title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: In late 1845 and early 1846, the Emperor made a tour of Brazil's southern provinces, traveling through São Paulo (of which Paraná was a part at this time), Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. He was buoyed by the warm and enthusiastic responses he received. By then Pedro II had matured physically and mentally. He grew into a man who, at tall with blue eyes and blond hair, was seen as handsome. With growth, his weaknesses faded and his strengths of character came to the fore. He became self-assured and learned to be not only impartial and diligent, but also courteous, patient and personable. Barman said that he kept "his emotions under iron discipline. He was never rude and never lost his temper. He was exceptionally discreet in words and cautious in action." Most importantly, this period saw the end of the Courtier Faction. Pedro II began to fully exercise authority and successfully engineered the end of the courtiers' influence by removing them from his inner circle while avoiding any public disruption.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Pedro II was faced by three crises between 1848 and 1852. The first test came in confronting the trade in illegally imported slaves. This had been banned in 1826 as part of a treaty with the United Kingdom. Trafficking continued unabated, however, and the British government's passage of the Aberdeen Act of 1845 authorized British warships to board Brazilian shipping and seize any found involved in the slave trade. While Brazil grappled with this problem, the Praieira revolt erupted on 6 November 1848. This was a conflict between local political factions within Pernambuco province; it was suppressed by March 1849. The Eusébio de Queirós Law was promulgated on 4 September 1850 which gave the Brazilian government broad authority to combat the illegal slave trade. With this new tool, Brazil moved to eliminate importation of slaves. By 1852 this first crisis was over, and Britain accepted that the trade had been suppressed.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The third crisis entailed a conflict with the Argentine Confederation regarding ascendancy over territories adjacent to the Río de la Plata and free navigation of that waterway. Since the 1830s, Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas had supported rebellions within Uruguay and Brazil. It was only in 1850 that Brazil was able to address the threat posed by Rosas. An alliance was forged between Brazil, Uruguay and disaffected Argentines, leading to the Platine War and the subsequent overthrow of the Argentine ruler in February 1852. Barman said that a "considerable portion of the credit must be ... assigned to the Emperor, whose cool head, tenacity of purpose, and sense of what was feasible proved indispensable."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The Empire's successful navigation of these crises considerably enhanced the nation's stability and prestige, and Brazil emerged as a hemispheric power. Internationally, Europeans began to regard the country as embodying familiar liberal ideals, such as freedom of the press and constitutional respect for civil liberties. Its representative parliamentary monarchy also stood in stark contrast to the mix of dictatorships and instability endemic in the other nations of South America during this period.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: At the beginning of the 1850s, Brazil enjoyed internal stability and economic prosperity. Under the prime ministry of Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão (then-Viscount and later Marquis of Paraná) the Emperor advanced his own ambitious program: the "conciliação" (conciliation) and "melhoramentos" (material developments). Pedro II's reforms aimed to promote less political partisanship, and forward infrastructure and economic development. The nation was being interconnected through railroad, electrical telegraph, and steamship lines, uniting it into a single entity. The general opinion, both at home and abroad, was that these accomplishments had been possible due to Brazil's "governance as a monarchy and the character of Pedro II".


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Pedro II was neither a British-style figurehead nor an autocrat in the manner of Russian czars. The Emperor exercised power through cooperation with elected politicians, economic interests, and popular support. The active presence of Pedro II on the political scene was an important part of the government's structure, which also included the cabinet, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (the latter two formed the General Assembly). He used his participation in directing the course of government as a means of influence. His direction became indispensable, although it never devolved into "one-man rule." In his handling of the political parties, he "needed to maintain a reputation for impartiality, work in accord with the popular mood, and avoid any flagrant imposition of his will on the political scene."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The Emperor's more notable political successes were achieved primarily because of the non-confrontational and cooperative manner with which he approached both issues and the partisan figures with whom he had to deal. He was remarkably tolerant, seldom taking offense at criticism, opposition or even incompetence. He did not have the constitutional authority to force acceptance of his initiatives without support, and his collaborative approach towards governing kept the nation progressing and enabled the political system to successfully function. The Emperor respected the prerogatives of the legislature, even when they resisted, delayed, or thwarted his goals and appointments. Most politicians appreciated and supported his role. Many had lived through the regency period, when the lack of an emperor who could stand above petty and special interests led to years of strife between political factions. Their experiences in public life had created a conviction that Pedro II was "indispensable to Brazil's continued peace and prosperity."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The marriage between Pedro II and Teresa Cristina started off badly. With maturity, patience and their first child, Afonso, their relationship improved. Later Teresa Cristina gave birth to more children: Isabel, in 1846; Leopoldina, in 1847; and lastly, Pedro, in 1848. Both boys died when very young, which devastated the Emperor and completely changed his view of the Empire's future. Despite his affection for his daughters, he did not believe that Princess Isabel, although his heir, would have any chance of prospering on the throne. He felt his successor needed to be male for the monarchy to be viable. He increasingly saw the imperial system as being tied so inextricably to himself, that it would not survive him. Isabel and her sister received a remarkable education, although they were given no preparation for governing the nation. Pedro II excluded Isabel from participation in government business and decisions.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Sometime around 1850, Pedro II began having discreet affairs with other women. The most famous and enduring of these relationships involved Luísa Margarida Portugal de Barros, Countess of Barral, with whom he formed a romantic and intimate, though not adulterous, friendship after she was appointed governess to the emperor's daughters in November 1856. Throughout his life, the Emperor held onto a hope of finding a soulmate, something he felt cheated of due to the necessity of a marriage of state to a woman for whom he never felt passion. This is but one instance illustrating his dual identity: one who assiduously carried out his duty as emperor and another who considered the imperial office an unrewarding burden and who was happier in the worlds of literature and science.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Pedro II was hard-working and his routine was demanding. He usually woke up at 7:00 and did not sleep before 2:00 in the morning. His entire day was devoted to the affairs of state and the meager free time available was spent reading and studying. The Emperor went about his daily routine dressed in a simple black tail coat, trousers, and cravat. For special occasions he would wear court dress, and he only appeared in full regalia with crown, mantle, and scepter twice each year at the opening and closing of the General Assembly. Pedro II held politicians and government officials to the strict standards which he exemplified. The Emperor adopted a strict policy for the selection of civil servants based on morality and merit. To set the standard, he lived simply, once having said: "I also understand that useless expenditure is the same as stealing from the Nation". Balls and assemblies of the Court ceased after 1852. He also refused to request or allow his civil list amount of Rs 800:000$000 per year (U.S. $405,000 or £90,000 in 1840) to be raised from the declaration of his majority until his dethronement almost fifty years later.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: "I was born to devote myself to culture and sciences," the Emperor remarked in his private journal during 1862. He had always been eager to learn and found in books a refuge from the demands of his position. Subjects which interested Pedro II were wide-ranging, including anthropology, history, geography, geology, medicine, law, religious studies, philosophy, painting, sculpture, theater, music, chemistry, physics, astronomy, poetry, and technology among others. By the end of his reign, there were three libraries in São Cristóvão palace containing more than 60,000 books. A passion for linguistics prompted him throughout his life to study new languages, and he was able to speak and write not only Portuguese but also Latin, French, German, English, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Chinese, Occitan, and Tupi. He became the first Brazilian photographer when he acquired a daguerreotype camera in March 1840. He set up one laboratory in São Cristóvão devoted to photography and another to chemistry and physics. He also had an astronomical observatory constructed.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The Emperor considered education to be of national importance and was himself a concrete example of the value of learning. He remarked: "Were I not an Emperor, I would like to be a teacher. I do not know of a task more noble than to direct young minds and prepare the men of tomorrow." His reign saw the creation of the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute to promote research and preservation in the historical, geographical, cultural, and social sciences. The Imperial Academy of Music and National Opera and the Pedro II School were also founded, the latter serving as a model for schools throughout Brazil. The Imperial Academy of the Fine Arts, established by his father, received further strengthening and support. Using his civil list income, Pedro II provided scholarships for Brazilian students to study at universities, art schools, and conservatories of music in Europe. He also financed the creation of the Institute Pasteur, helped underwrite the construction of Wagner's Bayreuth Festspielhaus, as well as subscribing to similar projects. His efforts were recognized both at home and abroad. Charles Darwin said of him: "The Emperor does so much for science, that every scientific man is bound to show him the utmost respect".


