Cuitláhuac: The Aztec Emperor Who Defeated Cortés

When Moctezuma II died in 1520, his brother Cuitláhuac took the throne of Tenochtitlan at the most desperate hour. This episode focuses on Cuitláhuac's 80-day reign, the first and only time the Mexica drove the Spanish out of the Valley of Mexico. We follow the revolt sparked by the Toxcatl massacre, the siege of the palace, the death of Moctezuma, and the coordinated counterattack that culminated on June 30, 1520—the Noche Triste. But we also ask: why did Cuitláhuac's victory not hold? The smallpox epidemic that swept Tenochtitlan in the autumn of 1520 killed Cuitláhuac himself, leaving the city without its most effective leader. We examine Nahuatl accounts in the Florentine Codex, the strategic choices that nearly destroyed Cortés, and the tragic irony of disease deciding the war. Cuitláhuac remains a shadow figure in popular memory, but this episode argues he was the one Mexica leader who came closest to preserving Tenochtitlan. #Cuitláhuac #Tenochtitlan #NocheTriste #ToxcatlMassacre #HernánCortés #MoctezumaII #AztecEmpire #Mexica #smallpox #FlorentineCodex #BernalDíazdelCastillo #Tlaxcala #Cuauhtémoc #Nahuatl #Mesoamerica #History #FexingoHistory #AztecHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo