Moctezuma II Part III

 Other battles against Huejotzingo and its allies

Various other battles occurred in the following years between Mexico and Huejotzingo, and though none of them were as big as the Battle of Atlixco, they still caused significant losses on both sides; high losses for Mexico and significant losses for Huejotzingo.

An engagement which occurred likely in the year of 1506. This fight was another flower war which was proposed by Cholula, with support from Huejotzingo, to be fought in Cuauhquechollan (today known as Huaquechula, in modern-day Puebla), near Atlixco. Though Moctezuma did not want to fight as a result of the previous defeat in Atlixco, he saw no other option and prepared for the fight. In this fight, warriors from Texcoco, Tlacopan, Chalco, Xochimilco, and modern-day Tierra Caliente participated. This battle reportedly ended with 8200 Mexicas killed or captured. However, the Mexica are said to have dealt a similar number of casualties in this one-day battle. The result of this battle was indecisive, as some reported it as a victory, but it seems Moctezuma II took it as a defeat and was highly upset about it, to the point that he complained against the gods.

Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc, however, reports that 10,000 Mexicas died in this fight and that the Mexica were so angry about the fight that they called for reinforcements who committed a "cruel slaughter" and captured 800 more enemies. He lists the number of Huexotzinco-Cholula casualties as 5600 killed and 400 captured in one other engagement afterward, which resulted in 8200 Mexicas killed or captured.

Invasion of Tlaxcala

Initial stages

It was approximately in the year 1504 or 1505 when the first large-scale conflicts between Mexico and Tlaxcala began. In this period, Moctezuma thought about placing the entire country under siege, understanding that most of it was surrounded by territories belonging to the empire. The ruler of Huejotzingo, Tecayahuatzin, sympathized with Moctezuma despite their connections with Tlaxcala and conflicts in the past, and through bribes and propaganda attempted to ally with Cholula and local Otomi populations to attack Tlaxcala, though with little success. The Tlaxcalans became greatly worried about this and began to grow suspicious of all allies they had fearing a betrayal, as Huejotzingo was one of Tlaxcala's closest states, as proven by its support at the battle of Atlixco. Moctezuma, however, had the disadvantage that many of his dominions surrounding Tlaxcala did not want to fight them, as many of them used to be their allies in the past even with all the promises Moctezuma made, and therefore his support was actually quite limited.

One of the first battles occurred in Xiloxochitlan (today known as San Vicente Xiloxochitla [es]), where multiple atrocities were committed. Despite this, the Tlaxcalan resistance managed to hold out, and after a great struggle, the Huexotzinca armies were repelled, though during the fight the Ocotelolca commander Tizatlacatzin was killed. Many other smaller battles took place in other parts of the border, though none of them were successful.

In response, Tlaxcala launched a counter-invasion against Huejotzingo, knowing that the Huexotzinca had been severely weakened by their fights with the Mexica Empire; their towns were sacked repeatedly and the entire nation was put essentially under siege, and the remains of the nation were now cornered in the region around the Popocatépetl. The Huexotzinca became greatly worried and knew they couldn't win the war alone, therefore a prince named Teayehuatl decided to send an embassy to Mexico to request aid against the Tlaxcalans. According to historians like Durán, this embassy was sent in the year 1507, just after the New Fire Ceremony, while others date this embassy to the year 1512. The embassy informed Moctezuma about the Tlaxcalan counter-invasion, which had been happening for over a year by this point, requesting Moctezuma to do something about the situation to expel the Tlaxcalans from their land. This was not the first time the Huexotzinca had requested aid from Mexico for similar reasons, as the first time was actually around the year 1499, during the reign of Ahuizotl, though this previous request was denied. After consulting Nezahualpilli and the ruler of Tlacopan, Moctezuma agreed to help the Huexotzinca, despite the conflicts they had in the past, and sent a large number of soldiers to help this nation, while also allowing many of their refugees to stay in Tenochtitlan and Chalco.