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Pedro II became a member of the Royal Society, the Russian Academy of Sciences, The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium and the American Geographical Society. In 1875, he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences, an honor previously granted to only two other heads of state: Peter the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte. He exchanged letters with scientists, philosophers, musicians and other intellectuals. Many of his correspondents became his friends, including Richard Wagner, Louis Pasteur, Louis Agassiz, John Greenleaf Whittier, Michel Eugène Chevreul, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Arthur de Gobineau, Frédéric Mistral, Alessandro Manzoni, Alexandre Herculano, Camilo Castelo Branco, and James Cooley Fletcher. His erudition amazed Friedrich Nietzsche when the two met. Victor Hugo told the Emperor: "Sire, you are a great citizen, you are the grandson of Marcus Aurelius," and Alexandre Herculano called him a "Prince whom the general opinion holds as the foremost of his era because of his gifted mind, and due to the constant application of that gift to the sciences and culture."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: At the end of 1859, Pedro II departed on a trip to provinces north of the capital, visiting Espírito Santo, Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, and Paraíba. He returned in February 1860 after four months. The trip was a huge success, with the Emperor welcomed everywhere with warmth and joy. The first half of the 1860s saw peace and prosperity in Brazil. Civil liberties were maintained. Freedom of speech had existed since Brazil's independence and was strongly defended by Pedro II. He found newspapers from the capital and from the provinces an ideal way to keep track of public opinion and the nation's overall situation. Another means of monitoring the Empire was through direct contacts with his subjects. One opportunity for this was during regular Tuesday and Saturday public audiences, where anyone of any social class, including slaves, could gain admittance and present their petitions and stories. Visits to schools, colleges, prisons, exhibitions, factories, barracks, and other public appearances presented further opportunities to gather first-hand information.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: This tranquility temporarily disappeared when the British consul in Rio de Janeiro, William Dougal Christie, nearly sparked a war between his nation and Brazil. Christie sent an ultimatum containing bullying demands arising out of two minor incidents at the end of 1861 and beginning of 1862. The first was the sinking of a commercial barque on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul after which its goods were pillaged by local inhabitants. The second was the arrest of drunken British officers who were causing a disturbance in the streets of Rio.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The Brazilian government refused to yield, and Christie issued orders for British warships to capture Brazilian merchant vessels as indemnity. Brazil prepared for what was seen as an imminent conflict. Pedro II was the main reason for Brazil's resistance; he rejected any suggestion of yielding. This response came as a surprise to Christie, who changed his tenor and proposed a peaceful settlement through international arbitration. The Brazilian government presented its demands and, upon seeing the British government's position weaken, severed diplomatic ties with Britain in June 1863.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: As war with the British Empire threatened, Brazil had to turn its attention to its southern frontiers. Another civil war had begun in Uruguay as its political parties turned against each other. The internal conflict led to the murder of Brazilians and looting of their property in Uruguay. Brazil's government decided to intervene, fearful of giving any impression of weakness in the face of conflict with the British. A Brazilian army invaded Uruguay in December 1864, beginning the brief Uruguayan War, which ended in February 1865. Meanwhile, the dictator of Paraguay, Francisco Solano López, took advantage of the situation to establish his country as a regional power. The Paraguayan Army invaded the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso (the area known after 1977 as the state of Mato Grosso do Sul), triggering the Paraguayan War. Four months later, Paraguayan troops invaded Argentine territory as a prelude to an attack on Rio Grande do Sul.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Aware of the anarchy in Rio Grande do Sul and the incapacity and incompetence of its military chiefs to resist the Paraguayan army, Pedro II decided to go to the front in person. Upon receiving objections from the cabinet, the General Assembly and the Council of State, Pedro II pronounced: "If they can prevent me from going as an Emperor, they cannot prevent me from abdicating and going as a Fatherland Volunteer"—an allusion to those Brazilians who volunteered to go to war and became known throughout the nation as the "Fatherland Volunteers". The monarch himself was popularly called the "number-one volunteer". Given permission to leave, Pedro II disembarked in Rio Grande do Sul in July and proceeded from there by land. He travelled overland by horse and wagon, sleeping at night in a campaign tent. In September, Pedro II arrived in Uruguaiana, a Brazilian town occupied by a besieged Paraguayan army.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The Emperor rode within rifle-shot of Uruguaiana, but the Paraguayans did not attack him. To avoid further bloodshed, he offered terms of surrender to the Paraguayan commander, who accepted. Pedro II's coordination of the military operations and his personal example played a decisive role in successfully repulsing the Paraguayan invasion of Brazilian territory. Before returning to Rio de Janeiro, he received the British diplomatic envoy Edward Thornton, who apologized on behalf of Queen Victoria and the British Government for the crisis between the empires. The Emperor regarded this diplomatic victory over the most powerful nation of the world as sufficient and renewed friendly relations.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Against all expectations, the war continued for five years. During this period, Pedro II's time and energy were devoted to the war effort. He tirelessly worked to raise and equip troops to reinforce the front lines and to push forward the fitting of new warships for the navy. The rape of women, widespread violence against civilians, ransacking and destruction of properties that had occurred during Paraguay's invasion of Brazilian territory had made a deep impression on him. He warned the Countess of Barral in November 1866 that "the war should be concluded as honor demands, cost what it cost." "Difficulties, setbacks, and war-weariness had no effect on his quiet resolve", said Barman. Mounting casualties did not distract him from advancing what he saw as Brazil's righteous cause, and he stood prepared to personally sacrifice his own throne to gain an honorable outcome. Writing in his journal a few years previously Pedro II remarked: "What sort of fear could I have? That they take the government from me? Many better kings than I have lost it, and to me it is no more than the weight of a cross which it is my duty to carry."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: At the same time, Pedro II worked to prevent quarrels between the national political parties from impairing the military response. The Emperor prevailed over a serious political crisis in July 1868 resulting from a quarrel between the cabinet and Luís Alves de Lima e Silva (then-Marques and later Duke of Caxias), the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian forces in Paraguay. Caxias was also a politician and was a member of the opposing party to the ministry. The Emperor sided with him, leading to the cabinet's resignation. As Pedro II maneuvered to bring about a victorious outcome in the conflict with Paraguay, he threw his support behind the political parties and factions that seemed to be most useful in the effort. The reputation of the monarchy was harmed and its trusted position as an impartial mediator was severely impacted in the long term. He was unconcerned for his personal position, and regardless of the impact upon the imperial system, he determined to put the national interest ahead of any potential harm caused by such expediencies.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: His refusal to accept anything short of total victory was pivotal in the outcome. His tenacity was well-paid with the news that López had died in battle on 1 March 1870, bringing the war to a close. Pedro II turned down the General Assembly's suggestion to erect an equestrian statue of him to commemorate the victory and chose instead to use the money to build elementary schools.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: In the 1870s, progress was made in both social and political spheres as segments of society benefited from the reforms and shared in the increasing prosperity. Brazil's international reputation for political stability and investment potential greatly improved. The Empire was seen as a modern and progressive nation unequaled, with the exception of the United States, in the Americas. The economy began growing rapidly and immigration flourished. Railroad, shipping and other modernization projects were adopted. With "slavery destined for extinction and other reforms projected, the prospects for 'moral and material advances' seemed vast."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: In 1870, few Brazilians opposed slavery and even fewer openly condemned it. Pedro II, who did not own slaves, was one of the few who did oppose slavery. Its abolition was a delicate subject. Slaves were used by all classes, from the richest to the poorest. Pedro II wanted to end the practice gradually to soften the impact to the national economy. With no constitutional authority to directly intervene to abolish slavery, the Emperor would need to use all his skills to convince, influence, and gather support among politicians to achieve his goal. His first open move occurred back in 1850, when he threatened to abdicate unless the General Assembly declared the Atlantic slave trade illegal.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Having dealt with the overseas supply of new slaves, Pedro II turned his attention in the early 1860s to removing the remaining source: enslavement of children born to slaves. Legislation was drafted at his initiative, but the conflict with Paraguay delayed discussion of the proposal in the General Assembly. Pedro II openly asked for the gradual eradication of slavery in the speech from the throne of 1867. He was heavily criticized, and his move was condemned as "national suicide." Critics argued "that abolition was his personal desire and not that of the nation." He consciously ignored the growing political damage to his image and to the monarchy in consequence of his support for abolition. Eventually, a bill pushed through by Prime Minister José Paranhos, was enacted as the Law of Free Birth on 28 September 1871, under which all children born to slave women after that date were considered free-born.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: On 25 May 1871, Pedro II and his wife traveled to Europe. He had long desired to vacation abroad. When news arrived that his younger daughter, the 23-year-old Leopoldina, had died in Vienna of typhoid fever on 7 February, he finally had a pressing reason to venture outside the Empire. Upon arriving in Lisbon, Portugal, he immediately went to the "Janelas Verdes" palace, where he met with his stepmother, Amélie of Leuchtenberg. The two had not seen each other in forty years, and the meeting was emotional. Pedro II remarked in his journal: "I cried from happiness and also from sorrow seeing my Mother so affectionate toward me but so aged and so sick."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The Emperor proceeded to visit Spain, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Egypt, Greece, Switzerland, and France. In Coburg, he visited his daughter's tomb. He found this to be "a time of release and freedom". He traveled under the assumed name "Dom Pedro de Alcântara", insisting upon being treated informally and staying only in hotels. He spent his days sightseeing and conversing with scientists and other intellectuals with whom he shared interests. The European sojourn proved to be a success, and his demeanor and curiosity won respectful notices in the nations which he visited. The prestige of both Brazil and Pedro II were further enhanced during the tour when news came from Brazil that the Law of Free Birth, abolishing the last source of enslavement, had been ratified. The imperial party returned to Brazil in triumph on 31 March 1872.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Soon after returning to Brazil, Pedro II was faced with an unexpected crisis. The Brazilian clergy had long been understaffed, undisciplined and poorly educated, leading to a great loss of respect for the Catholic Church. The imperial government had embarked upon a program of reform to address these deficiencies. As Catholicism was the state religion, the government exercised a great deal of control over Church affairs, paying clerical salaries, appointing parish priests, nominating bishops, ratifying papal bulls and overseeing seminaries. In pursuing reform, the government selected bishops who satisfied its criteria for education, support for reform and moral fitness. However, as more capable men began to fill the clerical ranks, resentment of government control over the Church increased.