Massacre in the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan

During his absence, Moctezuma asked deputy governor Pedro de Alvarado for permission to celebrate Toxcatl (an Aztec festivity in honor of Tezcatlipoca, one of their main gods.)

While differing so on Alvarado's specific motive, all accounts agree that the Aztecs were mostly unarmed and that the massacre occurred without warning or direct provocation.

When Cortés and his men, including those who had come under Narváez, returned, the Aztecs began full-scale hostilities against the Spaniards.

The Spaniards had no choice but to retreat from the city, which they did on what is called the Sad Night (La Noche Triste), losing most of their men, who were either killed in the battle or were captured and sacrificed.

The strategy backfired badly, and in the ensuing mayhem Moctezuma was killed and Cortes instead resorted to an attempt to stealthily depart under cover of darkness and a rainstorm, but they were detected and what followed became known as La Noche Triste or The Night of Sorrows in which many conquistadors and their Tlaxcaltec allies were killed.