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Koatlawak (Cuitlahuac) Last Mexica Emperor of Tenochtitlan Written by Xiuhcoatl
To Motekuhzoma (Mocetuzoma):
"I pray to our gods that you will not let the strangers into your house.
They will cast you out of it and overthrow your rule. When you try to recover what you have lost, it will be too late."
Cuitlahuac
was a Mexica nobleman, related to both Moctezuma and Cuauhtemoc. After
the death of the coward Moctezuma, he became emperor of the Aztec
Empire. During this time, the Spaniards had already seized control of
Tenochtitlan because Moctezuma allowed them entrace into the royal
palace.
Their diseases ravaged away at the Aztecs,
but Cuitlahuac was determined to rid his lands of these terrorists. In
what is known as the Noche Triste, which was really a great night for
the Mexican people, Cuitlahuac attacked the white criminals and drove
them out of Tenochtitlan.
Two months after Cortes was
kicked out of the Aztec capitol, he returned only to see the epidemic
that him and his men had left behind. So many died or were direly ill
that Cortes had to leave Tenochtitlan and return at a later time to
allow the bodies to decompose.
Unfortunately,
Cuitlahuac was one of those victims. The exposure to the
highly-advanced European diseases proved too much for his immune system
to handle. He died of smallpox only 4 months after he became emperor of
the Aztec empire. |