WI: Xicotencatl the Younger defeats Cortes

Historically, Xicotencatl the Younger, a prince of Tizatlan (one of the four city states of Tlaxcalla), nearly defeated the Spanish conquistadors, only to be stopped by the withdrawal of the soldiers from Ocotelolco, another one of the Tlaxcallan city-states, on the orders of their leader Maxixcatl. What if, by some POD, the soldiers from Ocotelolco do not retreat, and the Spanish are completely defeated? For instance, maybe Maxixcatl gets ill shortly before the battle and is not able to send the message to his soldiers. What would happen to Cortes and his men, and how would this affect Spanish expeditions in the Americas?
 
Cortes's expedition is probably destroyed. Any captives would probably be made into slaves or sacrificed. If any escaped, they'd find a welcome in the Triple Alliance, since Montezuma was intending to try and get them to ally with his people over the Tlaxcalans. Long term, the Mesoamerican states will be more prepared and knowledgeable about the new threat to their land. It's unlikely there would have been a sizable enough horse population to exploit for any great length of time, other than to lessen their awe (there might have been enough pigs to breed further though). Maybe some Spaniards could preserve their lives by serving as an adviser or even truly joining Tlaxcalan or Aztec society like Guerrero did with the Yucatan Maya.

It's not a guarantee for the indigenous Mexican states to keep from being conquered, but such a POD is an excellent source of a TL that explores this. At the very least, it will make any future invasions more difficult.
 

Cryostorm

Monthly Donor
Then Mesoamerican civilizations get a decade or so of reprieve which might be enough time for them to recover stability from the plagues sweeping through the populations. If they do get conquered it is going to take a much larger force since the Aztec's and others will know what there goal is. The biggest effect in my opinion is how it butterflies Pizarro's conquest of the Inca since by the time they do get there the civil war will have been over for a while and they will also have started to recover from the epidemics.
 
Cortes's expedition is probably destroyed. Any captives would probably be made into slaves or sacrificed. If any escaped, they'd find a welcome in the Triple Alliance, since Montezuma was intending to try and get them to ally with his people over the Tlaxcalans. Long term, the Mesoamerican states will be more prepared and knowledgeable about the new threat to their land. It's unlikely there would have been a sizable enough horse population to exploit for any great length of time, other than to lessen their awe (there might have been enough pigs to breed further though). Maybe some Spaniards could preserve their lives by serving as an adviser or even truly joining Tlaxcalan or Aztec society like Guerrero did with the Yucatan Maya.

It's not a guarantee for the indigenous Mexican states to keep from being conquered, but such a POD is an excellent source of a TL that explores this. At the very least, it will make any future invasions more difficult.

Excellent summary.
 
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