The massacre in the Main Temple of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was an episode in the Spanish conquest of Mexico which occurred on May 21, 1520.
While Hernán Cortés was in Tenochtitlan, he heard about other Spaniards arriving on the coast – Pánfilo de Narváez had come from Cuba with orders to arrest him – and Cortés was forced to leave the city to fight them. During his absence, Moctezuma asked deputy governor Pedro de Alvarado for permission to celebrate Toxcatl (an Aztec festivity in honor of Tezcatlipoca, one of their main gods). But after the festivities had started, Alvarado interrupted the celebration, killing the most prominent people of the Aztec upper classes.
The Spanish version of the incident says the conquistadors interrupted a human sacrifice in the Templo Mayor; the Aztec version says the Spaniards were enticed into action by the gold the Aztecs were wearing. This prompted an Aztec rebellion against the orders of Moctezuma.
Read more about The Massacre In The Main Temple: The Aztec Account of The Incident, The Spaniards' Account of The Incident, Primary Sources
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