1519 – 1521 · Spain vs Aztec Empire vs Tlaxcala
Spanish conquest of Mexico (1519-1521) destroyed indigenous civilizations and created New Spain—the foundation of modern Mexico.
Cortés' conquest of Mexico (1519-1521) as described above. Following conquest, Spain established New Spain colonial rule (1521-1821). Spanish imposed Christianity, Spanish language, and racial hierarchy. Indigenous populations were enslaved in encomienda system. Mestizaje created mixed-race population. Spanish extracted wealth (silver, agriculture, labor) for 300 years. By 1821, Mexican independence created a new nation inheriting Spanish colonial structures and inequalities.
Spanish conquest transformed Mexico from indigenous empires to European colonial state. It created Mexican mestizo identity and Spanish-speaking Catholic civilization. Colonial extraction enriched Spain and Europe; Mexico inherited poverty and inequality. The conquest's legacy—colonial structures, racial hierarchy, indigenous marginalization—shapes modern Mexico. Modern Mexican nationalism partly invokes indigenous resistance to Spanish conquest while accepting mestizaje as defining identity.
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