Moctezuma II

Moctezuma II (also Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin) (C. A.D.1466-1520) was an Aztec ruler or "huey tlatoani" of Tenochtitlan and leader of the Aztec Triple Alliance between Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan, c.1502–1520. He is famous mainly for being the ruler of the Aztec empire when the Spanish conquest of Mexico began.

The portrayal of Moctezuma in history has mostly been coloured by his role as ruler of a defeated nation and the general biases of the historical sources make it difficult to ascert anything definitive about his personality, the motivations of his actions during the conquest wars and this has led to there being some controversy as to how to most accurately portray him. In this way many early sources portray him as a weakwilled and supersticious ruler giving easily in to the Spanish conquerors which he according to this portrayal of him he may even have believed to be gods. But newer research takes this interpretation into doubt and argue that and accurate description of his person should rather take into consideration the evidence that points to Moctezuma being a strong and industrious ruler undertaking many new conquests for the Aztec empire and constructing much public architecture.

Name

The original Nahuatl form of his name was pronounced [moteːkʷˈsoːma]. It is a compound of a noun meaning "lord" and a verb meaning "to frown in anger", and so is interpretted as "he is one who frowns like a lord" or "he who is angry in a noble manner". It has been written with a wide variety of different spellings, the most common of which today are Montezuma and Moctezuma.

The use of a regnal number is only for modern distinction from the first Moctezuma, referred to as Moctezuma I. The Aztec chronicles called him Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, while the first was called Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina or Huehuemotecuhzoma "Old Moctezuma". Xocoyotzin, pronounced [ʃokoˈjotsin], means "honored young one".

The sources of Motecuzomas biography

The descriptions of the life of Moctezuma are full of contradictions and as such nothing much is known about his actual life and personality. The reason for the contradictions is of course the different biases of the sources. One main source is the descriptions of him by Spanish conquistadors such as Bernal Diaz del Castillo and Hernan Cortés. The Spanish sources try to show Motecuzoma as a harsh and somewhat fickle minded ruler in order to justify their getting rid of him as a help provided to the natives rather than an injustice. Another major source is the Florentine Codex made by Bernardino de Sahagún and his native informants. His informants were mainly from Tlatelolco, a city subjugated by Tenochtitlan and as such the Florentine Codex generally sets Tlatelolco and Tlatelolcan rulers in a favourable light while the Tenocha and Motecuzoma in particular is depicted unfavourably as a weak-willed, supersticious and indulgent ruler (Restall 2003). Historian James Lockhart also argues that with the defeat of the Aztecs the people needed to have a scapegoat, someone to blame for their shameful defeat, and who better than man who was ruler at the time of the defeat. All these factors have part in the picture we have today of Motecuzoma as a somewhat weak and indecisive ruler.

The historical facts of his rulership are a little different: he was the single ruler to expand the Aztec Empire the most and in his reign continuous warfare expanded the territory as far south as xoconosco in Chiapas and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, he elaborated the Templo Mayor and revolutionized the tribute system. He also increased Tenochtitlán's power over its allied cities to take a dominant position in the Aztec Triple Alliance. He created a special temple, dedicated to the gods of the conquered towns, inside the temple of Huitzilopochtli. He also built a monument dedicated to the Tlatoani Tízoc.

The depiction of Motecuzoma in early post-conquest literature

In most of the post-conquest literature the personality of Moctezuma is described as more that of a scholar (tlamatini) than a warrior. It is said that he was a priest and the head of the Calmecac, the school of the upper classes.

Legend says he did not want to be a tlatoani and that after he was elected in 1502, messengers were sent everywhere to look for him. They found him cleaning a temple, hiding from the messengers.

After being elected, Moctezuma is said to have created elaborate rituals, introducing new reguylatives and a larger gap between the social classes of pipiltin "nobles" and macehualtin "commoners".

He is said to have dismissed most of the authorities and replaced them with his former students, continuing to give them lessons as if they were still his students.

Moctezuma's Palace from the Mendoza Codex (1542)

In another tale, when Moctezuma took some corn from a field, an angry peasant reminded him that he had forbidden to do that. Surprised by this, Moctezuma decided to elevate the macechualli to a higher rank. The treatment he gave to the comoner in this case contrasts with the prohibitions he imposed on the pipiltin (upper classes).

