1520 CEReputable sourceWell documented
The Smallpox Epidemic
On the timeline · around 1520 CE ·
What happened
In 1520 smallpox — brought unknowingly from the Old World — swept through Tenochtitlan, a population with no immunity. It killed vast numbers, including the emperor Cuitlahuac who had led the revolt, and fatally weakened the city's defence.
Why it matters
Disease was the deadliest conqueror of all. Old World epidemics killed far more Aztecs than Spanish swords and helped decide the fate of the empire.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Cortés & the Fall of the Aztec Empire · Reputable source
Related timelines
- Medicine → — Old World disease in the Columbian Exchange