Cuauhtémoc

The last independent ruler of the Aztec Empire, Cuauhtémoc, came to the throne of Tenochtitlan in the final months of 1520, amid epidemic and war. Born around 1496, he was a son of the former tlatoani Ahuitzotl and thus a cousin of Moctezuma II, a kinship typical of the Mexica ruling house, which chose each ruler from among the male relatives of his predecessors rather than by strict father-to-son succession. Before his election he is recorded as ruler of Tlatelolco, the twin city of Tenochtitlan. His name is conventionally translated as "descending eagle."

Cuauhtémoc succeeded Cuitláhuac, the brother of Moctezuma II, who had driven the Spaniards from Tenochtitlan in the fighting of mid-1520 but died of smallpox after a reign of only about eighty days. The epidemic, introduced from the Old World, devastated the city's population on the eve of its greatest test. The new tlatoani, still in his twenties, prepared the capital for the Spanish return, seeking allies among tribute towns whose loyalty was already dissolving.

The siege of Tenochtitlan began in May 1521, conducted by Cortés with a large force of indigenous allies, above all the Tlaxcalans, and a flotilla of brigantines that cut the lake-bound city off from food and fresh water. The defense lasted some three months, contested street by street as the attackers leveled buildings to deny cover. Cuauhtémoc was captured on 13 August 1521 while attempting to escape across the lake by canoe, and with his capture organized resistance ended. According to accounts of the meeting, he asked Cortés to kill him with his own dagger; instead he was kept alive as a hostage for the city's pacification. Shortly afterward he was tortured with fire to the feet by Spaniards seeking the location of treasure lost during their earlier flight from the city.

He remained a captive figurehead under Spanish rule until 1525, when Cortés took him on the expedition to Honduras. Along the route, accused on uncertain evidence of plotting an uprising, Cuauhtémoc was executed by hanging, an act criticized even by some of Cortés's companions. In modern Mexico he is commemorated as a national symbol of resistance, his name borne by towns, streets, and a major monument in Mexico City.