Some of the Aztec stories about Moctezuma, describe him as being fearful of the Spanish newcomers, and some, like 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 belief is inordinately difficult to ascertain, and it's sometimes regarded as apocryphal (Restall 2003). Much of the idea of Cortés being seen as a deity cana be traced back to the Florentine Codex written down some 50 years after the conquest. In the codex' description of the first meeting between Moctezuma and Cortés, The aztec ruler is described as giving a prepared speech in classical oratorial Nahuatl, a speech which as described verbatim in the codex (written by Sahagúns tlatelolcan informants which were probably not eyewitnesses of the meeting) 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, you 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." Subtleties in, and an imperfect scholarly understanding of, high Nahuatl rhetorical style make the exact intent of these comments tricky to ascertain, but Restall argues that Moctezuma politely offering his throne to Cortés (if indeed he did ever give the speech as reported) may well have been meant as the exactly opposite of what it was taken to mean: politeness in aztec culture was a way to ascert dominance and show superiority. This speech which has been widely referred to has been a factor in the widespread belief that Moctezuma were addressing Cortés as the returning god Quetzalcoatl. But also other parties have propagated the idea that the native americans believed the Conquistadors to be gods: most notably the historians of the Fransican order such as Fray Geronimo Mendieta(Martínez 1980) some Fransiscans at this time held Milenarian beliefs (Phelan 1956) and the natives taking the spanish conquerors for gods was an idea that went well with this theology. BErnardino de Sahagún who gathered the Florentine Codex was also a fransiscan.

Mythical accounts of Omens and Moctezumas supersticion

Bernardino de Sahagún (1499-1590) mentions eight events occuring prior to the arrival of the spanish and which were interpreted as signs of a possible disaster, e.g. a comet, the burning of a temple, a crying ghostly woman etc. 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 beilief was linked to changes, rebirth and danegrous events.

An account by Fernando Alvarado Tezozomoc (1598) records a story of how Moctezuma sent emissaries to find the legendary wizard and prophet, Huemac, who, according to the legend had predicted the arriving of Quetzalcoatl one thousand years before. Moctezuma wanted to ask Huemac for protection and be his servant, so that he could avert the catastrophe predicted by these omens. Three times Moctezuma sent emissaries, and three times Huemac refused. Huemac recommended instead that Moctezuma abandon all luxuries, the flowers and the perfumes, make penance and eat the same food as the macehualli (workers), and drink only boiled water, and maybe he would help him. To his anguish, Moctezuma was unable to obey the commandment. These legends are a part of the postconquest rationalisation by the aztecs of their deafeat and try to show Moctezuma as indecisive, vain and supersticious and ultimately the cause of the fall of the Aztec Empire.

Contact with the Spanish

Also see: Hernan Cortés, Spanish Conquest of Mexico and Siege of Tenochtitlan

File:Mexico0063.jpg

Meeting place of Moctezuma and Hernán Cortés.

Moctezuma sends emissaries to the Spanish

In 1517, Moteczoma received the first reports of Europeans landing on the east coast of his empire, this was the expedition of Juan Grijalva who had landed on San Juan Ulúa, which although within Totonac territory was under the auspices of the Aztec Empire. Moctezuma ordered that he be informed at any new sightings of foreigners at the coast and he posted extra watch.

This meant that when the expedition of Cortés arrived in 1519 Moctezuma was immediately informed and he sent emissaries to meet the newcomers, one of them is known to be an aztec noble called Tentlil in the Nahuatl language but referred to in the writings of Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo as "Tendile".

As the Spaniards approached Mexico Tenochtitlan they made an alliance with the Tlaxcalteca who were enemies of the Aztec Triple Alliance and they helped instigate revolt against the aztecs in many towns that were beneath aztec dominion. Moctezuma of course was aware of this and he sent gifts to the spaniards, probably in order to show his superiority to the spaniards and Tlaxcalteca. (Restall 2003)

The massacre of Cholula

Cortés arrived at the city of Cholula (Chollollān in Nahuatl) which was subject to the Aztec Triple Alliance. Cortés and his tlaxcaltec allies took over Cholula, and reportedly massacred about 5,000 people. As expected, the chronicles from the Tlaxcalteca and the Aztec differ on how it all started, Tlaxcalteca and spanish sources citing a trap devised to destroy them, but Mexica sources say that the slaughter was unmotivated. Matthew Restall has interpreted the massacre at Cholula as a message sent by the Tlaxcalteca to their Aztec enemies that they now had powerful allies and that the tables had turned.

As the news of the massacre of Cholula spread, the people of most pre-Hispanic cities were terrified.

On November 8, 1519, Moctezuma met Hernán Cortés on the causeway leading into Mexico Tenchtitlan and the two leaders exchanged gifts.

