Cholula massacre

Cholula massacre
Part of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
'La Conquista de Cholula' ca. 1670-1730. Workshop of Los Gonzalez (1670-1730)
Date 18 October 1519 Location Cholula Mexico Result Spanish victory

The massacre of Cholula was an attack carried out by the military forces of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés on his way to the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan in 1519. Francisco López de Gómara^[1] indicates that the massacre of Cholula began after Cortés captured and killed Cholulteca leaders, unleashing with this act the slaughter of 6000 people in less than two hours. According to his letters of relationship,^[2] Cortés affirms that he made this decision as a preventive action before a possible ambush by 20,000 Mexica soldiers.^[3] However, the accounts collected by Bernardino de Sahagún^[4] contradict this version since it is narrated that only unarmed Cholultec civilians were killed.