The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, the Life of Mexico City

This book by Barbara Mundy, an art historian, challenges the idea that the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was instantly transformed into Spanish Mexico City following the conquest in 1521. Using indigenous and Spanish maps, Nahua codices, and archaeological evidence, Mundy shows that many aspects of urban life remained in indigenous hands for nearly a century after the Spanish and their indigenous allies toppled Montezuma and his empire. The book is beautifully illustrated, and Mundy’s writing brings the spaces and rhythms of the sixteenth-century city to life.

Because Mundy is an art historian, this book is lavishly illustrated and rich in both images and their expert interpretation. It also offers a unique approach to Aztec art, culture, and history by focusing on their capital city, which is surely one of the most extraordinary urban creations in human history. Mundy explores the city both before and after Spaniards arrived and transformed it—although, fascinatingly, they did not transform it as much as one might expect. The book is very readable, despite being aimed at a more academic audience than Townsend’s Fifth Sun—with which it pairs well, perhaps best… show more.