Late stages

With the Mexica forces to support Huejotzingo, the invasion continued from the west with the main force from the towns of Cuauhquechollan, Tochimilco, Itzocan (today known as Izúcar de Matamoros), and a smaller support force from a town named Tetellan (today, Tetela de Ocampo) and from a town named Chietla. The advance was quick, but the Tlaxcalans used the territories they had captured from Huejotzingo to advance safely to Atlixco through the captured areas with little population before the Mexica-Huejotzingo forces spread. Once done, a long fight began between the two forces. The battle lasted 20 days, and both armies suffered huge losses, as the Tlaxcalans had a famous general captured and the Mexica lost so many men that they requested emergency reinforcements, asking for "all kinds of people in the shortest possible time." The Tlaxcalans claimed victory in that fight, and the Mexica were fought into a complete standstill. The following year, Huejotzingo started to suffer a famine as the result of a lack of resources as the Tlaxcalans pushed further into their territory. The Tlaxcalans even went as far as burning down the royal palaces of Huejotzingo and stealing as much food as they could.

Approximately in the year 1516, Huejotzingo abandoned its alliance with the empire.

The devastating wars that broke out against Huejotzingo caused this nation, which had been the most powerful nation in the Valley of Puebla in the opening years of the 16th century, to become weak enough to be conquered by Tlaxcala. This was the point at which Tlaxcala became Mexico's most powerful rival in the central Mexican area. The nation which used to be their main military focus was now the subject of a nation that would later bring the killing blow to the Mexica Empire.

The war between Mexico and Tlaxcala would eventually have devastating consequences, as the Tlaxcalans decided an alliance with Spain against Mexico on 23 September 1519 after a few battles proved that an alliance with this nation could help them destroy Moctezuma's reign.

Contact with the Spanish

First interactions with the Spanish

In 1518, Moctezuma received the first reports of Europeans landing on the east coast of his empire; this was the expedition of Juan de Grijalva who had landed on San Juan de Ulúa, which although within Totonac territory was under the auspices of the Aztec Empire. Moctezuma ordered that he be kept informed of any new sightings of foreigners at the coast and posted extra watchguards and watchtowers to accomplish this.

When Cortés arrived in 1519, Moctezuma was immediately informed and he sent emissaries to meet the newcomers; one of them was an Aztec noble named Tentlil in the Nahuatl language but referred to in the writings of Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo as "Tendile". As the Spaniards approached Tenochtitlán they allied with the Tlaxcalteca, who were enemies of the Aztec Triple Alliance, and they helped instigate revolt in many towns under Aztec dominion. Moctezuma was aware of this and sent gifts to the Spaniards, probably to show his superiority to the Spaniards and Tlaxcalteca.

On 8 November 1519, Moctezuma met Cortés on the causeway leading into Tenochtitlán and the two leaders exchanged gifts. Moctezuma gave Cortés the gift of an Aztec calendar, one disc of crafted gold, and another of silver. Cortés later melted these down for their monetary value.

According to Cortés, Moctezuma immediately volunteered to cede his entire realm to Charles V, King of Spain. Though some indigenous accounts written in the 1550s partly support this notion, it is still unbelievable for several reasons. As Aztec rulers spoke an overly polite language that needed a translation for their subjects to understand, it was difficult to find out what Moctezuma said. According to an indigenous account, he said to Cortés: "You have come to sit on your seat of authority, which I have kept for a while for you, where I have been in charge for you, for your agents the rulers..." However, these words might be a polite expression that was meant to convey the exact opposite meaning, which was common in Nahua culture; Moctezuma might have intended these words to assert his stature and multigenerational legitimacy. Also, according to Spanish law, the king had no right to demand that foreign peoples become his subjects, but he had every right to bring rebels to heel. Therefore, to give the Spanish the necessary legitimacy to wage war against the indigenous people, Cortés might just have said what the Spanish king needed to hear.

Host and prisoner of the Spaniards

Moctezuma captured and imprisoned by Cortés

Six days after their arrival, Moctezuma became a prisoner in his own house. Exactly why this happened is not clear from the extant sources.

