Rulers of Tenochtitlan - The Final Aztec Rulers (Ep13)

In this follow-up episode we explore the rulers of Tenochtitlan, or the tlatoque. From the first tlatoani, Acamapichtli, to the final traditional tlatoani, Cuauhtémoc, we'll explore all the "Aztec rulers." 

In this episode we explore the final leaders who oversaw the Fall of Tenochtitlan. As Moctezuma II is held captive in his final days, a new leader Cuitlahuac rises to fight for his people. 

Part 1 - Cuitlahuac, the 10th ruler of Tenochtitlan.

Part 2 - Cuauhtémoc, the 11th ruler of Tenochtitlan.

Part 3 - Tlacotzin, the 12th ruler of Tenochtitlan.

Part 4 - Motelchiuh, 13th ruler (cuauhtlatoani) of Tenochtitlan.

Part 5 - Xochiquentzin, Huanitizin, Teuetzquiti and the end of indigenous leaders.

~ Music Credits ~
Away by Meydän
Daniel Birch, www.danielbirchmusic.com
Breathe by Daniel Birch
Sustained Light by Daniel Birch
Intro sample, Sir Niney's Rock by Niney the Observer

Episode 13 Credits
Written, researched, performed and produced by Jeremy Lipps.

Transcript

Welcome back to the final episode of Mexica: A History Podcast. It’s been a years-long journey into old codices and history books as well as a community of creators and fans of the Aztec world. It’s been extremely fun and interesting for me, as a storyteller. I wanted to thank you for listening, whether for fun, knowledge or better sleep. I did my best to interpret the primary sources along with scholarly work and archeology to tell what I believed to be the most accurate narrative, while incorporating the mystical and spiritual elements of both Indigenous and European faiths. Again, thank you.

Ok, so Moctezuma was busy doing what the kings of Tenochtitlan did; marching armies around to keep various regions subjugated and ensuring the civic celebrations continued at home. In 1519 Cortes arrived, the third in a series of explorers from Hispaniola, to land on the coast of Mexico. As this podcast tells, Moctezuma allowed the Spanish and their indigenous allies to fight, persuade and politic their way into the Mexica capital. He was taken hostage, and eventually his people lost faith in his leadership during captivity. And this is where the next tlatoani of Tenochtitlan steps into history.

Cuitlahuac - 10th Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan
Cuitlahuac took power during the occupation of the Mexica capital city in 1520 when Cortes and his Indigenous allies were holed up in his father’s palace. Before Moctezuma was killed the Mexica forces were rallying behind Cuitlahuac. The conquistador Diaz, who was present in Tenochtitlan during the palace siege, said Cuitlahuac was outside the palace every day rallying fighters and motivating his warriors to keep up the fight. I imagine Diaz peering out of a crack in a barricade and seeing Cuitlahuac fighting for his people. Cuitlahuac was the leader the Mexica needed in that moment, fiery and clear on the threat the Castillians posed.

Born around 1476, Cuitlahuac was a noble prince, son of the sixth Tlatoani Axayacatl and younger brother to Moctezuma II. His name means something like “place of excrement,” and his name glyph is very obviously a tidy pile of human excrement. But it’s important to remember that excrement had value and was seen as part of the renewal of both the crops and the land, as fertilizer and literal chinampa farmland from which the island was partially made of.

Presumably he was trained at the Calmacac school for elites along with other noble boys. There he would have learned the noble arts of astronomy, religion, war, math and politics. As he grew he would come to be a trusted advisor to his older brother, ruler of Tenochtitlan and the Triple Alliance, Moctezuma II.

Cuitlahuac was about 44 years old and ruler of Iztapalapa, a royal compound more or less, when Cortes arrived in Mexico. From the very beginning of the conflict with Cortes, Cuitlahuac had been in consistent opposition to Moctezuma's soft play with the Spanish, often acting as the counter voice to King Cacamatzin of Texcoco, who favored courting Cortes. He had been urging Moctezuma not to allow them into the city.

