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June 30, 1520Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

The Noche Triste: Cortes Flees Tenochtitlan

Trapped and besieged, the Spanish attempt a night escape across the causeways and lose half their force

On the timeline · around June 30, 1520 · Cortes and the Fall of TenochtitlanCortes and the Fall of TenochtitlanThe Noche Triste: Cortes Flees Tenochtitlan15201521

Quick facts

Date
Night of June 30, 1520
Spanish losses
c. half the force, most horses, all treasure
Escape route
Western causeway, temporary bridges
Name meaning
Noche Triste, 'Sad Night'

What happened

With Moctezuma dead and the population in open revolt, Cortes decided to abandon Tenochtitlan rather than face annihilation inside it, attempting to slip his forces out along the western causeway under cover of darkness on the night of June 30, 1520. World History Encyclopedia's account describes the Spaniards using temporary wooden bridges to cross the city's many canal gaps during their retreat, but the Aztecs discovered the escape and attacked, and the fighting that followed became known as the Noche Triste, the Sad Night. Many Spanish soldiers, weighed down by looted gold, drowned in Lake Texcoco when overloaded boats and makeshift crossings failed under them. Cortes emerged from the retreat having lost roughly half his men, most of his horses, and the eight tons of treasure his expedition had accumulated since landing in Mexico.

Why it matters

This defeat came close to ending the entire Spanish campaign in Mexico and demonstrated that Tenochtitlan, roused to full resistance, could inflict serious losses on the Spanish even without matching their weapons technology. Cortes's ability to regroup at Tlaxcala afterward, rather than the retreat itself, is what let the conquest continue a year later.

How we know

The Noche Triste is described by multiple Spanish participants, including Bernal Diaz del Castillo's firsthand memoir, giving historians a detailed if one-sided account of the retreat's casualties and losses.

Sources

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Part of a timelineThe Aztec Empire25 events · From a wandering clan on a swampy island to the dominant power of Mesoamerica, and its end in a 93-day siegeView all →
The Noche Triste: Cortes Flees Tenochtitlan · The Aztec Empire · SourcedStory