# Cocoliztli epidemic of 1576 (1576)

URL: https://allhistories.com/mexico/timeline/1576-cocoliztli-epidemic-of-1576
Location: Central Mexico
Themes: Disaster

A second great cocoliztli epidemic strikes New Spain from 1576 to about 1580, killing perhaps half of the remaining Indigenous population of central Mexico. Physicians including Francisco Hernández perform autopsies to try to understand the disease. Colonial authorities respond by concentrating survivors into new, congregated towns. Indigenous labor shortages follow in mines and farms.

## Why it matters
The demographic catastrophe reshaped colonial labor and land, contributing to the spread of haciendas and forced resettlement of Indigenous towns.

Ruler at the Time: [Philip II](https://allhistories.com/mexico/rulers/philip-ii)

Viceroy of New Spain: Martín Enríquez de Almanza

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Cocoliztli epidemics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoliztli_epidemics)
- [Wikipedia — Francisco Hernández de Toledo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Hern%C3%A1ndez_de_Toledo)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Cocoliztli epidemic of 1576](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Cocoliztli+epidemic+of+1576)
- [Wikipedia — New Spain (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Spain)