After being asked for his opinion by Moctezuma, he gave sound advice as reported in the History of the Chichimeca Nation: "My opinion, great lord, is that you should not allow into your house one who would expel you from it.” The text goes on to say Moctezuma did heed his advice and sought to hinder Cortes, but he would eventually stray from that decision.

As Cortes neared Tenochtitlan in 1519, he stayed one night in Itztapalapa as a guest of Cuitlahuac. Cortes and Bernal Diaz both described Iztapalapa as a beautiful town gleaming white with fresh plaster, gardens and fountains as well as great halls and a palace. The next morning the Spanish caravan headed to Tenochtitlan for that fateful meeting.

Cuitlahuac was there when Cortes and Moctezuma met in the street, on November 8, 1519, likely having travelled with Cortes’ procession from Iztapalapa. He would have gone ahead to help his brother Moctezuma as he prepared to meet Cortes. The two princes, Cuitlahuac and Cacama of Texcoco, escorted Moctezuma in his golden litter to the Huitzillan area. Cuitlahuac was present at the meeting and possibly prevented Cortes from hugging or touching Moctezuma, as was forbidden.

Despite Cuitlahuac's warnings, Moctezuma allowed the Spanish into Tenochtitlan, which predictably turned bad when Cortes took both Moctezuma and younger brother Cuitlahuac hostage in his own palace. Eventually Cuitlahuac was let go, to open the markets, according to one source. 

Moctezuma was held hostage by Cortes and spent months in captivity as a powerless proxy ruler. In a desperate ploy to regain control of the angry Mexica populace the Spanish brought Moctezuma out on a palace balcony. The conquistador Bernal Diaz claims the crowd shouted to Moctezuma that Cuitlahuac was already the tlatoani and they had abandoned Moctezuma’s leadership, surely a disheartening message to hear for the once beloved king. Whether he was killed by a Spanish dagger or a Mexica stone isn’t known for sure, but in a way it’s somewhat irrelevant - neither group had use for him anymore. The Mexica had rallied behind Cuitlahuac. 

With Moctezuma dead, the remaining nobles and generals selected Cuitlahuac to be the next tlatoani. He continued his fiery resistance to the Spanish for several days until it climaxed on the Noche Triste when the Spanish attempted to escape under cover of darkness. After the Spanish were driven from the city the Mexica began to clean and repair Tenochtitlan, as well as cremate the many dead.

After only a few months of his leadership, a new enemy crept across the island capital - smallpox. With no fresh water in the city and mounting dead the disease spread quickly. It’s recorded that people lay in every house groaning in pain from the sores that covered their bodies. While trying to rebuild the city Cuitlahuac contracted smallpox and died. The Codex Aubin says he died of the "pustules,” after an 80-day reign. 

Cortes was gone, but with their city destroyed, the majority of their population sick or dead, it was a dark time for the Mexica. There were no festivities, or great parties for the deceased tlatoani. 

Cuauhtémoc - 11th Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan
Following Cuitlahuac’s death, Cuahtemoc was immediately installed to lead the Mexica, in part, because there were a dwindling few who qualified. Cuahtemoc did have both noble lineage and characteristics desired in a leader and he lived up to the challenge. 

Nothing is known of his youth. Born around 1495 or 1496, he was a son of the 8th tlatoani of tenochtitlan, Ahuitzotl, and cousin to Moctezuma II. His mother was Tiyacapantzin, a princess from Tlatelolco. We can speculate on some standards in an elite upbringing, like perhaps attending the youth academy for nobles and that he was likely born in Tenochtitlan during his father’s reign.

