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Cuauhtémoc

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Cuauhtémoc ( Nahuatl pronunciation: [kʷaːʍˈtemoːk] , Spanish pronunciation: [kwawˈtemok] ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín , Guatimozín , or Guatémoc , was the Aztec ruler ( tlatoani ) of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", and is commonly rendered in English as "Descending Eagle", as in the moment when an eagle folds its wings and plummets down to strike its prey. This is a name that implies aggressiveness and determination.

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30-527: Cuauhtémoc took power in 1520 as successor of Cuitláhuac and was a cousin of the late emperor Moctezuma II . His young wife, who was later known as Isabel Moctezuma , was one of Moctezuma's daughters. He ascended to the throne when he was around 25 years old, while Tenochtitlan was being besieged by the Spanish and devastated by an epidemic of smallpox brought to the Americas by Spanish conquerors. After

60-553: A few days later. Tlacotzin , Cuauhtémoc's cihuacoatl , was appointed his successor as tlatoani . He died the next year before he could return to Tenochtitlan. The modern-day town of Ixcateopan in the state of Guerrero is home to an ossuary purportedly containing Cuauhtémoc's remains. Archeologist Eulalia Guzmán , a "passionate indigenista ", excavated the bones in 1949, which were discovered shortly after bones of Cortés, found in Mexico City, had been authenticated by

90-595: A male of high birth and a warrior who had captured enemies for sacrifice. Cuauhtemoc married the Aztec princess who later became known as Isabel Moctezuma . When Cuauhtemoc was elected tlatoani in 1520, Tenochtitlan had already been rocked by the invasion of the Spanish and their indigenous allies, the death of Moctezuma II, and the death of Moctezuma's brother Cuitlahuac , who succeeded him as ruler, but died of smallpox shortly afterwards. In keeping with traditional practice,

120-443: A number of discrepancies in the various accounts of the event. According to Cortés himself, on 27 February 1525, he learned from a citizen of Tenochtitlan , Mexicalcingo, that Cuauhtémoc, Coanacoch (the ruler of Texcoco ), and Tetlepanquetzal , the ruler of Tlacopan , were plotting his death. Cortés interrogated them until each confessed and then had Cuauhtémoc, Tetlepanquetzal, and another lord, Tlacatlec, hanged. Cortés wrote that

150-466: Is a bas relief showing the Spaniards' torture of the emperor. Eventually, some gold was recovered but far less than Cortés and his men expected. Cuauhtémoc, now baptized as Fernando Cuauhtémotzín, continued to hold his position under the Spanish, keeping the title of tlatoani, but he was no longer the sovereign ruler. From his surrender until his death, Cuauhtémoc was mostly kept in guarded custody by

180-564: Is also named after this ruler. There is an Avenue in Mexico City Called Cuitláhuac (Eje 3 Norte) that runs from Avenue Insurgentes to Avenue Mexico-Tacuba and that is part of an inner ring; also many streets in other towns and villages in Mexico are so called. Acalan Acalan ( Chontal Maya : Tamactun , Nahuatl : Acallan ) was a Chontal Maya region in what is now southern Campeche , Mexico . Its capital

210-488: Is also one of the few non-Spanish given names for Mexican boys that is perennially popular. Individuals with this name include the politician Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas and footballer Cuauhtémoc Blanco . In the Aztec campaign of the PC game Age of Empires II: The Conquerors , the player plays as Cuauhtémoc, despite the name Montezuma for the campaign itself, and Cuauhtémoc narrates the openings and closings to each scenario. In

240-615: Is the embodiment of indigenist nationalism in Mexico, being the only Aztec emperor who survived the conquest by the Spanish Empire (and their native allies). He is honored by a monument on the Paseo de la Reforma , his face has appeared on Mexican coins, banknotes, and he is celebrated in paintings, music, and popular culture. Many places in Mexico are named in honour of Cuauhtémoc. These include Ciudad Cuauhtémoc in Chihuahua and

270-665: The Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City . Smaller towns include Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Veracruz and Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chiapas . The Cuauhtémoc is a vessel of the Mexican Navy that serves as a cultural ambassador with frequent visits to world ports. There is a Cuauhtémoc station on Line 1 of the Mexico City metro as well as one for Moctezuma. There is also a metro station in Monterrey named after him. Cuauhtémoc