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The bishops of Olinda and Belém (in the provinces of Pernambuco and Pará, respectively) were two of the new generation of educated and zealous Brazilian clerics. They had been influenced by the ultramontanism, which spread among Catholics in this period. In 1872, they ordered Freemasons expelled from lay brotherhoods. While European Freemasonry often tended towards atheism and anti-clericalism, things were much different in Brazil where membership in Masonic orders was common—although Pedro II himself was not a Freemason. The government headed by the Viscount of Rio Branco tried on two separate occasions to persuade the bishops to repeal, but they refused. This led to their trial and conviction by the Superior Court of Justice. In 1874, they were sentenced four years at hard labor, although the Emperor commuted this to imprisonment only.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Pedro II played a decisive role by unequivocally backing the government's actions. He was a conscientious adherent of Catholicism, which he viewed as advancing important civilizing and civic values. While he avoided anything that could be considered unorthodox, he felt free to think and behave independently. The Emperor accepted new ideas, such as Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, of which he remarked that "the laws that he [Darwin] has discovered glorify the Creator". He was moderate in his religious beliefs, but could not accept disrespect to civil law and government authority. As he told his son-in-law: "[The government] has to ensure that the constitution is obeyed. In these proceedings there is no desire to protect masonry; but rather the goal of upholding the rights of the civilian power." The crisis was resolved in September 1875 after the Emperor grudgingly agreed to grant full amnesty to the bishops and the Holy See annulled the interdicts.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Once again the Emperor traveled abroad, this time going to the United States. He was accompanied by his faithful servant Rafael, who had raised him from childhood. Pedro II arrived in New York City on 15 April 1876, and set out from there to travel throughout the country; going as far as San Francisco in the west, New Orleans in the south, Washington, D.C., and north to Toronto, Canada. The trip was "an unalloyed triumph", Pedro II making a deep impression on the American people with his simplicity and kindness. He then crossed the Atlantic, where he visited Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Greece, the Holy Land, Egypt, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Portugal. He returned to Brazil on 22 September 1877.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Pedro II's trips abroad made a deep psychological impact. While traveling, he was largely freed of the restrictions imposed by his office. Under the pseudonym "Pedro de Alcântara", he enjoyed moving about as an ordinary person, even taking a train journey solely with his wife. Only while touring abroad could the Emperor shake off the formal existence and demands of the life he knew in Brazil. It became more difficult to reacclimate to his routine as head of state upon returning. Upon his sons' early deaths, the Emperor's faith in the monarchy's future had evaporated. His trips abroad now made him resentful of the emperorship assigned to him at the age of five. If he previously had no interest in securing the throne for the next generation, he now had no desire to keep it going during his own lifetime.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: During the 1880s, Brazil continued to prosper and social diversity increased markedly, including the first organized push for women's rights. On the other hand, letters written by Pedro II reveal a man grown world-weary with age and having an increasingly alienated and pessimistic outlook. He remained respectful of his duty and was meticulous in performing the tasks demanded of the imperial office, albeit often without enthusiasm. Because of his increasing "indifference towards the fate of the regime" and his lack of action in support of the imperial system once it was challenged, historians have attributed the "prime, perhaps sole, responsibility" for the dissolution of the monarchy to the Emperor himself.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: After their experience of the perils and obstacles of government, the political figures who had arisen during the 1830s saw the Emperor as providing a fundamental source of authority essential for governing and for national survival. These elder statesmen began to die off or retire from government until, by the 1880s, they had almost entirely been replaced by a newer generation of politicians who had no experience of the early years of Pedro II's reign. They had only known a stable administration and prosperity and saw no reason to uphold and defend the imperial office as a unifying force beneficial to the nation. To them, Pedro II was merely an old and increasingly sick man who had steadily eroded his position by taking an active role in politics for decades. Before he had been above criticism, but now his every action and inaction prompted meticulous scrutiny and open criticism. Many young politicians had become apathetic toward the monarchic regime and, when the time came, they would do nothing to defend it. Pedro II's achievements went unremembered and unconsidered by the ruling elites. By his very success, the Emperor had made his position seem unnecessary.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The lack of an heir who could feasibly provide a new direction for the nation also diminished the long-term prospects of the Brazilian monarchy. The Emperor loved his daughter Isabel, but he considered the idea of a female successor as antithetical to the role required of Brazil's ruler. He viewed the death of his two sons as being a sign that the Empire was destined to be supplanted. Resistance to accepting a female ruler was also shared by the political establishment. Even though the Constitution allowed female succession to the throne, Brazil was still very traditional, and only a male successor was thought capable as head of state.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: By June 1887, the Emperor's health had considerably worsened and his personal doctors suggested going to Europe for medical treatment. While in Milan he passed two weeks between life and death, even being anointed. While on a bed recovering, on 22 May 1888 he received news that slavery had been abolished in Brazil. With a weak voice and tears in his eyes, he said, "Great people! Great people!" Pedro II returned to Brazil and disembarked in Rio de Janeiro in August 1888. The "whole country welcomed him with an enthusiasm never seen before. From the capital, from the provinces, from everywhere, arrived proofs of affection and veneration." With the devotion expressed by Brazilians upon the return of the Emperor and the Empress from Europe, the monarchy seemed to enjoy unshakable support and to be at the height of its popularity.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The nation enjoyed great international prestige during the final years of the Empire, and it had become an emerging power within the international arena. Predictions of economic and labor disruption caused by the abolition of slavery failed to materialize and the 1888 coffee harvest was successful. The end of slavery had resulted in an explicit shift of support to republicanism by rich and powerful coffee farmers who held great political, economic, and social power in the country. Republicanism was an elitist creed which never flourished in Brazil, with little support in the provinces. The combination of republican ideas and the dissemination of positivism among the army's lower and medium officer ranks led to indiscipline among the corps and became a serious threat to the monarchy. They dreamed of a dictatorial republic, which they believed would be superior to the monarchy.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Although there was no desire in Brazil among the majority of the population to change the form of government, the civilian republicans began pressuring army officers to overthrow the monarchy. They launched a coup d'état, arrested Prime Minister Afonso Celso, Viscount of Ouro Preto and instituted the republic on 15 November 1889. The few people who witnessed what occurred did not realize that it was a rebellion. Historian Lídia Besouchet noted that "[r]arely has a revolution been so minor." During the ordeal, Pedro II showed no emotion as if unconcerned about the outcome. He dismissed all suggestions for quelling the rebellion that politicians and military leaders put forward. When he heard the news of his deposition he simply commented: "If it is so, it will be my retirement. I have worked too hard and I am tired. I will go rest then." He and his family were sent into exile in Europe on 17 November.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Teresa Cristina died three weeks after their arrival in Europe, and Isabel and her family moved to another place while Pedro settled first in Cannes and later in Paris. Pedro's last couple of years were lonely and melancholic, as he lived in modest hotels without money and writing in his journal of dreams in which he was allowed to return to Brazil. He never supported a restoration of the monarchy, once stating that he had no desire "to return to the position which I occupied, especially not by means of conspiracy of any sort." One day he caught an infection that progressed quickly into pneumonia. Pedro rapidly declined and died at 00:35 on 5 December 1891 surrounded by his family. His last words were "May God grant me these last wishes—peace and prosperity for Brazil". While the body was being prepared, a sealed package in the room was found, and next to it a message written by the Emperor himself: "It is soil from my country, I wish it to be placed in my coffin in case I die away from my fatherland."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Isabel wished to hold a discreet and private burial ceremony, but she eventually agreed to the French government's request for a state funeral. On 9 December, thousands of mourners attended the ceremony at La Madeleine. Aside from Pedro's family, these included: Francesco II, former king of the Two Sicilies; Isabel II, former queen of Spain; Philippe, comte de Paris; and other members of European royalty. Also present were General Joseph Brugère, representing President Sadi Carnot; the presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies as well as their members; diplomats; and other representatives of the French government. Nearly all members of the Institut de France were in attendance. Other governments from the Americas and Europe sent representatives, as did the Ottoman Empire, Persia, China, and Japan. Following the services, the coffin was taken in procession to the railway station to begin its trip to Portugal. Around 300,000 people lined the route under incessant rain and cold. The journey continued on to the Church of São Vicente de Fora near Lisbon, where the body of Pedro was interred in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza on 12 December.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The Brazilian republican government, "fearful of a backlash resulting from the death of the Emperor", banned any official reaction. Nevertheless, the Brazilians were far from indifferent to Pedro's demise, and "repercussions in Brazil were also immense, despite the government's effort to suppress. There were demonstrations of sorrow throughout the country: shuttered business activity, flags displayed at half-staff, black armbands on clothes, death knells, religious ceremonies." Masses were held in memory of Pedro throughout Brazil, and he and the monarchy were praised in the eulogies that followed.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: After his fall, Brazilians remained attached to the former Emperor, who was still a popular and highly praised figure. This view was even stronger among those of African descent, who equated the monarchy with freedom because of his and his daughter Isabel's part in the abolition of slavery. The continued support for the deposed monarch is largely credited to a generally held and unextinguished belief that he was a truly "wise, benevolent, austere and honest ruler", said historian Ricardo Salles. The positive view of Pedro II, and nostalgia for his reign, only grew as the nation quickly fell into a series of economic and political crises which Brazilians attributed to the Emperor's overthrow.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Strong feelings of guilt manifested among republicans, and these became increasingly evident upon the Emperor's death in exile. They praised Pedro II, who was seen as a model of republican ideals, and the imperial era, which they believed should be regarded as an example to be followed by the young republic. In Brazil, the news of the Emperor's death "aroused a genuine sense of regret among those who, without sympathy for a restoration, acknowledged both the merits and the achievements of their deceased ruler." His remains, as well as those of his wife, were returned to Brazil in 1921 in time for the centenary of the Brazilian independence. The government granted Pedro II dignities befitting a head of state. A national holiday was declared and the return of the Emperor as a national hero was celebrated throughout the country. Thousands attended the main ceremony in Rio de Janeiro where, according to historian Pedro Calmon, the "elderly people cried. Many knelt down. All clapped hands. There was no distinction between republicans and monarchists. They were all Brazilians." This homage marked the reconciliation of Republican Brazil with its monarchical past.