Moctezuma as host and prisoner of the Spaniards

Moctezuma brought Cortés to his palace where the spaniards lived as his guests for several months. Moctezuma continued governing his empire and even undertook conquests of new teritory during the spaniards stay at Tenochtitlan. However at some time during that period the tables turned and Moctezuma became a prisoner in his own house, exactly how it happened is not sure from the extant sources. But the aztec nobility grew displeased with the large spanish army staying in Tenochtitlan and Moctezuma told Cortés that it would be best if they left. Shortly thereafter Cortés left to fight Panfilo de Narvaez and the during his absence the [[Toxcatl massacre turned the tense situation between the spaniards and aztecs became direct hostilities, and Moctezuma became a hostage used by the spaniards to assure their security.

The Death of Moctezuma

During the intense battles between Cortés having returned with his reinforced army and the aztec defenders Moctezuma was killed. How exactly it happened is unkown and different versions of his demise are given by different sources. Bernal Dìaz del Castillo states that on July 1, 1520, the spanish forced Moctezuma to appear on the balcony of his palace, appealing to his countrymen to retreat. The people were appalled by their emperor's complicity with the Spanish and pelted him with rocks and darts. He died a short time after that. Bernal Díaz gives this account:

[Moctezuma] was hit by three stones, one on the head, one on the arm, and one on the leg; and though they begged him to have his wounds dressed and eat some food and spoke very kindly to him, he refused. Then quite unexpectedly we were told that he was dead.

Cortés similarly reported he died wounded by a stone thrown by his countrymen(in some history books, Cuauhtémoc was the culprit, but the source is not reported). According to Father Sahagun's Aztec informants, Alvarado "garrotted all the nobles he had in power", and they also reported, they found the body of Moctezuma in the street, three days after the killings, with sword wounds. In the Ramirez Codex, by an anonymous Christianized Aztec, he criticizes the Spanish priests, because instead of administering the last sacraments to Moctezuma, they were busy searching for gold. Much suggests that when Moctezuma had proved incapable of pacifying the aztec people he was no longer useful as a hostage to the spaniards who disposed of him.

Aftermath

The Spaniards were forced to flee the city and they took refuge in Tlaxcala, and signed a treaty with them to conquer Tenochtitlan, offering to the Tlaxcalans to be free from any kind of tribute and the control of Tenochtitlan.

Moctezuma was then succeeded by his brother Cuitláhuac, who died shortly after during a vicious epidemic of smallpox that further weakedn the aztec capital. He was replaced by his adolescent nephew, Cuauhtémoc. During the siege of the city, the sons of Moctezuma were murdered by the aztec, posibly because they lead those who wanted to surrender. By the following year, the Aztec empire had entirely succumbed to the Spanish. After the conquest, Moctezuma's daughter, Techichpotzin, was considered the heiress to the king's wealth following the spanish customs and given the name "Isabel," she was married to different conquistadors who would put claims to the heritage of the aztec emperor. The title Moctezuma still is the name of a Spanish house.

References

• Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest by Matthew Restall, Oxford University Press (2003) ISBN 0-19-516077-0
• Hassig, Ross; Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control; Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.
• Lockhart, James, ed., tr. We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. University of California Press, 1993
• John Ledy Phelan, The Millenian Kingdom of the Franciscans in the New World (1956)
• Jose Luis Martínez, Gerónimo de Mendieta (1980), in Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl vol 14, UNAM, Mexico pp131-197

See also

• Historic recurrence

External links

• A reconstructed portrait of Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, based on historical sources, in a contemporary style.

Trivia

• Montezuma's Revenge is the colloquial term for any episodes of travelers' diarrhea or other sicknesses contracted by tourists visiting Mexico.
• The Mexico City metro system has a station named Metro Moctezuma in honour of the tlatoani.
• Antonio Vivaldi also wrote an opera called "Motezuma"; it has little to do with the historical character.
• Moctezuma was not allowed to be looked at unless it was a festival. A person that looked at him would receive the death penalty.
• He was so holy that he was carried around everywhere so that his feet would not touch common ground.
• This Emperor Moctezuma may possibly have influenced the semi-divine figure of Montezuma common to the 19th century folklore of native tribes living in Arizona and New Mexico.
• There is a reference to Montezuma in the song Cortez The Killer by Neil Young and Crazy Horse off of the Album Zuma(1975). The verse is as follows: "On the shore lay Montezuma, With his coca leaves and pearls, In his halls he often wandered with the secrets of the world."