Cuitláhuac (, ) (c. 1476 – 1520) or Cuitláhuac (in Spanish orthography; nah, Cuitlāhuac, , honorific form: Cuitlahuatzin) was the 10th '' Huey Tlatoani'' (emperor) of the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

city of

Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...

for 80 days during the year Two Flint (1520).Chimalpahin (1997): pp. 56–57, 164–165, 216–217. 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.

Biography

Cuitláhuac was the eleventh son of the ruler

Axayacatl Axayacatl (; nci, āxāyacatl ; es, Axayácatl ; meaning "face of water"; –1481) was the sixth of the of Tenochtitlan and Emperor of the Aztec Triple Alliance. Biography Early life and background Axayacatl was a son of the princess Ato ...

and a younger brother of Moctezuma II, the late Emperor of

, who died during the Spanish occupation of the city. His mother's father, also called Cuitlahuac, had been ruler of

Iztapalapa Iztapalapa () is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City, located on the east side of the entity. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa, which is officially called 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 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 was ritually married to Moctezuma's eldest daughter, a ten- or eleven-year-old girl, who later was called

Isabel Moctezuma Doña Isabel Moctezuma (born Tecuichpoch Ichcaxochitzin; 1509/1510 – 1550/1551) was a daughter of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II. She was the consort of Atlixcatzin, a tlacateccatl, and of the Aztec emperors Cuitlahuac, and Cuauhtemoc and as suc ...

Cuitláhuac ruled just 80 days, perhaps dying from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

that had been introduced to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

by an African suffering from the disease who was part of Pánfilo de Narváez's expedition to capture Cortés. The early sources do not explicitly say from what he succumbed.Burkhart, "Cuitlahuac", p. 340. Immediately after Cuitláhuac's death,

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle ...

was made the next ''tlatoani''.

Legacy

The modern Mexican municipality of Cuitláhuac, Veracruz and the

Mexico City Metro The Mexico City Metro ( es, Metro de la Ciudad de México) is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in Mexico State. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is ...

station Metro Cuitláhuac are named in honor of Cuitláhuac. The asteroid 2275 Cuitláhuac 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.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuitlahuac Aztec nobility Tenochca tlatoque 16th-century monarchs in North America 16th-century indigenous people of the Americas 1470s births 1520 deaths Deaths from smallpox 1520 in Mexico 16th century in the Aztec civilization 1520 in North America 1520s in the Aztec civilization Nobility of the Americas

Biography

Legacy

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Notes

References

External links