravaged the Mexica, and the final assault across the Tacuba causeway. The episode explores how the siege tactics—blockade, thirst, and disease—mirrored earlier Mesoamerican warfare while introducing European ships and gunpowder. It ends with the capture of Cuauhtémoc and the question of whether the city could have survived. Specific terms include Huey Tlatoani, Nahuatl, Florentine Codex, and Malinche. #SiegeOfTenochtitlan #Cuauhtémoc #HernánCortés #ChapultepecAqueduct #LakeTexcoco #Brigantines #TacubaCauseway #Chinampas #Smallpox1521 #Malinche #TlaxcalaAllies #NocheTriste #FlorentineCodex #Nahuatl #Mesoamerica #AztecEmpire #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo