We come to a very poor figure in later Aztec history. Poor,
because of his situation as Aztec ruler. Poorer, because of what
the modern distribution of information made of him. It’s about
the person called Cuitláhuac. He was the brother of Moctezuma
II. after whose death he inherited the title of Tlatoani and
therefore the throne of Mexico. Those of you readers who know
how Moctezuma II. died – he was killed by stones thrown by his
own people, during a protest against the Spanish presence – are
already aware that this was in the middle of a very tense
situation between the Aztecs and the Spaniards. After 80 days of
reign, he was killed by the European secret weapon – smallpox.
His succesor was Cuauhtemoc, the last ruler of the Aztecs.
That’s a very straightforward story. Why should he be considered
poor (apart from the smallpox and war)? Because of his name –
let me explain: First of all, many people write “Cuitláhuac”
wrong – they write “Cuitláhac” instead. Under this wrong name,
the internet (especially the