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: Historians have expressed high regard for Pedro II and his reign. The scholarly literature dealing with him is vast and, with the exception of the period immediately after his ouster, overwhelmingly positive, and even laudatory. He has been regarded by several historians in Brazil as the greatest Brazilian. In a manner similar to methods which were used by republicans, historians point to the Emperor's virtues as an example to be followed, although none go so far as to advocate a restoration of the monarchy. Historian Richard Graham noted that "[m]ost twentieth-century historians, moreover, have looked back on the period [of Pedro II's reign] nostalgically, using their descriptions of the Empire to criticize—sometimes subtly, sometimes not—Brazil's subsequent republican or dictatorial regimes."


title: Pedro II of Brazil

text: The Emperor's full style and title were "His Imperial Majesty Dom Pedro II, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil".


title: Moctezuma II

text: Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; ] ), variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma, Motēuczōmah, Muteczuma, and referred to retroactively in European sources as Moctezuma II, was the ninth Emperor of the Aztec Empire (also known as Mexica Empire), reigning from 1502 or 1503 to 1520. Through his marriage with queen Tlapalizquixochtzin of Ecatepec, one of his two wives, he was also king consort of that "altepetl".


title: Moctezuma II

text: The first contact between the indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica and Europeans took place during his reign, and he was killed during the initial stages of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, when conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men fought to take over the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. During his reign, the Aztec Empire reached its greatest size. Through warfare, Moctezuma expanded the territory as far south as Xoconosco in Chiapas and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and incorporated the Zapotec and Yopi people into the empire. He changed the previous meritocratic system of social hierarchy and widened the divide between "pipiltin" (nobles) and "macehualtin" (commoners) by prohibiting commoners from working in the royal palaces.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Though two other Aztec rulers succeeded Moctezuma after his death, their reigns were short-lived and the empire quickly collapsed under them. Historical portrayals of Moctezuma have mostly been colored by his role as ruler of a defeated nation, and many sources have described him as weak-willed, superstitious, and indecisive. Depictions of his person among his contemporaries however are divided; some depict him as one of the greatest leaders Mexico had, a great conqueror who tried his best to maintain his nation together at times of crisis, while others depict him as a tyrant who wanted to take absolute control over the whole empire. His story remains one of the most well-known conquest narratives from the history of European contact with Native Americans, and he has been mentioned or portrayed in numerous works of historical fiction and popular culture.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The Nahuatl pronunciation of his name is . It is a compound of a noun meaning "lord" and a verb meaning "to frown in anger", and so is interpreted as "he is one who frowns like a lord" or "he who is angry in a noble manner." His name glyph, shown in the upper left corner of the image from the "Codex Mendoza" below, was composed of a diadem ("xiuhuitzolli") on straight hair with an attached earspool, a separate nosepiece, and a speech scroll.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The Aztecs did not use regnal numbers; they were given retroactively by historians to more easily distinguish him 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" () means "honored young one" (from "xocoyotl" [younger son] + suffix "-tzin" added to nouns or personal names when speaking about them with deference).


title: Moctezuma II

text: Moctezuma II was the great-grandson of Moctezuma I through his daughter Atotoztli II and her husband Huehue Tezozómoc (not to be confused with the Tepanec leader). According to some sources, Tezozómoc was the son of emperor Itzcóatl, which would make Moctezuma his great-grandson, but other sources claim that Tezozómoc was actually Chimalpopoca's son, thus nephew of Itzcóatl, and a lord in Ecatepec. Moctezuma was also Nezahualcóyotl's grandson; he was son of emperor Axayácatl and one of Nezahualcóyotl's daughters, Izelcoatzin or Xochicueyetl. Two of his uncles were Tízoc and Ahuizotl, the two previous emperors.


title: Moctezuma II

text: As was custom among Mexica nobles, Moctezuma was educated in the Calmecac, the educational institution for the nobility. He would've been enrolled into the institution at a very early age, likely at the age of five years, as the sons of the kings were expected to receive their education at a much earlier age than the rest of the population. According to some sources, Moctezuma stood out in his childhood for his discipline during his education, finishing his works correctly and being devout to the Aztec religion.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Moctezuma was an already famous warrior by the time he became the "tlatoani" of Mexico, holding the high rank of "tlacatecuhtli" (lord of men) and/or "tlacochcalcatl" (person from the house of darts) in the Mexica military, and thus his election was largely influenced by his military career and religious influence as a priest, as he was also the main priest of Huitzilopochtli's temple.


title: Moctezuma II

text: One example of a celebrated campaign in which he participated before ascending to the throne was during the last stages of the conquest of Ayotlan, during Ahuizotl's reign in the late 15th century. During this campaign, which lasted 4 years, a group of Mexica "pochteca" merchants were put under siege by the enemy forces. This was important because the merchants were closely related to Ahuizotl and served as military commanders and soldiers themselves when needed. To rescue the merchants, Ahuizotl sent then-prince Moctezuma with many soldiers to fight against the enemies, though the fight didn't last long, as the people of Ayotlan surrendered to the Mexica shortly after he arrived.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Approximately in the year 1490, Moctezuma obtained the rank of "tequihua", which is reached by capturing at least 4 enemy commanders.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The year in which Moctezuma was crowned is uncertain. Most historians suggest the year of 1502 to be most likely, though some have argued in favor of the year 1503. A work currently held at the Art Institute of Chicago known as the Stone of the Five Suns is an inscription written in stone representing the Five Suns and a date in the Aztec calendar, 1 crocodile 11 reed, which is the equivalent to 15 July 1503 in the Gregorian calendar. Some historians believe this to be the exact date in which the coronation took place, as it is also included in some primary sources. Other dates have been given from the same year; Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl states that the coronation took place on 24 May 1503. However, most documents say Moctezuma's coronation happened in the year 1502, and therefore most historians believe this to have been the actual date.


title: Moctezuma II

text: After his coronation he set up thirty-eight more provincial divisions, largely to centralize the empire. He sent out bureaucrats, accompanied by military garrisons. They made sure tax was being paid, national laws were being upheld, and served as local judges in case of disagreement.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Moctezuma's reign began with difficulties. In the year of 1505, there was a drought that resulted in crop failure, and thus a large portion of the population of central Mexico began to starve. One of the few places in the empire that wasn't affected by this drought was Totonacapan, and many people from Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco sought refuge in this area to avoid starvation. Large amounts of maize were also brought from this area to aid the population. Moctezuma and the lords of Texcoco and Tlacopan, Nezahualpilli and Totoquihuatzin, attempted their best to aid the population during the disaster, including using all available food supplies to feed the population and raising tributes for 1 year. This drought lasted 3 years.


title: Moctezuma II

text: At some point the famine became so severe that some noblemen reportedly sold their children as slaves in exchange for food to avoid starvation. Moctezuma ordered the "tlacxitlan", the criminal court of Tenochtitlan (which aside from judging criminals also had the job to free "unjustified" slaves), to get those children to free them and offer food to those noblemen.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Another natural disaster, though of lower intensity, occurred in the winter of 1514, when a series of dangerous snowstorms resulted in the destruction of various crops and property across Mexico.


title: Moctezuma II

text: During his government, he applied multiple policies that centered the government of the empire on his person, though it is difficult to tell exactly to which extent those policies were actually applied, as the records written about such policies tend to be affected by propaganda in favor of or against his person.


title: Moctezuma II

text: According to Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, among Moctezuma's policies were the replacement of a large portion of his court (including most of his advisors) with people he deemed preferable, and increasing the division between the commoner and noble classes, which included the refusal to offer certain honors to various politicians and warriors for being commoners.


title: Moctezuma II

text: He also prohibited any commoners or illegitimate children of the nobility from serving in his palace or in high positions of government. This was contrary to the policies of his predecessors, who did allow commoners to serve in such positions.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Moctezuma's elitism can be attributed to a long conflict of interests between the nobility, merchants and warrior class. The struggle occurred as the result of the conflicting interests between the merchants and the nobility and the rivalry between the warrior class and the nobility for positions of power in the government. Moctezuma likely thought about solving this conflict by installing despotist policies that would settle it. However, it is also true that many of these elitist policies were put in place since Moctezuma did not want to "work with inferior people," and instead wanted to be served by and work with people he deemed more prestigious, both to avoid giving himself and the government a bad reputation and to work with people he trusted better.


title: Moctezuma II

text: However, some of his policies also affected the nobility, as he had the intentions of reforming it into not imposing a potential threat to the government, among them the obligation to reside permanently in Tenochtitlan and abandon their homes if they lived elsewhere.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Regarding his economic policies, Moctezuma's rule was largely affected by the natural disasters at the beginning of it. As mentioned before, the famine during his first years as "tlatoani" resulted in a temporary increase in tribute in some provinces to aid the population. Some provinces however ended up paying more tribute permanently, most likely as the result of his primary military focus shifting from territorial expansion to stabilization of the empire through the suppression of rebellions. Most of the provinces affected by this new tributary policies were in the Valley of Mexico. For example, the province of Amaquemecan, which formed part of the Chalco region, was assigned to pay an additional tribute of stone and wood twice or thrice a year for Tenochtitlan's building projects. This tributary policy eventually backfired as some of the empire's subjects grew disgruntled at Moctezuma's government and launched rebellions against him, which eventually resulted in many of these provinces, like Totonacapan (under the "de facto" leadership of Chicomacatl), Chalco and Mixquic (which were near Tenochtitlan), to form an alliance with Spain to rebel against him.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The famine at the beginning of his rule also resulted in the abolishment of the "huehuetlatlacolli" (old serfdom) system, which was a system of serfdom in which a family agreed to maintain a "tlacohtli" (slave or serf) perpetually. This agreement also turned the descendants of the ones who agreed into serfs.


