Cuauhtémoc (redirected from Cuautemoc)

Cuauhtémoc (k–outā`môk), d. 1525, Aztec emperor. Succeeding the brother of Montezuma II in 1520, Cuauhtémoc failed to unite the native city-states of the Valley of Mexico against the Spanish after the expulsion of Hernán Cortés from Tenochtitlán. He courageously defended his capital, but was taken prisoner when it fell (1521) after a three-month siege. Tortured to reveal his treasure, Cuauhtémoc replied that it lay at the bottom of the lake—where the Spaniards had perished with it in their flight from Tenochtitlán on the noche triste [sad night]. Cortés took Cuauhtémoc with him on his march to Honduras and, accusing the Aztec of treason, had him hanged. The name occurs also as Cuauhtemoctzín, Guatémoc, Guatemozín, and Quauhtémoc.

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Cuauhtémoc

 or Guatimozin

(born c. 1495—died Feb. 26, 1522) Last Aztec emperor, nephew and son-in-law of Montezuma II. He became emperor on the death of Montezuma's successor in 1520, while Hernán Cortés was marching for the second time on Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital. He defended the city during a four-month siege that left most buildings destroyed and few Indians surviving. Tortured by the Spaniards in an effort to make him reveal the location of hidden Aztec wealth, his stoicism became legendary. Later Cortés, hearing of a plot against the Spaniards, had Cuauhtémoc hanged.