300-553: The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). Initially, Mexican scholars congratulated Guzmán, but after a similar examination by scholars at INAH, their authenticity as Cuauhtemoc's was rejected, as the bones in the ossuary belonged to several different persons, several of them seemingly women. The finding caused a public uproar. A panel assembled by Guzmán gave support to the initial contention. The Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) had another panel examine

330-564: The killings in the Great Temple , there were probably few Aztec captains available to take the position. Cuauhtemoc's date of birth is unknown, as he does not enter the historical record until he became emperor. He was the eldest legitimate son of Emperor Ahuitzotl and may well have attended the last New Fire ceremony, marking the beginning of a new 52-year cycle in the Aztec calendar . According to several sources his mother, Tiyacapantzin,

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360-524: The Spaniards. In 1525, Cortés took Cuauhtémoc and several other indigenous nobles on his expedition to Honduras , as he feared that Cuauhtémoc could have led an insurrection in his absence. While the expedition was stopped in the Chontal Maya capital of Itzamkanac, known as Acalan in Nahuatl , Cortés had Cuauhtémoc executed for allegedly conspiring to kill him and the other Spaniards. There are

390-411: The Spanish occupation of the city. His mother's father, also called Cuitlahuac , had been ruler of Iztapalapa , and the younger Cuitláhuac also ruled there initially. Cuitláhuac was an experienced warrior and an adviser to Moctezuma, warning him not to allow the Spaniards to enter Tenochtitlan. Hernán Cortés imprisoned both Moctezuma and Cuitláhuac. Following the massacre of Aztec elites when Cortés

420-444: The bones, which gave support to INAH's original finding, but did not report on the finding publicly. A scholarly study of the controversy was published in 2011 and argued that the available data suggests that the grave is an elaborate hoax prepared by a local of Ichcateopan as a way of generating publicity, and that subsequently supported by Mexican nationalists such as Guzman who wished to use the find for political purposes. Cuauhtemoc

450-553: The countryside to aid the defense of Tenochtitlán, after eighty days of warfare against the Spanish. Of all the Nahuas, only Tlatelolcas remained loyal, and the surviving Tenochcas looked for refuge in Tlatelolco , where even women took part in the battle. Cuauhtémoc was captured on August 13, 1521, while fleeing Tenochtitlán by crossing Lake Texcoco with his wife, family, and friends. He surrendered to Hernán Cortés along with

480-403: The defeated Mexica to depart the city unmolested. Subsequently, however, when the booty found did not measure up to the Spaniards' expectations, Cuauhtémoc was subjected to " torture by fire", whereby the soles of his bare feet were slowly broiled over red-hot coals, in an unsuccessful attempt to discover its whereabouts. On the statue to Cuauhtemoc, on the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, there

510-445: The most able candidate among the high noblemen was chosen by vote of the highest noblemen, and Cuauhtemoc assumed the rulership. Although under Cuitlahuac Tenochtitlan began mounting a defense against the invaders, it was increasingly isolated militarily and largely faced the crisis alone, as the numbers of Spanish allies increased with the desertion of many polities previously under its control. Cuauhtémoc called for reinforcements from

540-662: The next installment to the series, Age of Empires 3: The War Chiefs , Cuauhtémoc is the leader of Aztecs. In the 1996 Rage Against the Machine single People of the Sun , lyricist Zack De La Rocha rhymes "When the fifth sun sets get back reclaimed, The spirit of Cuauhtémoc alive and untamed". Cuauhtémoc, in the name Guatemoc, is portrayed sympathetically in the adventure novel Montezuma's Daughter , by H. Rider Haggard . First appearing in Chapter XIV, he becomes friends with

570-463: The other lords would be too frightened to plot against him again, as they believed he had uncovered the plan through magic powers. Cortés's account was accepted by contemporary historian Francisco López de Gómara . According to Bernal Díaz del Castillo , a conquistador serving under Cortés who recorded his experiences in his book The True History of the Conquest of New Spain , the supposed plot

600-443: The protagonist after they save each other's lives. His coronation, torture, and death are described in the novel. Cuitl%C3%A1huac Cuitláhuac ( Spanish pronunciation: [kwiˈtlawak] , modern Nahuatl pronunciation ) (c. 1476 – 1520) or Cuitláhuac (in Spanish orthography; Nahuatl languages : Cuitlāhuac , Nahuatl pronunciation: [kʷiˈt͡ɬaːwak] , honorific form: Cuitlahuatzin )

