The Life and Legacy of Montezuma - The Last Emperor of the Aztecs

Editors Charles River

Synopsis

"Cortés and all of us captains and soldiers wept for him, and there was no one among us that knew him and had dealings with him who did not mourn him as if he were our father, which was not surprising, since he was so good. It was stated that he had reigned for seventeen years, and was the best king they ever had in Mexico, and that he had personally triumphed in three wars against countries he had subjugated. I have spoken of the sorrow we all felt when we saw that Montezuma was dead. We even blamed the Mercederian friar for not having persuaded him to become a Christian." – Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Nearly 500 years after his death and the demise of his empire, Moctezuma II is the most famous ruler of the most famous civilization in the New World, the Aztec. For centuries the legends surrounding his life and the conquest of the Aztecs by Hernan Cortes have fascinated readers and historians alike.

Moctezuma was born around 1466 in the legendary Aztec city of Tenochtitlan and into the ruling family of the Aztec Confederacy. In the Nahuatl language, his name means “Angry Lord” or “Strong Armed Lord,” and he was the ninth ruler of the Aztecs, who called their leaders tlatoani. Though he is the best known ruler of the Aztec today, he was actually the second Aztec tlatoani to bear the name Moctezuma, after he assumed the throne from his uncle.

The Spanish conquest of the Aztec and some of the myths and legends surrounding it have made his name (and variations of it like Montezuma) instantly recognizable around the globe, his life is shrouded in mystery; Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s The Conquest of New Spain and Miguel Leon-Portilla’s translation of the Aztec observation of the conquest, The Broken Spears, recorded but a few details about the last Aztec ruler’s life. Also, these two sources are only concerned with the circumstances surrounding the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and therefore only deal with the very end of Moctecuma II’s life and reign. Thus, his early life largely remains a mystery.

So what is known about the famous Aztec ruler? Naturally, there is still a fierce debate over what happened during the conquest of the Aztec, and one of the most controversial episodes of the conquest was Moctezuma’s death. But all of the sources agree that Moctezuma – sometimes called Moctezuma the Younger – generally possessed a reputation as a valiant warrior and was considered a courageous combat leader among his people. Myths and legends have helped fill in the blanks, regardless of their accuracy, and many of them have since become the best known details of Moctezuma’s life.

The Last Emperor of the Aztecs chronicles the life and legacy of the famous ruler and examines the myths, legends and historical accounts in an attempt to separate fact from fiction. Along with pictures of famous art depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Moctezuma II like you never have before.

Disponible depuis: 29/06/2025.

Longueur d'impression: 35 pages.

D'autres livres qui pourraient vous intéresser

Becoming Eisenhower - How Ike...

Michael Lee Lanning

When Dwight Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915, few would have predicted he was destined for greatness. Yet the young officer made the most of the opportunities he was given, made a lasting impression on superiors, and eventually gained a reputation as an excellent staff officer. 
 
 
 
Fifty-nine graduates became generals during World War II, but none of that was clear at the time, especially not for the young Dwight Eisenhower, who graduated sixty-first in a class of 164. 
 
 
 
During the 1920s into the early 1930s Eisenhower started to catch the eye of superiors and earned positions under the U.S. Army's leading lights. 
 
 
 
Eisenhower joined the General Staff in Washington, DC, where he helped develop war plans and eventually became deputy chief of staff under George Marshall. When the time came to appoint a commander to execute the plans, Marshall knew Eisenhower was the man for the job. 
 
 
 
Becoming Eisenhower is the story of a young man who first pursued the army for its free education, the story of an officer who was initially overlooked, the story of how General Eisenhower carried these experiences not only into Supreme Command but also the presidency.

Voir livre

Stolen Child - Kidnapped at 12...

