The fall in 1519 of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexica or Aztec Empire, as it was later called, laid the foundation for the Spanish colonial empire on the North American mainland. It was the first time that Europeans had subjugated a highly organized state outside the world they had hitherto known. In the process, they created the basis for the first global colonial empires.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2250/the-changing-interpretation-of-the-spanish-conques/.