<P> In 1352, then emperor Caxtoltzin moved the city from the mainland to the island of Tlilan . In this respect it was like another island city in the area, Tenochtitlan . Although no longer an island, the city center is still in the same spot . In 1376, Tenochtitlan attacked Xochimilco, forcing the city to appeal to Azcapotzalco for help . The conquest was unsuccessful, but Xochimilco was then forced to pay tribute to Azcapotzalco . Tenochtitlan succeeded in conquering Xochimilco in 1430, while it was ruled by Tzalpoyotzin . Shortly thereafter, Aztec emperor Itzcoatl built the causeway or calzada that would connect the two cities over the lake . During the reign of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, the Xochimilcas contributed materials and manpower to construct a temple to Huitzilopochtli . They also participated in the further conquests of the Aztec Empire such as in Cuauhnáhuac (Cuernavaca), Xalisco and the Metztitlán and Oaxaca valleys . For their service, Ahuizotl, granted the Xochimilcas autonomy in their lands, and the two cities coexisted peacefully . Aztec emperors would pass by here on royal barges on their way to Chalco / Xico, then an island in Lake Chalco . For centuries Xochimilco remained relatively separate from Mexico City but provided much of the larger city's produce . </P> <P> Aztec emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin imposed a new governor, Omácatl, onto Xochimilco due to the arrival of the Spanish, but this governor was forced to return to Tenochtitlan, when the emperor was taken prisoner . He was then succeeded by Macuilxochitecuhtli, but eighty days later he too went to Tenochtitlan to fight the Spanish alongside Cuitláhuac . He was followed by Apochquiyautzin, who remained loyal to Tenochtitlan . For this reason, Hernán Cortés decided to send armies to subdue Xochimilco before taking Tenochtitlan . This occurred on 16 April 1521 . During the battle, Cortés was almost killed when he fell off his horse, but he was saved by a soldier named Cristóbal de Olea . The battle was fierce and left few Xochimilca warriors alive . According to legend, it was after this battle that Cuauhtémoc came to Xochimilco and planted a juniper tree in the San Juan neighborhood to commemorate the event . </P> <P> Pre-Hispanic Xochimilco was an island connected to the mainland by three causeways . One of these still exists in the form of Avenida Guadalupe I. Ramirez, one of the city's main streets . This causeway led to the main ceremonial center of the town, which was called the Quilaztli . The Spanish destroyed the Quilaztli during the Conquest, and replaced it with the San Bernardino de Siena Church, which would become the social and political center of the colonial city . The city in turn, was the most important settlement in the south of the Valley of Mexico in the colonial era . It became a settlement of Spanish, criollos and mestizos, with the indigenous living in rural communities outside of the city proper . </P> <P> During the Siege of Tenochtitlan, Hernan Cortes attacked the city and the "great number of warriors" in it . During the battle, Cortes was knocked from his horse, and almost captured by the Mexicans . The following day, Guatemoc sent ten thousand warriors by land and two thousand by canoe to attack the Spaniards, followed by ten thousand reinforcements . The Mexicans were defeated, and Cortes was able to capture five Mexican captains . Cortes then proceeded with his march . </P>

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