630-412: The surviving pipiltin (nobles) and, according to Spanish sources, he asked Cortés to take his knife and "strike me dead immediately". According to the same Spanish accounts, Cortés refused the offer and treated his foe magnanimously. "You have defended your capital like a brave warrior," he declared. "A Spaniard knows how to respect valor, even in an enemy." At Cuauhtémoc's request, Cortés also allowed

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660-540: The three lords were joking cheerfully with one another because of a rumor that Cortés had decided to return the expedition to Mexico, when Cortés asked a spy to tell him what they were talking about. The spy reported honestly, but Cortés invented the plot himself. Cuauhtémoc, Coanacoch, and Tetlepanquetzal were hanged as well as eight others. However, Cortés cut down Coanacoch, the last to be hanged, after his brother began rallying his warriors. Coanacoch did not have long to enjoy his reprieve, as Ixtlilxóchitl wrote that he died

690-637: Was Itzamkanac . The people of Acalan were called Mactun in the Chontal Maya language. Cuauhtemoc , ruler of Tenochtitlan , capital of the Aztec Empire , was executed by Hernán Cortés while they were stopped in Acalan capital of Itzamkanac (actual El Tigre on the right bank of Rio Candelaria) in 1525. This article related to indigenous Mesoamerican culture is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about

720-430: Was a Tlatelolcan princess. Like the rest of Cuauhtemoc's early biography, that is inferred from knowledge of his age, and the likely events and life path of someone of his rank. Following education in the calmecac , the school for elite boys, and then his military service, he was named ruler of Tlatelolco, with the title cuauhtlatoani ("eagle ruler") in 1515. To have reached this position of rulership, Cuauhtemoc had to be

750-506: Was away from Tenochtitlan, the Mexica besieged the Spanish and their indigenous allies. Cuitláhuac was released on the pretense to reopen the market to get food to the invaders. Moctezuma was killed under disputed circumstances, and Cuitláhuac was elected tlatoani following the flight of the Spaniards and their allies from Tenochtitlan on June 30, 1520. Some sources claim he was serving in that role even before Moctezuma's death. Cuitláhuac

780-473: Was best known for leading the Aztec resistance against the Spanish invaders. The early sources do not explicitly say from what he succumbed. Immediately after Cuitláhuac's death, Cuauhtémoc was made the next tlatoani . The modern Mexican municipality of Cuitláhuac, Veracruz and the Mexico City Metro station Metro Cuitláhuac are named in honor of Cuitláhuac. The asteroid 2275 Cuitláhuac

810-468: Was revealed by two men, named Tapia and Juan Velásquez. Díaz portrays the executions as unjust and based on no evidence, and he admits to having liked Cuauhtémoc personally. He also records Cuauhtémoc giving the following speech to Cortés through his interpreter Malinche : Oh Malinzin [i.e., Cortés]! Now I understand your false promises and the kind of death you have had in store for me. For you are killing me unjustly. May God demand justice from you, as it

840-468: Was ritually married to Moctezuma's eldest daughter, a ten- or eleven-year-old girl, who later was called Isabel Moctezuma . Cuitláhuac ruled just 80 days, perhaps dying from smallpox that had been introduced to the New World by an African suffering from the disease who was part of Pánfilo de Narváez 's expedition to capture Cortés. However, he played a really important role in the Aztec empire, and

870-429: Was taken from me when I entrusted myself to you in my city of Mexico! Díaz wrote that afterwards, Cortés suffered from insomnia because of guilt and badly injured himself while he was wandering at night. Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl , a castizo historian and descendant of Coanacoch, wrote an account of the executions in the 17th century partly based on Texcocan oral tradition . According to Ixtlilxóchitl,

900-501: Was the 10th Huey Tlatoani (emperor) of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flint (1520). He is credited with leading the resistance to the Spanish and Tlaxcalteca conquest of the Mexica Empire, following the death of his kinsman Moctezuma II . Cuitláhuac was the eleventh son of the ruler Axayacatl and a younger brother of Moctezuma II , the late Emperor of Tenochtitlan , who died during

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