title: Moctezuma II

text: During his campaign against Jaltepec and Cuatzontlan ("see below"), he made negotiations with the Tlatelolca to obtain the weapons and resources needed. As a result of these negotiations, Tlatelolco was given more sovereignty; they were given permission to rebuild their main temple which was partially destroyed in the Battle of Tlatelolco in a civil war during Axayácatl's reign, act largely independently during military campaigns and be absolved from paying tribute.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Many of these policies were planned together with his uncle Tlilpotonqui, "cihuacoatl" of Mexico and son of Tlacaelel, at the beginning of his reign, while others, such as his tributary policies, were created as the result of various events, like the famine which occurred at the beginning of his rule. His policies, in general, had the purpose of centralizing the government in his person through the means of implementing policies to settle the divide between the nobility and commoners and abolishing some of the more feudal policies of his predecessors, while also making his tributary policies more severe to aid the population during natural disasters and to compensate for a less expansionist focus in his military campaigns.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Most of the policies implemented during his rule would not last long after his death, as the empire fell into Spanish control on 13 August 1521 as a result of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, one year after he died. The new Spanish authorities implemented their own laws and removed many of the political establishments done during the pre-Hispanic era, leaving just a few in place. Among the few policies that lasted were the divide between the nobility and the commoners, as members of the pre-Hispanic nobility continued to enjoy various privileges under the Viceroyalty of New Spain, such as land ownership through a system known as "cacicazgo".


title: Moctezuma II

text: Moctezuma, like many of his predecessors, built a "tecpan" (palace) of his own. This was a particularly large palace, which was a somewhat larger than the National Palace that exists today which was built over it, being about 200 meters long and 200 meters wide. However, little archaeological evidence exists to understand what his palace looked like, but the various descriptions of it and the space it covered have helped reconstruct various features of its layout. Even so, these descriptions tend to be limited, as many writers were unable to describe it in detail. The Spanish captain Hernán Cortés, the main commander of the Spanish troops that entered Mexico in the year 1519, himself stated in his letters to the king of Spain that he would not bother describing it, claiming that it "was so marvelous that it seems to me impossible to describe its excellence."


title: Moctezuma II

text: The palace had a large courtyard which opened into the central plaza of the city to the north, where Templo Mayor was. This courtyard was a place where hundreds of courtiers would hold multiple sorts of activities, including feasts and waiting for royal business to be conducted. This courtyard had around it suites of rooms which surrounded smaller courtyards and gardens.


title: Moctezuma II

text: His residence had many rooms for various purposes. Aside from his own room, at the central part of the upper floor, there were two rooms beside it which were known as "coacalli" (guest house). One of these rooms was built for the lords of Tlacopan and Texcoco, the other two members of the Triple Alliance, who came to visit. The other room was for the lords of Colhuacan, Tenayohcan (today known as Tenayuca) and Chicuhnautlan (today, ). The exact reason why this room had this purpose remains uncertain, though a few records like Codex Mendoza say the reason was that these lords were personal friends of Moctezuma. There was also another room which became known as "Casa Denegrida de Moctezuma" (in Spanish, Moctezuma's Black House), a room with no windows and fully painted black which was used by Moctezuma to meditate. Remains of this room have been found in recent years in modern Mexico City. The upper floor had a large courtyard which was likely used as a "cuicacalli", for public shows during religious rituals. The bottom floor had two rooms which were used by the government. One of them was used for Moctezuma's advisors and judges who dealt with situations of the commoners, (likely the "Tlacxitlan"). The other room was for the war council (likely the "Tequihuacalli"), where high ranking warriors planned and commanded their battles.


title: Moctezuma II

text: As part of the construction of Moctezuma's palace, various projects were made which made it more prestigious by providing entertainment to the public.


title: Moctezuma II

text: One of the most famous among these projects was the "" (House of Birds), a zoo which had multiple sorts of animals, mainly avian species, but also contained several predatory animals as well in their own section. These animals were taken care of by servants who cleaned their environments, fed them and offered them care according to their species. The species of birds held within the zoo was widely varied, holding animals like quetzals, eagles, true parrots and others, and also included water species like roseate spoonbills and various others which had their own pond.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The section with animals other than birds, which was decorated with figures of gods associated with the wild, was also considerably varied, having jaguars, wolves, snakes and other smaller predatory animals. These animals were fed on hunted animals like deer, turkeys and other smaller animals. Allegedly, the dead bodies of sacrificial victims were also used to feed these animals, and after the battle known as La Noche Triste, which occurred during the early stages of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in June 1520 (during which Moctezuma died), the bodies of dead Spaniards may have been used to feed them.


title: Moctezuma II

text: This place was highly prestigious, and all sorts of important people are said to had used to visit this place, including artists, craftsmen, government officials and blacksmiths.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The "Totocalli" however was burnt and destroyed, along with many other constructions, in the year 1521 during the Siege of Tenochtitlan, as the Spanish captain Hernán Cortés ordered for many of the buildings that formed part of the royal palaces to be burnt to demoralize the Mexica army and civilians. Though Cortés himself admitted that he enjoyed the zoo, he stated that he saw it as a necessary measure in his third letter to the king of Spain Carlos I (also known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor).


title: Moctezuma II

text: Another construction was the Chapultepec aqueduct, built in 1506 to bring fresh water directly from Chapultepec to Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco. This water was driven to the merchant ports of the city for people to drink and to the temples. This aqueduct was destroyed less than a year after Moctezuma's death, during the Siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521, as the Spaniards decided to destroy it to cut Tenochtitlan's water supply. Some Mexica warriors attempted to resist its destruction, but were repelled by the Tlaxcalan allies of the Spanish.


title: Moctezuma II

text: At the beginning of his rule, he attempted to build diplomatic ties with Tlaxcala, Huexotzinco (today, Huejotzingo), Chollolan (Cholula), Michoacan and Metztitlán, through secretly inviting the lords of these countries to attend the celebrations for his coronation before the continuation of the flower wars, which were wars of religious nature arranged voluntarily by the parties involved with no territorial purposes, but instead to capture and sacrifice as many soldiers as possible. During this period, Mexico and Tlaxcala still weren't at war, but the tension between these nations was high, and the embassy sent for this purpose was put in a highly risky situation, for which he only chose experts in diplomacy, espionage and languages for it. Fortunately, his invitation was accepted, and Moctezuma used this opportunity to show his greatness to the lords who attended. However, due to the fact that the invitation was secret to avoid a scandal for inviting his rivals to this ceremony, Moctezuma ordered that no one should know that the lords were present, not even the rulers of Tlacopan (today known as Tacuba) and Texcoco, and the lords saw themselves often forced to pretend to be organizers to avoid confusion. Though Moctezuma would continue to hold meetings with these people, where various religious rituals were held, it did not take long for large-scale conflicts to erupt between these nations.


title: Moctezuma II

text: An important thing to note is that, contrary to popular belief, Tlaxcala wasn't Mexico's most powerful rival in the central Mexican region in this period, and it wouldn't be until the final years of pre-Hispanic Mexico in 1518—19. In the opening years of the 16th century, Huejotzingo was Mexico's actual military focus, and it proved itself to be one of the most powerful political entities until these final years, as a series of devastating wars weakened the state into being conquered by Tlaxcala.


title: Moctezuma II

text: During his reign, he married the queen of Ecatepec, Tlapalizquixochtzin, making him king consort of this "altepetl", though according to the chronicle written by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, very few people in Mexico actually knew about this political role, being only a few among his closest courtiers among those who knew.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The first military campaign during his rule, which was done in honor of his coronation, was the violent suppression of a rebellion in Nopala and Icpatepec. For this war, a force of over 60,000 soldiers from Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tepanec lands, Chalco and Xochimilco participated, and Moctezuma himself went to the frontlines. Approximately 5100 prisoners were taken after the campaign, many of whom were given to inhabitants of Tenochtitlan and Chalco as slaves, while the rest were sacrificed in his honor in the fourth day of his coronation. In Nopala, Mexica soldiers committed a massacre and burned down the temples and houses, going against Moctezuma's wishes. After the campaign, celebrations for his coronation continued in Tenochtitlan. Moctezuma's territorial expansion however wouldn't truly begin until another rebellion was suppressed in Tlachquiauhco (today known as Tlaxiaco), where its ruler, Malinalli, was killed after trying to start the rebellion. In this campaign, all adults above the age of 50 within the city were killed under Moctezuma's orders as he blamed them for the rebellion. A characteristic fact about Moctezuma's wars was that a large portion of them had the purpose of suppressing rebellions rather than conquering new territory, contrary to his predecessors, whose main focus was territorial expansion.


title: Moctezuma II

text: During his reign, multiple rebellions were suppressed by use of force, and often ended with violent results. In fact, as mentioned previously, the first campaign during his reign, which was done in honor of his coronation, was the suppression of a rebellion in Nopallan (today known as Santos Reyes Nopala) and Icpatepec (a Mixtec town that no longer exists which was near Silacayoapam), both in modern-day Oaxaca. The prisoners taken during this campaign were later used as slaves or for human sacrifice.


title: Moctezuma II

text: After Mexico suffered a humiliating defeat at Atlixco during a flower war against Huejotzingo ("see below"), many sites in Oaxaca rebelled, likely under the idea that the empire's forces were weakened. However, Moctezuma was able to raise an army numbering 200,000 and marched over the city of Yancuitlan (today known as Yanhuitlan), a city which had been previously conquered by Tizoc, and conquered Zozollan in the process. Abundant territorial expansion was carried out following this.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Another notable rebellion occurred in Atlixco (in modern-day Puebla), a city neighboring Tlaxcala which had previously been conquered by Ahuizotl. This rebellion occurred in 1508, which was repressed by a prince named Macuilmalinatzin. This wasn't the first conflict which occurred in this region, as its proximity with Tlaxcala and Huejotzingo would cause multiple conflicts to erupt in this area during Moctezuma's reign.