The History of the Chichimeca Nation states he was a famed captain of 18 years old when he was crowned, and that there was a festival and even some Spanish prisoners were sacrificed. It’s likely he would have held a military title, possibly in Tlatelolco, as part of his leadership development. I would also speculate he was a participant in the Noche Triste and other conflicts with the Spanish. Ultimately, not much is understood about him until he enters the historical record on his coronation day. Because Cacama had been killed during the Noche Triste, Texcoco also crowned a new ruler, Coanochcatzin. The two new kings would fight to the end, together.

Cuauhtemoc inherited a city physically ravaged by war and a population in the midst of a society-ending plague. He began to organize a cleanup effort and rebuilding of whatever was salvageable. They dug out canals, rebuilt homes and tried to repair the Templo Mayor. They tried to replant the chinampas but the population was a fraction of what it had been.

Cuauhtemoc also visited old allies and potential new ones to muster support for their aide. With smallpox and war ravaging other communities, and the Mexica's own history of war against their neighbors, it made empathy for their plight a hard sell. Some cities joined their effort and heard his pleas to unite the people of the seven caves of Chicomoztoc, the mythical origin place of the people of the valley.

Just as the plague began to break and move on to other communities Cortes returned to Texcoco with fresh troops and ships to choke off supply lines to Tenochtitlan. Cuahtemoc mustered and sustained a months-long defense of the city but inch by inch, Cortes and his allies took the city. First Tenochtitlan was abandoned after fierce fighting in the sacred precinct. Cuauhtemoc, his top advisors Coanochcatzin, Tlacotzin and Motechiuh, led the remaining Tenochcas north to Tlatelolco where there was still a hearty defense. Again the Spanish continued to press and the Mexica were pushed north from Yacacolco to Amaxac in the district of Tepito, where they would make their final stand. 

The Spanish kept them penned in, unable to source clean water, food or even cremate their dead. The Annals of Tlatelolco describes the survivors fighting over worms to eat. Cuitlahuac and the remaining leaders decided the few Mexica civilians left had had enough and surrendered.

Cuahtemoc decided to leave the city under cover of darkness to continue the resistance from the shore however he could, but his boat was spotted and he was captured. Cuauhtemoc was taken to Cortes in the Tlatelolco market, where some of the final battles were fought. Cortes’ men had raised a canopy on a platform and tables and chairs set beneath. 

Cortes asked Cuauhtemoc, through the translator Marina, why he allowed for the destruction of his city after so many attempts at peace.

Diego Duran reports his response:
Tell the Captain
that I have done my duty;
I have defended my city, my kingdom,
just as he would have defended his
had I attempted to take it from him.
But I have failed.
Now that I am his captive,
let him take this dagger
and kill me with it.

Duran wrote that Cuauhtemoc begged for Cortes to take his life, placing his hands on Cortes' dagger. His capture was the end of Tenochca-Mexica society. 

With Cuauhtemoc on the platform was the lord of Tlacopan, Tetlepantquetzal and Tlacotzin, high advisor. Immediately after some honorific words from Cortes, he asked for the empire’s gold. They presented what had been salvaged from Tenochtitlan when they fled, which was a modest amount. Cortes insisted there was more and demanded they produce it. Tlacotzin snapped at Cortes that his men had melted it all down into bars, but Cortes insisted they dropped it all in the Tolteca canal on the Noche Triste. Finally Cortes seized Cuauhtemoc and took him to a nearby area where a fire was made. 

In one of the more infamous scenes of the Conquest, Cortes burned Cuauhtemoc's feet to elicit a confession about the gold. But he, nor Tetlepanquetzal, had info to offer. The Cronica says he walked with a limp from then until his death, four years later.

Following the surrender of Tenothcitlan, Cuauhtemoc lived in the palace at Tecpan, built by Cortes immediately following the surrender of the Mexica. At some point Cuauhtemoc had been baptized as Don Fernando, or Don Hernando, depending on the source. From there this noble warrior of the Mexica elite administered affairs of the market and of the city but bore no real power. There were no armies of eagle warriors or campaigns to run in far flung places. Cortes was the ruler of Mexico City and was at work dismantling Tenochtitlan.

