Siege Brigantines (brigantine siege boats)

Timeline

1. 1521Eastern shore of Lake Texcoco (near Texayoca) · State of MexicoCortés ordered thirteen detachable flat-bottomed sailing vessels built at Veracruz, transported overland across mountains to the eastern shore of Lake Texcoco, and assembled with the help of Tlaxcala and local allies. The hulls were fitted with rigging and a few cannon, compensating for the Spanish army's previous lack of mobility on the lake.
2. 1521Waters of Tenochtitlan · Mexico CityThe flat-bottomed fleet was deployed across Lake Texcoco and the canal network, cutting off the Aztec capital's supply and retreat routes and supporting the infantry advance in a combined land-water assault. Naval superiority, combined with the smallpox epidemic and allied sieges, ultimately brought about the fall of Tenochtitlan in August 1521.