title: Moctezuma II

text: A large series of rebellions occurred in 1510, likely as a result of astrological predictions halting some Mexica military operations to a degree. Moctezuma would try to campaign against these rebellions one at a time throughout the following years, campaigning against territories in Oaxaca, including Icpatepec again, in 1511 or 1512. Some of these revolts occurred as far south as Xoconochco (today known as Soconusco) and Huiztlan (today, Huixtla), far down where the Mexican-Guatemalan border is today. These territories were highly important to the empire and had been previously conquered by his predecessor Ahuizotl, thus Moctezuma had to maintain them under his control. These revolts occurred in so many locations that the empire wasn't able to deal with all of them in an effective manner.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The empire's expansion during Moctezuma's rule was mainly focused on southwestern Mesoamerican territories, in Oaxaca and modern-day Guerrero. The earliest conquests in this territory were held by Moctezuma I.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The first important conquest during Moctezuma's rule occurred in the year of 1504, when the city of Achiotlan (today known as San Juan Achiutla) was conquered. This war, according to some sources, was supposedly mainly caused by "a small tree which belonged to a lord of the place which grew such beautiful flowers Moctezuma's envy couldn't resist it," and when Moctezuma asked for it, the lord of the city refused to offer it, thus starting the war. After the conquest, this tree was supposedly taken to Tenochtitlan. The second conquest occurred in Zozollan, a place neighboring east of Achiutla, on 28 May 1506, during the campaign against the Yanhuitlan rebellion. This conquest had a particularly violent result, as a special sacrifice was held after the campaign where the prisoners captured in Zozollan were the victims. "The Mexicans killed many of the people from Zozola which they captured in war," according to old sources.


title: Moctezuma II

text: In the year of 1507, the year of the New Fire Ceremony, abundant military action occurred. Among the towns which are listed to have been conquered in this year are: Tecuhtepec (from which multiple prisoners were sacrificed for the ceremony), Iztitlan, Nocheztlan (an important town northeast of Achiutla), Quetzaltepec and Tototepec.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The conquest of Tototepec formed part of the conquests of some of the last few Tlapanec territories of modern-day Guerrero, an area which had already been in decline since Moctezuma I began his first campaigns in the region and probably turned the Kingdom of Tlachinollan (modern-day Tlapa) into a tributary province during the rule of Lord Tlaloc between 1461 and 1467 (though the kingdom wouldn't be invaded and fully conquered until the reign of Ahuizotl in 1486, along with Caltitlan, a city neighboring west of Tlapa). In between the years of 1503 and 1509, a campaign was launched against Xipetepec, and another was launched (as mentioned previously) in 1507 against Tototepec, which had previously been a territory conquered by Tlachinollan in the mid 14th century. The campaign in Tototepec occurred as the result of a large group of Mexica merchants sent by Moctezuma being killed after they attempted to trade for some of the resources of the area on his behalf. During the conquest of Tototepec, two important Mexica noblemen, Ixtlilcuechahuac and Huitzilihuitzin (not to be confused with the "tlatoani" of this name), were killed. All the population of Tototepec, except for the children, were massacred by the Mexica forces, and about 1350 captives were taken. Another campaign was launched in 1515 to conquer Acocozpan and Tetenanco and reconquer Atlitepec, which had been previously conquered by Ahuizotl in 1493.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Quetzaltepec was conquered on the same campaign as Tototepec, as both reportedly murdered the merchants sent by Moctezuma in the area. The Mexica managed to raise an army of 400,000 and first conquered Tototepec. Quetzaltepec was also conquered, but it rebelled along with various sites across Oaxaca soon after when the Mexica lost the Battle of Atlixco against Huejotzingo. Being a fortified city with six walls, the Mexica put the city under siege for several days, with the each of groups of the Triple Alliance attacking from various locations and having over 200 wooden ladders constructed under Moctezuma's orders. The Mexica eventually emerged victorious, successfully conquering the city.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Several military defeats occurred in some of these expansionist campaigns however, such as the invasion of Amatlan in 1509, where an unexpected series of snowstorms and blizzards killed many soldiers, making the surviving ones too low in numbers to fight.


title: Moctezuma II

text: An important campaign was the conquest of Xaltepec (today known as Jaltepec) and Cuatzontlan and the suppression of the last revolt in Icpatepec, all in Oaxaca. This war started as the result of provocations given by Jaltepec against Moctezuma through killing as many Mexicas as they could find in their area, as some sort of way to challenge him, and the beginning of the revolt by Icpatepec as the result. The Xaltepeca had done this before with previous "tlatoanis" and other nations. Moctezuma and the recently elected ruler of Tlacopan themselves went to the fight, along with Tlacaelel's grandson and "cihuacoatl" of Mexico in this period Tlacaeleltzin Xocoyotl. A large portion of the weapons and food was brought by Tlatelolco, though they were initially hesitant to do so, but were ordered by Moctezuma to offer it as a tribute to Tenochtitlan, and they received multiple rewards as the result, including the permission to rebuild their main temple (which had been partially destroyed during the Battle of Tlatelolco which occurred during Axayacatl's reign). This campaign had a highly violent result; Moctezuma, after receiving information on the sities gathered by his spies, ordered for all adults in the sites above the age of 50 to be killed to prevent a rebellion once the cities were conquered, similarly to the war in Tlachquiauhco. The conquest was done through dividing the army that was brought in 3 divisions; one from Tlacopan, one from Texcoco and one from Tenochtitlan, so that each one attacked a different city. The Tenochtitlan company attacked Jaltepec. Moctezuma came out victorious and then returned to Mexico through Chalco, where he received many honors for his victory. This war likely happened in 1511, as a war against Icpatepec is recorded to have happened again in that year.


title: Moctezuma II

text: After the campaigns in the Oaxaca region, Moctezuma began to move his campaigns into northern and eastern territories around 1514, conquering the site of Quetzalapan, a Chichimec territory through the Huastec region, taking 1332 captives and suffering minimal casualties, with only 95 reported losses. Likely around this time many other territories in the region were also conquered. He also went to war against the Tarascan Empire for the first time since Axayácatl was defeated in his disastrous invasion. This war caused high casualties on both sides. The Mexica succeeded at taking a large amount of captives, but failed to conquer any territory.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Among the final military campaigns carried out by Moctezuma, aside from the late stages of the war against Tlaxcala, were the conquests of Mazatzintlan and Zacatepec, which formed part of the Chichimec region.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The approximate number of military engagements during his rule before European contact was 73, achieving victory in approximately 43 sites (including territories already within the empire), making him one of the most active monarchs in pre-Hispanic Mexican history in terms of military actions.


title: Moctezuma II

text: However his rule and policies suffered a very sudden interruption upon the news of the arrival of Spanish ships at the east in 1519 ("see below").


title: Moctezuma II

text: One of the most controversial events during his reign was the supposed overthrowal of the legitimate government of Nezahualpilli in Texcoco. Historians like Alva Ixtlilxóchitl even went as far as referring to this action as "diabolical," though while also making claims that are not seen in other chronicles and are generally not trusted by modern historians.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The circumstances of Nezahualpilli's death are not clear, and many sources offer highly conflicting stories about the events that resulted in it.


title: Moctezuma II

text: According to Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, the issue began when Moctezuma sent an embassy to Nezahualpilli reprimanding him for not sacrificing any Tlaxcalan prisoners since the last 4 years, during the war with Tlaxcala ("see below"), threatening him saying that he was angering the gods. Nezahualpilli replied to this embassy stating that the reason he hadn't sacrificed them is because he simply didn't want to wage war because he and his population wanted to live peacefully for the time being, as the ceremonies that would be held in the following year, 1 reed, would make war inevitable, and that soon his wishes would be granted. Eventually Nezahualpilli launched a campaign against Tlaxcala, though he did not go himself, instead sending two of his sons, Acatlemacoctzin and Tecuanehuatzin, as commanders. Moctezuma then decided to betray Nezahualpilli by sending a secret embassy to Tlaxcala telling them about the incoming army. The Tlaxcalans then began to take action against the Texcoca while they were unaware of this betrayal. The Texcoco armies were ambushed in the middle of the night. Almost none of the Texcoca survived the fight. Upon receiving the news of Moctezuma's betrayal, understanding that nothing could be done about it and fearing for the future of his people, Nezahualpilli committed suicide in his palace.


title: Moctezuma II

text: This story however, as mentioned before, is not generally trusted by modern historians, and much of the information given contradicts other sources.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Sources do agree however on that Nezahualpilli's last years as ruler were mainly characterized by his attempts to live a peaceful life, likely as the result of his old age. He spent his last months mostly inactive in his rule and his advisors, on his own request, took most of the government's decisions during this period. He personally assigned two men (of whom details are mostly unknown) to take control of almost all government decisions. These sources also agree that he was found dead in his palace, but the cause of his death remains uncertain.