According to the Spanish, the arrest was made as a result of an attack perpetrated by a tribute collector from Nautla named Qualpopoca (or Quetzalpopoca) on a Spanish Totonac garrison. The garrison was under the command of a Spanish captain named Juan de Escalante and the attack was in retaliation for the Totonac rebellion against Moctezuma which started in July 1519 after the Spanish arrived. This attack resulted in the death of many Totonacs and approximately 7 Spaniards, including Escalante. Though some Spaniards described that this was the only reason for Moctezuma's arrest, others have suspected that Escalante's death was merely used as an excuse by Cortés to imprison Moctezuma and usurp power over Mexico, positing that Cortés might have planned to imprison Moctezuma before they even met. Cortés himself admitted that he imprisoned Moctezuma primarily to avoid losing control over Mexico, understanding that nearly all of his forces were within his domains.

Moctezuma claimed innocence for this incident, claiming that though he was aware of the attack as Quetzalpopoca brought him the severed head of a Spaniard as a demonstration of his success, he never ordered it and was highly displeased by these events.

Around 20 days after his arrest, Quetzalpopoca was captured, together with his son and 15 nobles who allegedly participated in the attack, and after a brief interrogation, he admitted that indeed Moctezuma was innocent. He was publicly executed by burning soon after, but Moctezuma remained prisoner regardless.

Despite his imprisonment, Moctezuma continued to live a somewhat comfortable life, being free to perform many of his daily activities and being respected as a monarch. Cortés himself even ordered for any soldiers who disrespected him to be physically and roughly punished regardless of rank or position. However, despite still being treated as a respected monarch, he had virtually lost most of his power as emperor as the Spaniards oversaw nearly all of his activities.

Moctezuma repeatedly protected the Spaniards against potential threats using the little power he had left, either under the threat of the Spanish or by his own will, such as during the succession crisis in Texcoco mentioned above, when he ordered for the ruler of Texcoco, Cacamatzin, to be arrested as he was planning to form an army to attack the Spaniards.

The Aztec nobility reportedly became increasingly displeased with the large Spanish army staying in Tenochtitlán, and Moctezuma told Cortés that it would be best if they left. Shortly thereafter, in April 1520, Cortés left to fight Pánfilo de Narváez, who had landed in Mexico to arrest Cortés. During his absence, tensions between Spaniards and Aztecs exploded into the Massacre in the Great Temple, and Moctezuma became a hostage used by the Spaniards to ensure their security.

Death

Death and cremation of Moctezuma as depicted in the Florentine Codex, Book 12

In the subsequent battles with the Spaniards after Cortés' return, Moctezuma was killed. The details of his death are unknown, with different versions of his demise given by different sources.

In his Historia, Bernal Díaz del Castillo states that on 29 June 1520, the Spanish forced Moctezuma to appear on the balcony of his palace, appealing to his countrymen to retreat. Four leaders of the Aztec army met with Moctezuma to talk, urging their countrymen to cease their constant firing upon the stronghold for a time. Díaz states: "Many of the Mexican Chieftains and Captains knew him well and at once ordered their people to be silent and not to discharge darts, stones or arrows, and four of them reached a spot where Montezuma [Moctezuma] could speak to them."

Díaz alleges that the Aztecs informed Moctezuma that a relative of his had risen to the throne and ordered their attack to continue until all of the Spanish were annihilated, but expressed remorse at Moctezuma's captivity and stated that they intended to revere him even more if they could rescue him. Regardless of the earlier orders to hold fire, however, the discussion between Moctezuma and the Aztec leaders was immediately followed by an outbreak of violence. The Aztecs, disgusted by the actions of their leader, renounced Moctezuma and named his brother Cuitláhuac tlatoani in his place. To pacify his people, and undoubtedly pressured by the Spanish, Moctezuma was struck dead by a rock. Díaz gives this account:

"They had hardly finished this speech when suddenly such a shower of stones and darts were discharged that (our men who were shielding him having neglected for a moment their duty because they saw how the attack ceased while he spoke to them) he was hit by three stones, one on the head, another on the arm and another on the leg, and although they begged him to have the wounds dressed and to take food, and spoke kind words to him about it, he would not. Indeed, when we least expected it, they came to say that he was dead."

Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún oversaw the recording of two versions of the conquest of the Aztec Empire from the Tenochtitlán-Tlatelolco viewpoint. Book 12 of the Florentine Codex, which indigenous scholars composed under Sahagún's tutelage, is an illustrative, Spanish and Nahuatl account of the Conquest which attributes Moctezuma II's death to Spanish conquistadors. According to the Codex, the bodies of Moctezuma and Itzquauhtzin were cast out of the Palace by the Spanish; the body of Moctezuma was gathered up and cremated at Copulco.

History of the Indies of New Spain by Dominican friar Diego Durán references both Spanish and indigenous accounts of Moctezuma II's death. Durán notes that Spanish historians and the former conquistador he interviewed recall Moctezuma dying to Aztec projectiles. However, his indigenous text and a historical informant claimed that Cortés' forces stabbed Moctezuma to death. In other indigenous annals, the Aztecs found Moctezuma strangled to death in his palace.

Aftermath

The Spaniards were forced to flee the city and they took refuge in Tlaxcala and signed a treaty with the natives there to conquer Tenochtitlán, offering the Tlaxcalans control of Tenochtitlán and freedom from any kind of tribute.

Moctezuma was then succeeded by his brother Cuitláhuac, who died shortly after during a smallpox epidemic. He was succeeded by his adolescent nephew, Cuauhtémoc. During the siege of the city, the sons of Moctezuma were murdered by the Aztecs, possibly because they wanted to surrender. By the following year, the Aztec Empire had fallen to an army of Spanish and their Native American allies, primarily Tlaxcalans, who were traditional enemies of the Aztecs.

Contemporary depictions

Bernal Díaz Del Castillo

Moctezuma II in the Codex Mendoza

The firsthand account of Bernal Díaz del Castillo's True History of the Conquest of New Spain paints a portrait of a noble leader who struggles to maintain order in his kingdom after he is taken prisoner by Hernán Cortés. In his first description of Moctezuma, Díaz Del Castillo writes:

The Great Montezuma was about forty years old, of good height, well proportioned, spare and slight, and not very dark, though of the usual Indian complexion. He did not wear his hair long but just over his ears, and he had a short black beard, well-shaped and thin. His face was rather long and cheerful, he had fine eyes, and in his appearance and manner could express geniality or, when necessary, a serious composure. He was very neat and clean and took a bath every afternoon. He had many women as his mistresses, the daughters of chieftains, but two legitimate wives who were Caciques in their own right, and only some of his servants knew of it. He was quite free from sodomy. The clothes he wore one day he did not wear again till three or four days later. He had a guard of two hundred chieftains lodged in rooms beside his own, only some of whom were permitted to speak to him.

When Moctezuma was allegedly killed by being stoned to death by his people, "Cortés and all of us captains and soldiers wept for him, and there was no one among us that knew him and had dealings with him who did not mourn him as if he were our father, which was not surprising since he was so good. It was stated that he had reigned for seventeen years, and was the best king they ever had in Mexico, and that he had personally triumphed in three wars against countries he had subjugated. I have spoken of the sorrow we all felt when we saw that Montezuma was dead. We even blamed the Mercedarian friar for not having persuaded him to become a Christian."

Hernán Cortés

Unlike Bernal Díaz, who was recording his memories many years after the fact, Cortés wrote his Cartas de relación (Letters from Mexico) to justify his actions to the Spanish Crown. His prose is characterized by simple descriptions and explanations, along with frequent personal addresses to the King. In his Second Letter, Cortés describes his first encounter with Moctezuma thus:

Moctezuma came to greet us and with him some two hundred lords, all barefoot and dressed in a different costume, but also very rich in their way and more so than the others. They came in two columns, pressed very close to the walls of the street, which is very wide and beautiful and so straight that you can see from one end to the other. Moctezuma came down the middle of this street with two chiefs, one on his right hand and the other on his left. And they were all dressed alike except that Moctezuma wore sandals whereas the others went barefoot, and they held his arm on either side.

