The decisive chapter of the so-called “conquest of Mexico” by the Spaniards was the collapse of the capital of the Mexica empire on the 13th of August, 1521. The military victory was had by an army formed by a large number of Indigenous groups, enemies of the Mexica rule, and a few hundred European soldiers led by Hernan Cortes. The events took place on a special urban setting, in the middle of a lagoon on the Mexican plateau, formed by the twin cities of Mexico-Tenochtitlan and Mexico-Tlatelolco. The conquerors imposed the eradication of both cities. On the ruins of the first, a city with a new design (nueva planta) was planned; it was called Mexico, where the Spanish settled and built new housing and institutions. Conversely, the destruction of the area of Mexico-Tlatelolco, was not followed by the layout of a Spanish city. On its ruins an Indigenous settlement, a pueblo de indios, under the protection of James the Apostle (Santiago), was established. Within a few years it became necessary to organize not only a follow up to the military conquest of the immense Mesoamerican territory previously held by the Mexica, but also to organize the government of a new colony immersed in the process of construction / destruction.

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