title: Moctezuma II

text: His death is recorded to have been mourned in Texcoco, Tenochtitlan, Tlacopan and even Chalco and Xochimilco, as all of these "altepeme" gave precious offerings, like jewelry and clothes, and sacrifices in his honor. Moctezuma himself was reported to have broken into tears upon receiving the news of his death. His death was mourned for 80 days. This was recorded as one of the largest funeral ceremonies in pre-Hispanic Mexican history.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Since Nezahualipilli died abruptly in the year 1516, he left no indication as to who his successor would be. He had six legitimate sons: Cacamatzin, Coanacochtli (later baptized as Don Pedro), Tecocoltzin (baptized as Don Hernando), Ixtlilxochitl II (baptized as Don Hernando), Yoyontzin (baptized as Don Jorge) and Tetlahuehuetzquititzin (baptized as Don Pedro), all of whom would eventually take the throne, though most of them after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. His most likely heir was Tetlahuehuetzquititzin, as he was the wealthiest among Nezahualpilli's sons, but he was considered inept for the job. His other most likely heirs were Ixtlilxochitl, Coanacochtli and Cacamatzin, though not everyone supported them as they were considerably younger than Tetlahuehuetzquititzin, as Ixtlilxochitl was 19 years old and Cacamatzin was about 21. Moctezuma supported Cacamatzin since he was his nephew. In the end, the Texcoco council voted in favor of Moctezuma's decision, and Cacamatzin was declared "tlatoani", being that he was the son of Moctezuma's sister Xocotzin and was older than his two other brothers. Though Coanacochtli felt like the decision was fair, Ixtlilxochitl disagreed with the results and protested against the council. Ixtlilxochitl argued that the reason why Moctezuma supported Cacamatzin was because he wanted to manipulate him so that he could take over Texcoco, being that he was his uncle. Coanacochtli responded that the decision was legitimate, and that even if Cacamatzin wasn't elected Ixtlilxochitl wouldn't have been elected either, as he was younger than the two. Cacamatzin stayed quiet during the whole debate. Eventually the members of the council shut down the debate to prevent a violent escalation. Though Cacamatzin was officially declared "tlatoani", the coronation ceremony didn't occur that day, and Ixtlilxochitl used this as an opportunity to plan his rebellion against him.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Shortly after the election, Ixtlilxochitl began to prepare his revolt by going to Metztitlán to raise an army, threatening civil war. Cacama went to Tenochtitlan to ask Moctezuma for help. Moctezuma, understanding Ixtlilxochitl's war-like nature, decided to support Cacamatzin with his military forces should a conflict begin and to try to talk Ixtlilxochitl into stopping the conflict, and also suggested taking Nezahualpilli's treasure to Tenochtitlan to prevent a sacking. According to Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, Cacamatzin asked Moctezuma for help after Ixtlilxochitl went to Metztitlán, while other sources claim that Ixtlilxochitl went to Metztitlán because of Cacamatzin's visit to Moctezuma.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Ixtlilxochitl first went to Tulancingo with 100,000 men, where he was received with many honors and recognized as the real king of Texcoco. He then accelerated his pace, possibly because he received worrying news from Texcoco, and advanced to the city of Tepeapulco, where he was also welcomed. He soon advanced to Otompan (today known as Otumba, State of Mexico), where he sent a message before his entrance in hopes of being received as a king there as well. However, the people of Otumba supported Cacamatzin and informed Ixtlilxochitl that such a demand would not be fulfilled. Ixtlilxochitl therefore sent his troops to invade the city, and after a long fight the troops began to gradually retreat and its ruler was killed. When the news of this fight were heard in Texcoco, all events, religious or not, were cancelled, soldiers were recruited, troops were sent from Tenochtitlan to the city and Cacamatzin and Coanacochtli fortified the city to avoid an invasion.


title: Moctezuma II

text: He eventually reached Texcoco and placed the city under siege, while also occupying the cities of Papalotlan, Acolman, Chicuhnautlan (today known as ), Tecacman, Tzonpanco (Zumpango) and Huehuetocan in order to take every possible entrance Moctezuma could use to send his troops to Texcoco. Moctezuma however used his influence to enter the city of Texcoco and obtain access to the Acolhua cities not yet occupied by Ixtlilxochitl. Cacamatzin used this opportunity to send a commander from Iztapalapa named Xochitl to arrest Ixtlilxochitl as peacefully as possible. Moctezuma approved this decision and Xochitl was sent along with some troops. Ixtlilxochitl was quickly informed about this and, as per custom of war, informed Xochitl that he was going to fight him. A short battle occurred some time after in which Xochitl was captured and later publicly executed by burning. Once the news of this defeat were heard by Moctezuma, he ordered that no more military engagements shall be done for the moment to prevent further escalation, and that he wanted to rightfully punish Ixtlilxochitl for what he did in a more appropriate moment. In the mean time, the brothers agreed to try to reach a consensus through a peaceful debate, as Ixtlilxochitl did not want to fight either, as he claimed that he only sent the troops as a means of protest and not to actually wage war. However, this would only be done under the condition that Moctezuma wouldn't get involved by any means. The three brothers then agreed to divide the province of Acolhuacan (where Texcoco was the "de facto" capital) in three parts, one for each brother, and that Cacamatzin would continue to rule over Texcoco.


title: Moctezuma II

text: At some point however, Ixtlilxochitl sought refuge outside of Texcoco to avoid facing a conflict with Cacamatzin.


title: Moctezuma II

text: This crisis would later become relevant again after the Spanish arrived at Tenochtitlan, when Cacamatzin, who initially welcomed the Spaniards when they first entered in November 1519, attempted to raise an army against them for imprisoning Moctezuma ("see below") by calling for the people of Coyoacan, Tlacopan, Iztapalapa and the Matlatzinca people to enter the city, kill the Spaniards and free Moctezuma in early 1520. The Spanish captain Hernán Cortés, who was the main commander of the Spanish troops who entered Mexico, decided to act and ordered Moctezuma to send someone to arrest Cacamatzin before the attack. Moctezuma suggested for Ixtlilxochitl to be sent due to the crisis, as then he could take the throne and prevent another succession crisis. He still tried to establish negotiations between the Texcoco leadership and the Spaniards, but was unable to change Cacamatzin's mind. Eventually, Moctezuma sent troops to secretly arrest Cacamatzin in his palace and send him to Mexico after he ordered for three of his commanders to be arrested for suggesting requesting Mocetzuma's permission for the attack and telling him that there was no chance of entering into negotiations with the Spaniards. Ixtlilxochitl became the likely "de facto" leader of Texcoco afterwards, though according to Bernardino de Sahagún it was Tecocoltzin who officially took the title of "tlatoani" after Cacamatzin's arrest and Ixtlilxochitl wouldn't officially become the "tlatoani" until a year later.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Ixtlilxochitl continued fighting for the Spaniards afterwards, became a personal friend of Cortés, converted to Christianity and participated in the Spanish conquest of Honduras in 1525. His figure has remained controversial in the historical record, as some have seen him as a man who betrayed his people for his own ambition, while others have seen him as a brave warrior who fought against the tyrannical rule of Moctezuma II and liberated the peoples he subjugated with the help of Hernán Cortés.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Though the first conflicts between Mexico and Tlaxcala, Huejotzingo and their allies began during the rule of Moctezuma I in the 1450s, it was during the reign of Moctezuma II when major conflicts broke through.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Approximately in the year of 1503 (or 1507, after the conquest of Tototepec, according to historian Diego Durán), a massive battle occurred in Atlixco which was fought mainly against Huejotzingo, a kingdom which used to be one of the most powerful ones in the Valley of Mexico. The war was provoked by Moctezuma himself, who wanted to go to war against Huejotzingo because it had been many months since the last war. The local rulers of the region accepted Moctezuma's proposal to wage this war. It was declared as a flower war, and the invitation to go to war was accepted by the people of Huejotzingo, Tlaxcala, Cholula and Tliliuhquitepec, a city-state nearby. The war was arranged to occur in the plains of Atlixco. Moctezuma went to the fight along with four or five of his brothers and a two of his nephews.


title: Moctezuma II

text: He named one of his brothers (or children, according to some sources), Tlacahuepan, as the main commander of the troops against the troops of Huejotzingo. He was assigned 100,000 troops to fight. Tlacahuepan decided to begin the fight by dividing the troops in three groups which would attack one after the other, the first being the troops from Texcoco, then from Tlacopan and lastly from Tenochtitlan.


title: Moctezuma II

text: He began by sending 200 troops to launch skirmishes against the Huexotzinca, but despite the large numbers and skirmishes, he was unable to break the enemy lines. The group of Texcoco suffered huge losses and once they were unable to fight they were put to take rest while the group from Tlacopan was sent. However, they weren't able to break the lines either. The Tenochca group then advanced and pushed to aid the Tepanecs of Tlacopan, causing multiple casualties against the Huexotzinca, but the lines were still not broken as more reinforcements arrived. Eventually, Tlacahuepan saw himself surrounded, and though he initially resisted, he finally surrendered. Though the Huexotzinca wanted to take him alive, he asked to be sacrificed there on the battlefield, and so he was killed, and then the rest of the Mexica troops retreated. The result of this battle was considered humiliating for the empire. According to primary records, about 40,000 people were killed on both sides (possibly meaning that about 20,000 died on each side). Some important Mexica noblemen were also killed during the engagement, including Huitzilihuitzin (not to be confused with the "tlatoani" of this name), Xalmich and Cuatacihuatl.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Regardless, multiple prisoners were taken after the fight, who were later sacrificed in Moctezuma's honor. Tlacahuepan was remembered as a hero despite the loss, and many songs were dedicated to him to be remembered through poetry. In one song called "Ycuic neçahualpilli yc tlamato huexotzinco. Cuextecayotl, Quitlali cuicani Tececepouhqui" ("The song of Nezahualpilli when he took captives in Huexotzinco. [It tells of] the Huastec themes, it was written down by the singer Tececepouhqui"), he's referred as "the golden one, the Huastec lord, the owner of the sapota skirt," in reference to the god Xipe Totec, and also states "With the flowery liquor of war, he is drunk, my nobleman, the golden one, the Huastec Lord," in reference to his Huastec heritage, using the stereotype that the Huastecs were drunkards. Anyway, the defeat was a humiliating one, and Moctezuma is said to had cried in anguish upon hearing of the death of Tlacahuepan and the massive loss of soldiers. Moctezuma himself welcomed the soldiers who survived back into Mexico, while the population that welcomed them mourned.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The fact that the Huexotzinca also suffered massive casualties caused their military power to be highly weakened by this battle and various others, and so this could be seen as the beginning of the fall of Huejotzingo, as multiple military losses against Tlaxcala and Mexico in the following years eventually led to its fall, despite the victory in the fight.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Various other battles occurred in the following years between Mexico and Huejotzingo, and though none of them were as big as the Battle of Atlixco, they still caused significant losses on both sides; high losses for Mexico and significant losses for Huejotzingo.