Anthony Pagden and Eulalia Guzmán have pointed out the Biblical messages that Cortés seems to ascribe to Moctezuma's retelling of the legend of Quetzalcoatl as a vengeful Messiah who would return to rule over the Mexica. Pagden has written that "There is no preconquest tradition which places Quetzalcoatl in this role, and it seems possible therefore that it was elaborated by Sahagún and Motolinía from informants who themselves had partially lost contact with their traditional tribal histories".

Bernardino de Sahagún

The Florentine Codex, made by Bernardino de Sahagún and indigenous scholars under his tutelage, relied on native informants from Tlatelolco and generally portrays Tlatelolco and Tlatelolcan rulers in a favorable light relative to those of Tenochtitlan. Historian Matthew Restall claims that the Codex depicts Moctezuma as weak-willed, superstitious, and indulgent. James Lockhart suggests that Moctezuma fills the role of a scapegoat for the Aztec defeat.

Other historians have noted that the Codex may not necessarily cast Moctezuma as cowardly and responsible for Spanish colonization. Rebecca Dufendach argues that the Codex reflects the native informants' uniquely indigenous manner of portraying leaders who suffered from poor health brought on by fright.

Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc

Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc, who may have written the Crónica Mexicayotl, was possibly a grandson of Moctezuma II. His chronicle may relate mostly to the genealogy of the Aztec rulers. He described Moctezuma's issue and estimated them to be nineteen – eleven sons and eight daughters.

Depiction in early post-conquest literature

Some of the Aztec stories about Moctezuma describe him as being fearful of the Spanish newcomers, and some sources, such as the Florentine Codex, comment that the Aztecs believed the Spaniards to be gods and Cortés to be the returned god Quetzalcoatl. The veracity of this claim is difficult to ascertain, though some recent ethnohistorians specializing in early Spanish/Nahua relations have discarded it as post-conquest mythicalization.

Much of the idea of Cortés being seen as a deity can be traced back to the Florentine Codex, written some 50 years after the conquest. In the codex's description of the first meeting between Moctezuma and Cortés, the Aztec ruler is described as giving a prepared speech in classical oratorical Nahuatl, a speech which as described verbatim in the codex (written by Sahagún's Tlatelolcan informants) included such prostrate declarations of divine or near-divine admiration as "You have graciously come on earth, you have graciously approached your water, your high place of Mexico, you have come down to your mat, your throne, which I have briefly kept for you, I who used to keep it for you," and, "You have graciously arrived, you have known pain, you have known weariness, now come on earth, take your rest, enter into your palace, rest your limbs; may our lords come on earth." While some historians such as Warren H. Carroll consider this as evidence that Moctezuma was at least open to the possibility that the Spaniards were divinely sent based on the Quetzalcoatl legend, others such as Matthew Restall argue that Moctezuma politely offered his throne to Cortés (if indeed he did ever give the speech as reported) may well have been meant as the exact opposite of what it was taken to mean, as politeness in Aztec culture was a way to assert dominance and show superiority. Other parties have also propagated the idea that the Native Americans believed the conquistadors to be gods, most notably the historians of the Franciscan order such as Fray Gerónimo de Mendieta. Bernardino de Sahagún, who compiled the Florentine Codex, was also a Franciscan priest.

Two depictions of the 6th omen in the Florentine Codex

Bernardino de Sahagún (1499–1590) includes in Book 12 of the Florentine Codex eight events said to have occurred before the arrival of the Spanish. These were purportedly interpreted as signs of a possible disaster, e.g. a comet, the burning of a temple, a crying ghostly woman, and others. Some speculate that the Aztecs were particularly susceptible to such ideas of doom and disaster because the particular year in which the Spanish arrived coincided with a "tying of years" ceremony at the end of a 52-year cycle in the Aztec calendar, which in Aztec belief was linked to changes, rebirth, and dangerous events. The belief of the Aztecs being rendered passive by their superstition is referred to by Matthew Restall as part of "The Myth of Native Desolation" to which he dedicates chapter 6 in his book Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. These legends are likely a part of the post-conquest rationalization by the Aztecs of their defeat, and serve to show Moctezuma as indecisive, vain, and superstitious, and ultimately the cause of the fall of the Aztec Empire.

