“Be reassured, Motecuhzoma, have no fear. We have great affection for you. Today our hearts are at peace. We see your face, we hear you. For a long time now we have wanted to see you” (Portilla 160).
Montezuma II is known by three names, Montezuma II, Moctezuma II and in the Nahuatl language: Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, Montezuma II is the most common. He was born in 1466 and died in 1520 C.E. (Kimmel, Cóttrill, and Cartwright). He was the ninth emperor of the Aztecs, in the great city Tenochtitlán (Townsend, Portilla, and “Montezuma II”). He is known for confronting the Spanish Conquistador, Hernándo Cortès. Montezuma Xocoyotzin was a very dynamic, militaristic, theological leader of the Aztecs; his legacy left the downfall of the Aztecs, as …show more content…
The Aztecs came from a land called Aztlan (History Channel, Marks). They called themselves Mexica (pronounced Mes-hee-ka) only later in the 18th century the name Aztec appeared (Telegraph, History World). According to Cortes, Clendinnen, and Kimmel, Tenochtitlan had over 200,000-250,000 residents which was more than the Spaniards biggest city, Seville, with only 60,000. Human sacrifices were done daily as a religious ceremony; this was done to keep the gods happy and alive (History World, Cóttrill). According to Cóttrill, Cartwright, and Sabloff, before Montezuma became an emperor in 1502 he was a priest in the great Templo Mayor to the God of the Sun and war, Huitzilopochtli. After he retired from being a priest he was the head General under his uncle Ahúltzotl the emperor at that time. Once his uncle died the Empire was at its greatest extent, and Montezuma was very capable and educated to control it. In 1502 Montezuma was crowned emperor (Editors, Sabloff). According to Sabloff, Aguliár, and Cartwright, Montezuma had over 3,000 attendants, and had over 100 dishes a day served with various kinds of meat. He had a feather headdress made from quetzal birds and golden sandals. He wore the most fabulous and elegant clothes and he never wore the same clothes twice (PBS, Editors). Ten years before Cortés came, in 1509; there were omens for the end of the world such as plagues and comet sightings. Montezuma prayed and meditated for many days …show more content…
According to Cortés, he left Cuba on an unauthorized mission to the Americas. He was supposed to go to the Americas, but then the expedition got held back and he left anyway. When Cortés left leaving his chief captains in charge, and with 80 Spanish gone, the Aztecs went chaotic and they dethroned Montezuma and proclaimed Cuitlahuác, Montezuma’s brother, their leader (Cartwright, Sabloff, and Encyclopedia). According to Cóttrill, and Cartwright, when Cortés came back, Montezuma and his officers were barricaded inside the palace threatened by starvation. When Cortés got into the palace, he commanded one of Montezuma’s nobles to go and get food. Then he commanded Montezuma to go and speak to the people and tell them to listen to the Spaniards. According to the Spaniards, Montezuma, at first would not go out and talk to the people. Cortés finally convinced him, once the people saw Montezuma they threw stones at him. He died three days later from his wounds, allowing no one to attend to them. According to the Nahutál account, the Spaniards killed Montezuma in his cell and dropped the body in one of the city’s canals. After the death of Montezuma the Aztecs drove the Spaniards out of the city. The Spaniards called it ‘The Sad Night’ since Cortés lost half of his men all his weapons, horses, and other provisions (History World, History