Tenochtitlan and its transformation into Mexico City

The capital city of the ancient Aztec Civilization, Tenochtitlan, is now otherwise known as the metropolis city, Mexico City. Cortes arrived at Tenochtitlan and it was deemed the largest, most populous city in Mesoamerica.

In order to adequately compare the two prominent cities, in the present and past, the size and scale of the cities are to be analyzed.

Figure 1: Mexico City
SamEvans87. "MLB: Expansion to Mexico City." http://mlbreports.com/2012/03/18/mlbinmexico/

Figure 2: Tenochtitlan
Sheppard Software. "Tenochtitlan." http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Mexicoweb/factfile/Unique-facts-Mexico8.htm

       Evidently, Mexico City encompasses a much larger expanse than Tenochtitlan does, judging by the photos depicted above. When analyzing specific area and population facts, the following information is found. Tenochtitlan covered an area of about 12 square kilometers and had a population between 150,000 and 225,000 people. On the otherhand, present day Mexico City encompasses 1,485 square kilometers and has a population of 21.2 million people in the metropolitan area. This coins Mexico City as the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere. 

In terms of drawing connections between the two sizes of the cities, it is evident that the reasoning for the expansive growth and grandeur of Mexico City is rooted in the Ancient city that previously stood in its place. It is recorded that Tenochtitlan experienced a lot of growth between the founding in 1325 and 1521, and dominated surrounding city states. This is then when the Spanish arrived, at this time, the Aztec Empire had reached much of Mesoamerica.

Therefore although the actual population and area size of Tenochtitlan is minimal in comparison to Mexico City, it is important to look at these city sizes in context of the time period. Tenochtitlan was the largest city, of highest grandeur and strength, within the Aztec Empire at that time. The modern day Mexico City emulates similar characteristics in comparison to cities of this era. As previously mentioned Mexico City is the largest metropolitan city in the western hemisphere, the size and expanse of the city is one of a kind and the grandeur of the city resonates with many immediately surrounding areas, along with other metropolitan areas in the hemisphere. This relationship between size, success of obtaining dominance and grandeur is relevant between both cities, as the site of Tenochtitlan clearly provided a great basis for which Mexico City could emulate these characteristics in modern day. 

The significance of the undertaking of Tenochtitlan, is in direct connection with the grandeur of the Ancient city at that time. Hernan Cortes heard about the great city and its long standing rivalries against it. He was captivated by the beauty and size of the city, and convinced others to help his small army to conquer the city. The already developed and successful city that stood on this island on Lake Texcoco, Cortes believed (and was proved correct) would be a great place to develop their capital city. It makes theoretical and empirical sense to conquer and develop a previously large, prosperous, powerful city in a conquest. The significance of such an undertaking is Cortes ability to firstly actually conquer the site with a somewhat small army, and to then develop it into one of the largest standing metropolitan cities. 

Therefore it is evident that Cortes was smart in choosing the site of Tenochtitlan to conquer and develop into a large, metropolitan city, as it already encompassed those relevant characteristics to succeed in such a development. Furthermore, the significance of this undertaking is evident in the large success Cortes had in developing the largest metropolitan city in the Western hemisphere.

Thats all for now,

- Ali