That morning Moctezuma Xocoyotzin got up in fear.
The images of a comet and of the apparent natural fires of the temples of Xiuhtecuhtli and Huitzilopochtli, as well as other strange events that had happened in the city and its surroundings, presaging, according to the sages, disastrous times, dominated the mind of the sovereign Tenochca . Seeking to clear those thoughts from his head, Moctezuma left the rooms of his royal palace and prepared to take a walk with his court through the Chapultepec forest, near the capital city.
During the journey, the tlatoani noticed that an eagle was flying majestically over them, and he immediately remembered that many years ago, his ancestors, led by the priest Tenoch, had founded Tenochtitlan right at the site where they found a similar bird, indicating the migrants the end of his journey and the beginning of an impressive warrior history that would allow the Mexica people to achieve true imperial greatness, of which he, Moctezuma, was now its highest representative. In the afternoon, back at his palace, the tlatoani was notified once more of the presence of strange floating "houses" that looked like islands, which moved through the seas of the east coast, near Chalchihuicueyecan, in the inhabited region. for the Totonac people. Amazed, the ruler listened to the stories of his messengers, who, unfolding an amate paper on the ground, showed him the pictorial recreation of those strange "islands" inhabited by white-skinned men, who were approaching the mainland. When the messengers withdrew, the priests made Moctezuma see that this was one more of the dire omens that heralded the end of his reign and the total destruction of the Mexica empire. Quickly that terrible news spread throughout the kingdom.
For their part, the ships captained by Hernán Cortés stopped on the coast of Veracruz, where they established the first contacts with the inhabitants of Totonacapan, who told Cortés and his men amazing stories about Mexico-Tenochtitlan, awakening in Europeans the idea to enter the territory in search of the fabulous riches that were described to them. During the journey followed by the expedition, the Spanish captain met some native peoples who resisted the attacks of his adventurous soldiers, but Tlaxcalans and Huexotzincas, on the contrary, decided to join him, seeking with that alliance to get rid of the iron yoke that the The Mexican crown had imposed on both peoples.
Through the steep mountains of the volcanoes, the Spanish soldiers and their native allies advanced towards Tenochtitlan, stopping momentarily in Tlamacas, a place now known as “Paso de Cortés”, from where they observed the image of the city in the distance- island in all its splendor and magnificence. The long journey of the allied hosts culminated on November 8, 1519, when Moctezuma welcomed them and lodged them in the palace of his father, Axayácatl; There, according to historians, foreigners realized that behind a false wall was hidden the incalculable treasure of the Aztec royal family, now belonging to Moctezuma.
But not everything passed in peace: taking advantage of the fact that Cortés had to return to the coasts of Veracruz to face the punitive expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez, Pedro de Alvarado besieged the Mexica nobility in the walled enclosure of the Templo Mayor, within the framework of the indigenous festivities of the month of Tóxcatl, and killed a large number of unarmed warriors.
The die was cast. Cortés, upon his return, tried to regain control of events, but his action was paralyzed by the attacks led by the young warrior Cuitláhuac, who briefly occupied the Mexica throne after the unhappy death of Moctezuma.
Fleeing from Tenochtitlan, Cortés went to Tlaxcala and there he reorganized his hosts, to later advance towards Texcoco, from where he skillfully prepared the final assault, by land and by water, on the city of Huitzilopochtli. The Mexican armies, now led by the brave Cuauhtémoc, the new Tlatoani Mexica, were defeated after a heroic resistance that culminated in the taking and destruction of Tenochtitlan and its twin Tlatelolco. It was then that the Spanish set fire to the temples of Tláloc and Huitzilopochtli, reducing the former Mexica glory to ashes. The enterprising efforts of Cortés and his men to make the dream of conquering Mexico a reality had achieved their goal, and it was now time to build a brand new city on the bloody ruins that would be the capital of New Spain. That eagle that Moctezuma saw crossing the infinite sky, once mortally wounded, could no longer take flight.
Source: Passages of History No. 1 The kingdom of Moctezuma / August 2000
