### q4 Mesoamerican influence-based politics left them vulnerable to Spanish manipulation > The Mexica Empire is famous (or perhaps infamous) for their sweeping conquest, and while there is some truth to that, diplomacy also played a major role. The nobles of Aztec city-states were divided into groups known as Teccalli/Tecaltin plural (Noble House) which competed with each other for political power in their own state and over their neighbours. One way of augmenting their power was to ally with Teccaltin from more powerful factions. In Central Mexico, this meant allying with the Mexica. Some city-states joined the Empire willingly because being friendly with the Mexica not only protected them from attack, it also allowed them access to exotic goods flowing in from the Mexica's tributary and trade networks. Cholula is an excellent example of this. This system was cheap and effective, and required little oversight from the Mexica. However, it relied heavily on their ability to form, often personal, connections between a huge number of squabbling political factions. > > Enter the Spanish. > > When the Tlaxcalans and Mexica were courting Cortes with diplomatic offers, this was not necessarily a reflection of Spanish military power, so much as it was a continuation of the political influence game that Mesoamerican nations had always played with each other. The goal was probably not to enlist Spanish fighters directly, but to secure an alliance with their employer, the King of Spain, which would guarantee the flow of prestige goods and other material that would bolster each factions claims to domination and legitimacy in Central Mexico. The real threat the Spanish posed was not in their weapons, it was in their lack of investment in this political system. Consequently, they didn't have to play by the rules. > > This brings me to one of the most important events in the Spanish-Mexica War, the Massacre at the Templo Mayor. This event, occurring in May of 1520, led to the deaths of thousands of Mexica elites, the imprisonment of many others, and the real start of the conflict. The siege and street fighting that ensued within Tenochtitlan forced the Spanish to vacate the city. It is highly likely that they executed many of their noble prisoners as they retreated. There is a good chance that Motecuhzoma was among them. Some of these nobles may not have even been Mexica, but representatives from their subject nations. - [View Highlight](https://reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/qjv0j1/historians_rightly_point_out_that_cort%C3%A9s_invasion?__readwiseLocation=0%2F1%2F0%2F4%2F2%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F5%2F1%2F0%2F2%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F3%3A0%2C0%2F2%2F0%2F4%2F2%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F5%2F1%2F0%2F2%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F3%3A1358#:~:text=The%20Mexica%20Empire%20is%20famous%2Crepresentatives%20from%20their%20subject%20nations.) - [[How Cortés' invasion of Mexico was able to be successful#q4 Mesoamerican influence-based politics left them vulnerable to Spanish manipulation|View in Vault]]