In 1524 Cortes organized an expedition to Guatemala and, likely to keep an eye on them, brought Cuauhtemoc, Tetlepanquetzal, Tlacotzin and other lords of the Valley of Mexico along with him. On February 28, 1525 Cortes accused and convicted Cuauhtemoc of plotting against him and sentenced him to death. Cortes chose Tetlepanquetzal and Tlacaltec of Tlatelolco to die with him so as not to go to the afterlife alone. The three leaders were hung from a ceiba tree near the Maya city of Itzamkanac, now an archaeological site in Campeche, Mexico known as El Tigre.

The conquistador Bernal Diaz wrote that the killings were unjust. Cortes appointed Cuauhtemoc’s chief advisor and Eagle Warrior, Tlacotzin, as the new ruler of Tenochtitlan.

Don Juan Velazquez Tlacotzin - 12th Leader of Tenochtitlan, the first Cuauhtlatoani
Tlacotzin was the grandson of legendary Mexica nobleman and high advisor Tlacalael. Tlacalael had been central to Mexica religion, war and politics since his youth as advisor to his brother Itzcoatl. Tlacotzin’s father, Texcalteuctli, is an obscure figure with little documentation. There isn’t much recorded about Tlacotzin other than his central role in the final resistance of the Mexica and as a king who never set foot in Tenochtitlan during his rule.

Tlacotzin followed in his famous grandfather’s footsteps likely serving Moctezuma and Cuauhtemoc as their high advisor, or Cihuacoatl. He was there as Cuauhtemoc rallied allies and fought skirmishes around the empire to retain and reclaim power.

As the Spanish closed in and fought the Mexica back to their own sacred precinct in the heart of Tenochtitlan, Cuauhtemoc and Tlaoctzin schemed and strategized, along with the remainder of their leadership, to defend their ever-shrinking grip on the capital. From the sacred precinct Tlacotzin fled with the last of the Mexica to Tlatelolco where they would make their final stand at Amaxac.

According to the Florentine Codex Tlacotzin delivered a powerful speech to the last hope of their people, an owl warrior, who would be sent over the wall in the final assault of the Mexica. In the darkest moment of Mexica history, at the end of the empire, Tlacotzin said to the owl warrior about the sacred bow and arrow, “you are to aim it only at our enemies. You are not just to cast it on the ground, but hurl it very close to them. And if one or two of them are hit, or if one or two of our enemies are captured, then it is truly our fate that for a little while longer we will (find favor).”

When Cuauhtemoc surrendered to Cortes Tlacotzin was likely by his side there on the platform in the center of the Tlatelolco market. And shortly after when Cortes took the leadership group and tortured Cuauhtemoc and Tetlepanquetzal to find the location of hidden treasure, Tlacotzin was there and likely tortured with the other leaders.

In the Florentine Codex, Volume 12 Tlacotzin is quoted again, this time as a captive. He snapped at Cortes about the treasure: ‘Tell our lord and god that when he came to the royal houses the first time we saw everything that was there, and we closed all the rooms with adobe bricks; we do not know what happened to the gold that was there — we believe that they (i.e. those men) took it all with them, and we have no more of it now.’ No treasure ever materialized.

After the conquest, the Mexica leaders were baptized and Tlacotzin took the name Don Juan Velazquez.

In 1524 Cortes departed for Honduras with all three leaders of the Triple Alliance, Cuauhtemoc, Tetlepanquetzal and Cuanochcatzin. It is reasonable to assume Tlacotzin also came along or joined the expedition later. After Cortes had Cuauhtemoc hanged with other leaders in Itzamkanac, he selected Tlactozin to be the next ruler of Tenochtitlan. Oddly, Cortes gave Tlacotzin a white horse, a sword and a set of European armor. The journey continued with Tlacotzin acting now as ruler in absentia.

