From the historian's notes

Tenochtitlan, 1520

Mexico · North America · June 1520 · summer (rainy)

What it was medium

one of the largest cities in the world, perhaps 200,000 people, joined to the shore by causewaysby the Mexica in 1325, on an island in Lake Texcoco

That year

• The Toxcatl massacre in the temple precinct, and the uprising that besieges the Spaniards in their palace May–June 1520 highthe city at war inside itself
• Moctezuma dies at the end of June; the Spaniards flee across the Tlacopan causeway at night and many drown 30 June–1 July 1520 highthe Noche Triste
• Smallpox reaches the city in the autumn and kills the new ruler, Cuitlahuac, among many thousands autumn 1520 highthe catastrophe that decides the war

Who held it high

the Mexica, head of the Triple AllianceMoctezuma II, held captive by the Spaniards in his own palaceCortés arrived in November; in May, Alvarado's men massacred celebrants at the feast of Toxcatl, and the city rose

Its name high

Mexico-TenochtitlanWritten in Nahuatl pictorial writing on bark paper

The date, there medium

the year 2 Flint (Ome Tecpatl)the 365-day solar year and the 260-day ritual countTemple drums and conch shells mark the hours; the calendar of festivals.

Money medium

cacao beans and cotton cloaksthe cacao beana tamale for a few cacao beans

Weather medium

June: the rainy season, warm days, afternoon storms

Things

Objectscacao beans used as money; quachtli: standard cotton cloaks; obsidian blades; feather workFoodmaize tortillas; beans; chillies; turkey; spirulina cakes from the lakeClothcotton for nobles; maguey fibre for commonersGetting aboutcanoes; on footIn the aircopal incense; the lake; smoke

What she'd hear

Nahuatl; Spanish among the besieged, through interpreters.

Where she could stand

• the Tlacopan causeway — the long causeway to the western shore, with removable bridges
• the Tlatelolco market — the great market the Spaniards compared to Salamanca's
• the canals — canoes moving through the city on water
• the sacred precinct — the twin temples on the great pyramid

Researched for this card · confidence high