According to 16th-century Spanish historian Diego Durán, who was one of the most important chroniclers of the indigenous stories of the empire, Nezahualpilli was among those who informed Moctezuma of the imminent destruction of the empire by a foreign invader, warning him that omens confirming his fears will soon appear. This warning caused Moctezuma great fear and he made a series of erratic decisions immediately after, such as severe punishments against his soldiers for disappointing results after battles against the Tlaxcalans.

Depiction of the 4th omen, a large comet which was seen during daytime, depicted in the Durán Codex

Ethnohistorian Susan Gillespie has argued that the Nahua understanding of history as repeating itself in cycles also led to a subsequent rationalization of the events of the conquests. In this interpretation, the description of Moctezuma, the final ruler of the Aztec Empire before the Spanish conquest, was tailored to fit the role of earlier rulers of ending dynasties—for example, Quetzalcoatl, the mythical last ruler of the Toltecs. In any case it is within the realm of possibility that the description of Moctezuma in post-conquest sources was colored by his role as a monumental closing figure of Aztec history.

Personal life

Wives, concubines, and children

Moctezuma had numerous wives and concubines by whom he fathered an enormous family, but only two women held the position of queen – Tlapalizquixochtzin and Teotlalco. His partnership with Tlapalizquixochtzin, daughter of Matlaccoatzin of Ecatepec, also made him king consort of Ecatepec since she was queen of that city. However, Spanish accounts describe that very few people in Mexico knew that these two women held such positions of power, some of those who knew being a few of his close servants.

Genealogy of Tecuichpoch

Of his many wives may be named the princesses Teitlalco, Acatlan, and Miahuaxochitl, of whom the first named appears to have been the only legitimate consort. By her, he left a son, Asupacaci, who fell during the Noche Triste, and a daughter, Tecuichpoch, later baptized as Isabel Moctezuma. By the Princess Acatlan were left two daughters, baptized as Maria and Mariana (also known as Leonor); the latter alone left offspring, from whom descends the Sotelo-Montezuma family.

Though the exact number of his children is unknown and the names of most of them have been lost to history, according to a Spanish chronicler, by the time he was taken captive, Moctezuma had fathered 100 children and fifty of his wives and concubines were then in some stage of pregnancy, though this estimate may have been exaggerated.As Aztec culture made class distinctions between the children of senior wives, lesser wives, and concubines, not all of his children were considered equal in nobility or inheritance rights. Among his many children were Princess Isabel Moctezuma, Princess Mariana Leonor Moctezuma, and sons Chimalpopoca (not to be confused with the previous huey tlatoani) and Tlaltecatzin.

Activities

Moctezuma practiced a variety of sports, among them archery and swimming. His sportsmanship made him a physically fit man. He was also well-trained in the arts of war, as he was well-experienced on the battlefield from an early age.

Among the sports he practiced, he was an active hunter, and often used to hunt for deer, rabbits, and various birds in a certain section of a forest (likely the Bosque de Chapultepec) that was exclusive to him and whomever he invited. It was prohibited for anyone without permission to enter, and allegedly any trespassers would be put to death. He also used to invite servants to this forest, should he order for certain animals to be hunted for him, which would often be done for the entertainment of his guests.

Moctezuma was recorded to have been heavily obsessed with cleanliness and personal hygiene, such as bathing multiple times a day in his private pool; as well as not wearing the same clothes every day.

A Spanish soldier accompanying Hernan Cortés during the conquest of the Aztec Empire reported that when Moctezuma II dined, he took no other beverage than chocolate, served in a golden goblet. Moctezuma was passionate about chocolate; had it flavored with vanilla or other spices such as chili peppers, and his chocolate was whipped into a froth that dissolved in the mouth. No fewer than 60 portions each day reportedly may have been consumed by Moctezuma II, and 2,000 more by the nobles of his court.