Records are thin, but not long after his new appointment, Tlacotzin became ill and died on the return to Mexico City in a place called Nochixtlán, now San Pablo Coatlán in Oaxaca. During his short reign, he never set foot in Tenochtitlan.

Tlacotzin, through his powerful grandfather Tlacalael, the son of the second Tlatoani Huitzilihuitl, and brother to two tlatoque, kept nobility alive in the leadership of Tenochtitlan, although now a puppet ruler appointed by Cortes, rather than the Mexica council.

A couple other nobles would follow, but Tlacotzin’s successor Motelchiuh, would end the line of nobles. Symbolically, however, it is difficult to consider a tlatoani picked by a foreign conqueror and not crowned with any traditional ceremony, as true tlatoque. The name Cuauhtlatoani, or eagle ruler, has been used for the last of the rulers.

Don Andres de Tapia Motelchiuh - 13th Leader of Tenochtitlan
Although Motelchiuh was not noble, he was a decorated warrior of the Eagle class and was a key member of the final leadership group of the Mexica. His name means “the despised,” and his name glyph is represented as a striped rock.

Motelchiuh enters the historical record in 1519 with a special mission from Moctezuma II as Cortes was pushing inland from Veracruz. Moctezuma, who must have trusted the veteran warrior, summoned him to his palace and gave him specific orders. According to the Catholic writer Duran, Moctezuma said, “Add nothing to my words,” then instructed Motelchiuh to find Cortes and offer himself as a guide to Cortes and bring him to Tenochtitlan. Motelchiuh set out and found Cortes in a town called Chichiquila, Duran states. Other narratives simply state a group of nobles, or old men came to visit.

Motelchiuh presented himself to Cortes and repeated Moctezuma’s words inviting Cortes to go with him to Tenochtitlan. Marina translated his words into Spanish for Cortes. The narrative given by Duran feels like extreme surface level pleasantries covering for a very real tension. Maybe due to paranoia or suspicion of a planned ambush Cortes refused the assistance and said he intended to advance slowly so as not to overwhelm Moctezuma. And with that, Motelchiuh returned to Tenochtitlan where he gave his report to Moctezuma.

The next we hear of Motelchiuh is two years later during the Siege of Tenochtitlan, where he is serving Cuauhtemoc as Huitznahuatl, some sort of military chief or hybrid military-religious role. He was part of the final group of nobles and high-ranking Mexicas to leave Tenochtitlan for Tlatelolco. With Cuauhtemoc, Tlacotzin, and the remaining Mexica people Motelchiuh marched north to join the Tlatelolcas who still had a hearty defense in place.

Four rulers of Tenochtitilan were present at the final holdout in Amaxac, including Motelchiuh. There in the courtyard of a Tlatelolco official named Aztehuatzin, among the rotting dead, the leaders decided it was time to surrender. Motelchiuh was at the Tlatelolco market with Tlatoani Cuauhtemoc and the next ruler, Tlacotzin, where they surrendered to Cortes.

Duran notes that Motelchiuh was one of the great warriors of the empire, along with Tlacotzin and Xochiquentzin. In 1524 when Cortes took Cuauhtemoc, Tlacotzin and other rulers to Honduras Motelchiuh apparently stayed in Tenochtitlan and administered the affairs of the city and dealt with new colonial officials. Both Cuauhtemoc and Tlactozin died on the expedition in 1525. At some point Clortes officially appointed Motechiuh, who essentially continued the administration of the city as he was already doing.

During his time as the Mexica leader of Tenochtitlan Spain formed the Audiencia to take control of Mexico from Cortes. Motelchiuh didn’t accomplish much as the symbolic head of a city that was being erased day by day.