Marie-Claire Vidja, Olivier Goujon

"My name is Marie-Claire. I have had nightmares every night from the time I was 11, when I was kidnapped.”
From the clutches of a French family who tortured her into the grips of an Algerian family who kidnapped and confined her, Marie-Claire went through hell before making a spectacular escape and reaching France.
There are lives whose reality is hard to imagine. Marie-Claire's life is one of those. An unwanted child, born in France, beaten, involved in drug trafficking, she was abandoned, temporarily placed in the care of Social Services, before being returned to her parents—and then she was kidnapped by her stepfather and then by her father’s family that included a radicalized Islamic "tutor." She went through hell for ten years before escaping and starting on a path to recovery in which suffering and hardships kept getting worse, but which eventually led her to the hallowed halls of a French university, from where she continues to fight for the hundreds of children kidnapped by a parent—children who, every year, are victims of their parents' crimes and of institutional abandonment. 
She also uses her personal experience to look at mixed marriages, parental authority, parental responsibility. She points out with intelligence and accuracy the blind spots in the law, the cowardice of institutions, and the indifference of public opinion in the face of crimes whose victims are, first and foremost, thousands of children.
The life of Marie-Claire is not a novel.

Voir livre

KERI 3 - The Original Child...

Kat Ward

VOLUME 3 OF KAT WARD'S SENSATIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY! 
in this much-anticipated third volume, Kat recounts her early-mid teen years. Still traumatised by her early experiences, she was however not entirely without that sense of hope that is the inalienable property of youth. 
Now at Duncroft Approved School for “emotionally disturbed girls”, her life had come to resemble that of a prisoner; a good day was a bad one and a bad day was horrific. A pattern interrupted only by the periodic visits of a certain creepy old man in a shiny tracksuit, with a pocket full of a cigars and a caravan full of demands. 
There were Rolls-Royce trips to London. There were jaunts to TV studios. And, of course, for Kat, as with most of the girls, there were dreams of a brighter future. But despite all the promises, there was simply no way out. For at almost every turn, another nefarious character was waiting to take advantage of the girls that no-one would believe anyway. 
Now you can read her full story here. No punches pulled; no stone left unturned. Just the truth, committed to paper over many years, in the hope that it might help inspire the brave, enlighten the misled and heal the abused… 
DISCLAIMER: This is a true story of child abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

Voir livre

The Cold Fix - Drawing strength...

Sara Barnes

'The cold water has given me the key to unlock myself within a place I didn't know existed: the community of cold water swimmers right around the world. What binds us all together is the cold and how it makes us feel: brave enough to tackle even the toughest of life's issues.'
Having been a keen runner and cyclist all her life, in 2017 Sara Barnes was diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis and found herself facing major surgery and a future of limited mobility. Rather than obsessing about what she could no longer do, she decided to focus on what she could do and took to the water of the tarns, river pools and lakes in her home county of Cumbria. A new appreciation of being in nature and love of cold water swimming and immersion was born.
In The Cold Fix, Sara takes the reader on an enthralling journey, from her first tentative steps into the water, to meeting other swimmers from around the world who share her passion and who can help her answer the question: what is it about cold water that proves irresistible to an increasing number of people?

Voir livre

Demetrius - Sacker of Cities

James Romm

A portrait of one of the ancient world’s first political celebrities, who veered from failure to success and back again 
 
The life of Demetrius (337–283 BCE) serves as a through-line to the forty years following the death of Alexander (323–282 BCE), a time of unparalleled turbulence and instability in the ancient world. With no monarch able to take Alexander’s place, his empire fragmented into five pieces. 
 
Capitalizing on good looks, youth, and sexual prowess, Demetrius sought to weld those pieces together and recover the dream of a single world-state, with a new Alexander—himself—at its head. He succeeded temporarily, but in crucial, colossal engagements—a massive invasion of Egypt, a siege of Rhodes that went on a full year, and the Battle of Ipsus—he came up just short. He ended his career in a rash invasion of Asia, and he became the target of a desperate manhunt only to be captured and destroyed by his own son-in-law.

Voir livre

I'm Single Because I Hate My...

Sarah Amy Jennifer Jones

“To be fair, there are lots of reasons I’m single, but some of my friends’ husbands certainly make me happy with that choice.” 
In this series of essays, Sarah Amy Jennifer Jones (not her real name), a self-described hot mess masquerading as a normal human being discusses love, relationships, and the often confusing life of a true, modern-day spinster. 
Join her for the laughs, misery, and insights that only someone with too much time on their hands can deliver.

Voir livre