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, 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.
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 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.
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, the most able candidate among the high noblemen was chosen by vote of the highest noblemen, and Cuauhtemoc assumed the rulership.
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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 the countryside to aid the defense of Tenochtitlan, 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 the surviving pipiltin (nobles).
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. He ordered the construction of a renaissance-style two-storied stone palace in Tlatelolco, in which he settled after the destruction of Tenochtitlan; the building survived and was known as the Tecpan or palace.
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.
Cuauhtémoc, Coanacoch, and Tetlepanquetzal were hanged.
The modern-day town of Ixcateopan in the state of Guerrero is home to an ossuary purportedly containing Cuauhtémoc's remains.
Cuauhtemoc 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 the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City. Smaller towns include Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Veracruz and Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chiapas.
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Our Sun has been lost from view
and has left us
in complete darkness
But we know it will return again
that it will rise again
to light us anew
But while it is there in
the Mansion of Silence
Let’s join together, let’s embrace each other
and in the very center of our being hide
all that our hearts love
and we know is the Great Treasure.
Let us hide our Temples
our schools, our sacred soccer game
our youth centers
our houses of flowery song
so that only our streets remain.
Our homes will enclose us
until our New Sun rises.
Most honorable fathers
and most honorable mothers,
may you never forget to guide your young ones
teach your children, while you live
how good it has been and will be.
Until now our beloved Anahuac
sheltered and protected our destinies
that our ancestors
and our parents enthusiastically received
and seeded in our being.
Now we will instruct our children
how to be good
They will raise themselves up and gain strength
and as goodness make real their great destiny
in this, our beloved mother Anahuac.
Cuauhtémoc
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