In 1530 Motelchiuh was taken on a military campaign against indigenous tribes north of Mexico City by a brutal man named Nuno de Guzman. During the expedition, in a place called Teoculhuacan, several sources say Motelchiuh was shot by an arrow while bathing, perhaps in one of the springs or pools in the area. During his life Motelchiuh had risen from a commoner, through the military ranks, to find himself fighting for his people’s survival. Then he found himself as the custodian of the transition to colonial power. He ruled Tenochtitlan for four years.

Pablo Xochiquetzin - 14th Leader of Tenochtitlan
The rest of the rulers are essentially local administrators with tenuous links to any indigenous power. After Motelchiuh was killed in the north, Don Pablo Xochiquetzin was appointed leader of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, not by Cortes, but instead by a new administrator Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza. The Codex Aubin identifies him as a Tenochca fighter, alongside Tlacotzin and Motelchiuh. He was not of noble lineage.

During his reign a conflict of Mexica traditional belief and Catholic power erupted. As the early Inquisition moved to the Americas a powerful medicine man named Martin Ocelotl found himself the target of criminal accusations of paganism. He had treated Xochiquetzin with traditional medicine and both men were made examples of. The ceremony caught the attention of Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, who had been tasked with eradicating indigenous religions in New Spain. While Xochiquentzin escaped serious punishment, Ocelotl was shipped to Spain and never heard from again, his fate unknown.

Don Pablo Xochiquentzin, who witnessed the collapse of the Mexica people, died of smallpox in 1536. The Florentine Codex summarizes his reign simply with this line; ”He ruled for four years.”

Diego de Alvarado Huanitzin - 15th Leader of Tenochtitlan
Huanitzin was the grandson of Tlatoani Axayacatl, and nephew of Moctezuma II. Appointed by Viceroy Mendoza, Huanitzin had been the ruler of Ecatepec, north of Tenochtitlan and was trained as an amanteca artisan. These were the featherworkers who created the great headdress now housed in Vienna, and the shields used in battle.

In 1520 Moctezuma appointed him ruler of the altepetl of Ecatepec. He was captured along with other leaders after the surrender of Cuauhtemoc and tortured alongside Cuauhtemoc and was possibly brought on the infamous Honduras trip where Cortes killed several leaders. He was spared and returned to Ecatapec to rule until he was called to Mexico-Tenochtitlan by Viceroy Mendoza, to rule. Mendoza, who arrived in 1535, was the first Viceroy to New Spain and attempted to restore the noble house of the Mexica. And so, grandson of the great Axayacatl was chosen after a year of no official leader.

His name is connected to the incredible featherwork art titled “Mass of St. Gregory,” which is made with shimmering blue feathers. Whether he contributed to the creation of the art or simply commissioned it is not totally clear, but the piece sits today in the Musee des Ameriques in France, a gift to Pope Paul III.

Huanitzin died in 1540 or 41 of unknown causes.

After Huanitzin there was a series of men appointed as head of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, despite an effort to reinstate the Aztec nobility the ceremonies had been lost along with those who performed them. Powerful Europeans were circling to take every bit of power for themselves. In 1541 Don Diego San Francisco Teuetzquiti was appointed by Viceroy Mendoza, a grandson of Tlatoani Tizoc. He led troops in the Mixton War and continued to receive small amounts of tribute from rights to natural resources. Eventually his descendents moved to Spain where they had a modest claim to nobility through Moctezuma, establishing the House of Moctezuma de Tultango. 

The next two leaders were mired in lawsuits with the Spanish Crown, and their lands eventually were dispersed into the landscape of Mexico City. 

From there on it was European or mestizo men who occupied the role of viceroy of Mexico City. Today the head of Mexico City has served to launch the careers of Mexican presidents Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Claudia Scheinbaum, a tribute to the seat of power traced to a few bold men who settled on a small island in the middle of a lake 800 years ago.

Thank you for listening, gracias por escuchar. If you enjoyed this podcast please give it five stars. For more information on the history of the Mexica or the Conquest, visit Mexicapodcast.com.