Legacy

Descendants in Mexico and the Spanish nobility

Francisco Javier Girón y Ezpeleta Duque de Ahumada

Several lines of descendants exist in Mexico and Spain through Moctezuma II's son and daughters, notably Tlacahuepan Ihualicahuaca, or Pedro Moctezuma, and Tecuichpoch Ixcaxochitzin, or Isabel Moctezuma. Following the conquest, Moctezuma's daughter, Techichpotzin (or Tecuichpoch), became known as Isabel Moctezuma and was given a large estate by Cortés, who also fathered a child by her, Leonor Cortés Moctezuma, who in turn was the mother of Isabel de Tolosa Cortés de Moctezuma. Isabel married consecutively to Cuauhtémoc (the last Mexican sovereign), to a conquistador in Cortés' original group, Alonso Grado (died c. 1527), a poblador (a Spaniard who had arrived after the fall of Tenochtitlán), to Pedro Andrade Gallego (died c. 1531), and to conquistador Juan Cano de Saavedra, who survived her. She had children by the latter two, from whom descend the illustrious families of Andrade-Montezuma and Cano-Montezuma. A nephew of Moctezuma II was Diego de Alvarado Huanitzin.

Coat of arms of the Dukes de Moctezuma de Tultengo (Descendientes Del Emperador Mexica Moctezuma II)

The grandson of Moctezuma II, Pedro's son, Ihuitemotzin, baptized as Diego Luis de Moctezuma, was brought to Spain by King Philip II. There he married Francisca de la Cueva de Valenzuela. In 1627, their son Pedro Tesifón de Moctezuma was given the title Count of Moctezuma (later altered to Moctezuma de Tultengo) and thus became part of the Spanish nobility. In 1766, the holder of the title became a Grandee of Spain. In 1865 (coincidentally during the Second Mexican Empire), the title, which was held by Antonio María Moctezuma-Marcilla de Teruel y Navarro, 14th Count of Moctezuma de Tultengo, was elevated to that of a Duke, thus becoming Duke of Moctezuma, with de Tultengo again added in 1992 by Juan Carlos I.

Descendants of Pedro Tesifón de Moctezuma included (through an illegitimate child of his son Diego Luis) General Jerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, 3rd Marquis de las Amarillas (1741–1819), a ninth-generation descendant of Moctezuma II, who was commander of the Spanish forces at the Battle of Fort Charlotte, and his grandson, Francisco Javier Girón y Ezpeleta, 2nd Duke of Ahumada and 5th Marquess of the Amarillas who was the founder of the Guardia Civil in Spain. Other holders of Spanish noble titles that descend from the Aztec emperor include Dukes of Atrisco. Researchers believe an additional line of descent exists in Mexico through Ana Francisca de Gabay y Moctezuma, the wife of Basque nobleman, and early colonist and settler in Mexico, Don Lope Ruiz de Esparza. This Ana Francisca de Gabay y Moctezuma was the daughter of Martín Navarro de Gabay and doña Petronila de Moctezuma, believed by some experts to be a direct lineal descendant of Moctezuma II (documental evidence has not been found yet to support this).

Notable descendants from this line include Mexican politicians and philanthropists, Secretary Gerardo Ruiz de Esparza and Luis Rubén (né Valadez Bourbon) of the influential Macias-Valadez in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.

Indigenous mythology and folklore

Many indigenous peoples in Mexico are reported to worship deities named after the Aztec ruler, and often a part of the myth is that someday the deified Moctezuma shall return to vindicate his people. In Mexico, the contemporary Pames, Otomi, Tepehuán, Totonac, and Nahua peoples are reported to worship earth deities named after Moctezuma. His name also appears in Tzotzil Maya ritual in Zinacantán where dancers dressed as a rain god are called "Moctezumas".

Hubert Howe Bancroft, writing in the 19th century (Native Races, Volume #3), speculated that the name of the historical Aztec emperor Moctezuma had been used to refer to a combination of different cultural heroes who were united under the name of a particular salient representative of Mesoamerican identity.

