Cuauhtémoc
Cuāuhtemōc
Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan · Last Huey Tlatoani
1496 – 1525
Biography
Last tlatoani of the Mexica, son of Ahuitzotl. He led the desperate defense of Tenochtitlan during the eighty-day Spanish siege of 1521, ordering houses demolished to deny the conquistadors cover. Captured trying to escape across the lake on 13 August, he was tortured by burning his feet to extract the location of imperial treasure he likely no longer possessed. Cortés took him on his expedition to Honduras four years later and had him hanged on a charge of conspiracy.
Events
A two-year campaign by Hernán Cortés and roughly six hundred Spaniards, aided by smallpox and tens of thousands of indigenous allies who hated Mexica rule, destroyed the Aztec Empire. Moctezuma II received Cortés peacefully in Tenochtitlan in November 1519 and was held captive there; he died in disputed circumstances during the Mexica uprising of 1520. The eighty-day Spanish siege ended on 13 August 1521 with the capture of the last tlatoani, Cuauhtémoc.
Also there: Moctezuma II, Cuitlahuac, Charles V
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