title: Moctezuma II

text: An engagement which occurred likely in the year of 1506. This fight was another flower war which was proposed by Cholula, with support from Huejotzingo, to be fought in Cuauhquechollan (today known as Huaquechula, in modern-day Puebla), near Atlixco. Though Moctezuma apparently did not want to fight as the result of the previous defeat in Atlixco, he saw no other option and prepared for the fight. In this fight, warriors from Texcoco, Tlacopan, Chalco, Xochimilco and mondern-day Tierra Caliente participated. This battle reportedly ended with 8200 Mexicas killed or captured. However, the Mexica are said to have dealt a similar number of casualties in this one-day battle. The result of this battle was indecisive, as some reported it as a victory, but it seems Moctezuma II took it as a defeat and was highly upset about it, to the point that he complained against the gods.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc however reports that 10,000 Mexicas died in this fight, and that the Mexica were so angry about the fight that they called for reinforcements who committed a "cruel slaughter" and captured 800 more enemies. He lists the number of Huexotzinco-Cholula casualties as 5600 killed and 400 captured in one other engagement afterwards, which resulted in 8200 Mexicas killed or captured.


title: Moctezuma II

text: It was approximately in the year of 1504 or 1505 when the first large-scale conflicts between Mexico and Tlaxcala began. In this period, Moctezuma thought about placing the entire country under siege, understanding that most of it was surrounded by territories belonging to the empire. The ruler of Huejotzingo, Tecayahuatzin, sympathized with Moctezuma despite their connections with Tlaxcala and conflicts in the past, and through bribes and propaganda attempted to form an alliance with Cholula and local Otomi populations to attack Tlaxcala, though with little success. The Tlaxcalans became greatly worried about this, and began to grow suspicious of all allies they had fearing a betrayal, as Huejotzingo was one of Tlaxcala's closest states, as proven by its support at the battle of Atlixco. Moctezuma however had the disadvantage that many of his dominions surrounding Tlaxcala did not want to fight them, as many of them used to be their allies in the past even with all the promises Moctezuma made, and therefore his support was actually quite limited.


title: Moctezuma II

text: One of the first battles occurred in Xiloxochitlan (today known as ), where multiple atrocities were committed. Despite this, the Tlaxcalan resistance managed to hold out, and after a great struggle the Huexotzinca armies were repelled, though during the fight the Ocotelolca commander Tizatlacatzin was killed. Many other smaller battles took place in other parts of the border, though none of them were successful.


title: Moctezuma II

text: In response, Tlaxcala launched a counter-invasion against Huejotzingo, knowing that the Huexotzinca had been severely weakened by their fights with the Mexica Empire; their towns were sacked repeatedly and the entire nation was put essentially under siege, and the remains of the nation were now cornered in the region around the Popocatépetl. The Huexotzinca became greatly worried and knew they couldn't win the war alone, therefore a prince named Teayehuatl decided to send an embassy to Mexico to request for aid against the Tlaxcalans. According to historians like Durán, this embassy was sent in the year of 1507, just after the New Fire Ceremony, while others date this embassy to the year 1512. The embassy informed Moctezuma about the Tlaxcalan counter-invasion, which had been happening for over a year by this point, requesting Moctezuma to do something about the situation to expel the Tlaxcalans from their land. This was not the first time the Huexotzinca had requested aid from Mexico for similar reasons, as the first time was actually around the year of 1499, during the reign of Ahuizotl, though this previous request was denied. After consulting Nezahualpilli and the ruler of Tlacopan, Moctezuma agreed to help the Huexotzinca, despite the conflicts they had in the past, and sent a large number of soldiers to help this nation, while also allowing many of their refugees to stay in Tenochtitlan and Chalco.


title: Moctezuma II

text: With the Mexica forces to support Huejotzingo, the invasion continued from the west with the main force from the towns of Cuauhquechollan, Tochimilco, Itzocan (today known as Izúcar de Matamoros), and a smaller support force from a town named Tetellan (today, Tetela de Ocampo) and from a town named Chietla. The advance was quick, but the Tlaxcalans used the territories they had captured from Huejotzingo to advance safely to Atlixco through the captured areas with little population before the Mexica-Huejotzingo forces spread. Once done, a long fight begun between the two forces. The battle lasted 20 days, and both armies suffered huge losses, as the Tlaxcalans had a famous general captured and the Mexica lost so many men that they requested for emergency reinforcements, asking for "all kinds of people in the shortest possible time." The Tlaxcalans claimed victory that fight, and the Mexica were fought into a complete standstill. The following year, Huejotzingo started to suffer a famine as the result of a lack of resources as the Tlaxcalans pushed further into their territory. The Tlaxcalans even went as far as burning down the royal palaces of Huejotzingo and stealing as much food as they could.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The devastating wars that broke out against Huejotzingo caused this nation, which had been the most powerful nation in the Valley of Puebla in the opening years of the 16th century, to become weak enough to be conquered by Tlaxcala. This was the point in which Tlaxcala became Mexico's most powerful rival in the central Mexican area. The nation which used to be their main military focus was now the subject of a nation which would later bring the killing blow to the Mexica Empire.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The war between Mexico and Tlaxcala would eventually have devastating consequences, as the Tlaxcalans made a decision to form an alliance with Spain against Mexico on 23 September 1519 after a few battles proved that an alliance with this nation could help them destroy Moctezuma's reign.


title: Moctezuma II

text: In 1518, Moctezuma received the first reports of Europeans landing on the east coast of his empire; this was the expedition of Juan de Grijalva who had landed on San Juan de Ulúa, which although within Totonac territory was under the auspices of the Aztec Empire. Moctezuma ordered that he be kept informed of any new sightings of foreigners at the coast and posted extra watch guards and watchtowers to accomplish this.


title: Moctezuma II

text: When Cortés arrived in 1519, Moctezuma was immediately informed and he sent emissaries to meet the newcomers; one of them was an Aztec noble named Tentlil in the Nahuatl language but referred to in the writings of Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo as "Tendile". As the Spaniards approached Tenochtitlán they made an alliance with the Tlaxcalteca, who were enemies of the Aztec Triple Alliance, and they helped instigate revolt in many towns under Aztec dominion. Moctezuma was aware of this and sent gifts to the Spaniards, probably in order to show his superiority to the Spaniards and Tlaxcalteca.


title: Moctezuma II

text: On 8 November 1519, Moctezuma met Cortés on the causeway leading into Tenochtitlán and the two leaders exchanged gifts. Moctezuma gave Cortés the gift of an Aztec calendar, one disc of crafted gold and another of silver. Cortés later melted these down for their monetary value.


title: Moctezuma II

text: According to Cortés, Moctezuma immediately volunteered to cede his entire realm to Charles V, King of Spain. Though some indigenous accounts written in the 1550s partly support this notion, it is still unbelievable for several reasons. As Aztec rulers spoke an overly polite language that needed translation for his subjects to understand, it is difficult to find out what Moctezuma really said. According to an indigenous account, he said to Cortés: "You have come to sit on your seat of authority, which I have kept for a while for you, where I have been in charge for you, for your agents the rulers..." However, these words might be a polite expression that was meant to convey the exact opposite meaning, which was common in Nahua culture; Moctezuma might actually have intended these words to assert his own stature and multigenerational legitimacy. Also, according to Spanish law, the king had no right to demand that foreign peoples become his subjects, but he had every right to bring rebels to heel. Therefore, to give the Spanish the necessary legitimacy to wage war against the indigenous people, Cortés might just have said what the Spanish king needed to hear.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Six days after their arrival, Moctezuma became a prisoner in his own house. Exactly why this happened is not clear from the extant sources.


title: Moctezuma II

text: According to the Spanish, the arrest was made as a result of an attack perpetrated by a tribute collector from Nautla named Qualpopoca or Quetzalpopoca on a Spanish-Totonac garrison near the area under the command of a Spanish captain named Juan de Escalante in retaliation for the Totonac rebellion against Moctezuma which started in July 1519 after the Spanish arrived. This attack resulted in the death of many Totonacs and approximately 7 Spaniards, including Escalante. Though some Spaniards described that this was the only reason of Moctezuma's arrest, others have suspected that Escalante's death was merely used as an excuse by Cortés to imprison Moctezuma and usurp power over Mexico, positing that Cortés might have planned to imprison Moctezuma before they even met. Cortés himself admitted that he imprisoned Moctezuma primarily to avoid losing control over Mexico, understanding that nearly all of his forces were within his domains.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Moctezuma claimed innocence for this incident, claiming that though he was aware of the attack as Quetzalpopoca brought him the severed head of a Spaniard as a demonstration of his success, he never ordered it and was highly displeased by these events.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Around 20 days after his arrest, Quetzalpopoca was captured, together with his son and 15 nobles who allegedly participated in the attack, and after a brief interrogation he admitted that indeed Moctezuma was innocent. He was publicly executed by burning soon after, but Moctezuma remained prisoner regardless.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Despite his imprisonment, Moctezuma continued to live a somewhat comfortable life, being free to perform many of his daily activities and being respected as a monarch. Cortés himself even ordered for any soldiers who disrespected him to be physically and roughly punished regardless of rank or position. However, despite still being treated as a respected monarch, he had virtually lost most of his power as emperor as the Spaniards oversaw nearly all of his activities.


title: Moctezuma II

text: Moctezuma repeatedly protected the Spaniards against potential threats using the little power he had left, either under the threat of the Spanish or by his own will, such as during the succession crisis in Texcoco mentioned above, when he ordered for the ruler of Texcoco, Cacamatzin, to be arrested as he was planning to form an army to attack the Spaniards.


title: Moctezuma II

text: The Aztec nobility reportedly became increasingly displeased with the large Spanish army staying in Tenochtitlán, and Moctezuma told Cortés that it would be best if they left. Shortly thereafter, in April 1520, Cortés left to fight Pánfilo de Narváez, who had landed in Mexico to arrest Cortés. During his absence, tensions between Spaniards and Aztecs exploded into the Massacre in the Great Temple, and Moctezuma became a hostage used by the Spaniards to ensure their security.