Symbol of indigenous leadership

As a symbol of resistance against the Spanish, the name of Moctezuma has been invoked in several indigenous rebellions. One such example was the rebellion of the Virgin Cult in Chiapas in 1721, where the followers of the Virgin Mary rebelled against the Spanish after having been told by an apparition of the virgin that Moctezuma would be resuscitated to assist them against their Spanish oppressors. In the Quisteil rebellion of the Yucatec Maya in 1761, the rebel leader Jacinto Canek reportedly called himself "Little Montezuma".

Portrayals and cultural references

Art, music, and literature

Montezuma II

The Aztec emperor is the title character in several 18th-century operas: Motezuma (1733) by Antonio Vivaldi; Motezuma (1771) by Josef Mysliveček; Montezuma (1755) by Carl Heinrich Graun; and Montesuma (1781) by Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli. He is also the subject of Roger Sessions' dodecaphonic opera Montezuma (1963), and the protagonist in the modern opera La Conquista (2005) by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero, where his part is written in the Nahuatl language.

Numerous other works of popular culture have mentioned or referred to Moctezuma:

Moctezuma (spelled Montezuma) is portrayed in Lew Wallace's first novel The Fair God (1873). He is portrayed as influenced by the belief that Cortés was Quetzalcoatl returned, and as a weak and indecisive leader, saving the conquistadores from certain defeat in one battle by ordering the Aztecs to stop.

The Marines' Hymn's opening line "From the Halls of Montezuma" refers to the Battle of Chapultepec in Mexico City during the Mexican–American War, 1846–1848.

Montezuma is mentioned in Neil Young's song "Cortez the Killer", from the 1975 album Zuma (the title of which is also believed to derive from "Montezuma"). The song's lyrics paint a heavily romanticized portrait of Montezuma and his empire.

On the facade of the Royal Palace of Madrid, there is a statue of the emperor Moctezuma II, along with another of the Inca emperor Atahualpa, among the statues of the kings of the ancient kingdoms that formed Spain.

In the alternate history of Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy stories, where the Aztecs were conquered by an Anglo-French Empire rather than by Spain, Moctezuma II was converted to Christianity and retained his rule of Mexico as a vassal of the London-based king, and Moctezuma's descendants were still ruling in this capacity in the equivalent of the 20th century.

"Montezuma" is a song from the album Holiday in Paradise (1981) by the German band Goombay Dance Band.

The video game Age of Empires II: The Conquerors contains a six-chapter campaign titled "Montezuma".

Other references

Moctezuma River and Mount Moctezuma, a volcano in Mexico City, are named after him.

Montezuma Falls in Tasmania is named after him.

Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery, a brewery of Heineken International in Monterrey, Mexico, is named after Moctezuma II and his nephew, Cuauhtémoc.

Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well, 13th-century Sinagua dwellings in central Arizona, were named by 19th-century American pioneers who mistakenly thought they were built by the Aztecs.

Several species of animals and plants such as Montezuma quail, Montezuma oropendola, Argyrotaenia montezumae, and Pinus montezumae have been named after him.

An elementary school in Albuquerque, New Mexico is named Montezuma Elementary School, after him.

"Montezuma's Revenge" is a colloquialism for traveler's diarrhea in visitors to Mexico. The urban legend states that Montezuma II initiated the onslaught of diarrhea on "gringo" travelers to Mexico in retribution for the slaughter and subsequent enslavement of the Aztec people by Hernán Cortés in 1521.

In the video game Europa Universalis IV there is a loading screen picture featuring him.

Notes

 Classical Nahuatl: Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin [moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin]

 An example of this is Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, an important chronicler whose writings were likely influenced by his own opinions and propaganda. He was a direct descendant of the tlatoani Ixtlilxochitl II, who allied with the Spanish conquistadors during the conquest of the empire because of his rivalry with Moctezuma and his decisions, and it is possible his opinions of Moctezuma were highly biased because of this event.

 See the account of Moctezuma's captivity, as given in Díaz Del Castillo (1963, pp. 245–299).

 Cacique is a hispanicized word of Caribbean origins, meaning "hereditary lord/chief" or "(military) leader". After first encountering the term and office in the Caribbean, conquest-era writers such as Díaz often used it to describe indigenous rulers generally.