THE AZTEC PERIOD.
Outline of the Period -- Revolt of Coyuhuacan --
Nezahualcoyotl on the Throne of Tezcuco -- Conquest of
Quauhtitlan, Tultitlan, Xochimilco, and Cuitlahuac --
Conquest of Quauhtitlan -- Destruction of the Records --
Death of Itzcoatl and Accession of Montezuma I. -- New
Temples at Mexico -- Defeat of the Chalcas -- Troubles with
Tlatelulco -- Conquest of Cohuixco and Mazatlan -- Flood and
Six Years' Famine -- Conquest of Miztecapan -- The Aztecs
Conquer the Province of Cuetlachtlan and reach the Gulf Coast
-- Final Defeat of the Chalcas -- Campaign in Cuextlan --
Birth of Nezahualpilli -- Improvements in Tenochtitlan --
Embassy to Chicomoztoc -- Death of Montezuma I. and Accession
of Axayacatl -- Raid in Tehuantepec -- Chimalpopoca succeeds
Totoquihuatzin on the Throne of Tlacopan -- Nezahualpilli
succeeds Nezahualcoyotl at Tezcuco -- Revolt of Tlatelulco --
Conquest of Matlaltzinco -- Defeat by the Tarascos -- Death
of Axayacatl.
[Sidenote: OUTLINE OF AZTEC HISTORY.]
The annals of the Aztec period constitute a record of successive
conquests by the allied Tepanec, Acolhua, and Mexican forces, in which
the latter play the leading rôle, and by which they became practically
masters of the whole country, and were on the point of subjugating
even their allies, or of falling before a combination of their foes,
when they fell before a foe from across the sea. Besides the frequently
recurring campaigns against coveted provinces or revolted chieftains,
we have the constant growth of Tenochtitlan and Tezcuco; the
construction of causeways, canals, aqueducts, and other public works;
the erection of magnificent temples in honor of blood-thirsty gods; and
nothing more, save the inhuman sacrifice of countless victims by which
this fanatic people celebrated each victory, each coronation of a new
king, each dedication of a new temple, strove to avert each impending
disaster, rendered thanks for every escape, and feasted their deities
for every mark of divine favor. From two sources there is introduced
into this record a confusion unequaled in that of all preceding
periods. The national prejudices of the original authorities have
produced two almost distinct versions of each event, one attributing
the leading rôle and all the glory to Tezcuco, the other to Mexico.
The other source of confusion is in the successive campaigns against
or conquests of the same province, as of Chalco for example. This
province, like others, was almost continually in a state of revolt;
and there was no king of Mexico who had not to engage in one or more
wars against its people. In the aggregate about the same events are
attributed to the Chalca wars, but hardly two authorities group these
events in the same manner. Some group them in two or three wars, others
in many, and as few attempt to give any exact chronology, the resulting
complication may easily be understood. To reconcile these differences
is impossible; to give in full the statement of all the authorities
on each point would amount to printing the whole history of the period
three or four times over, and would prove most monotonous to the reader
without serving any good purpose; the choice is therefore between an
arbitrary grouping of the events in question and the adoption of that
given by Brasseur de Bourbourg. As the latter has the claimed advantage
of resting on original documents in addition to the Spanish writers, I
prefer to follow it. In respect to the difficulty arising from a spirit
of rivalry between Mexico and Tezcuco, I shall continue the assumption
already made that the two powers entered into the alliance on terms of
equality, carefully noting, however, the views of the authorities on
both sides respecting all important points.
While Nezahualcoyotl was still residing in Mexico, a desperate attempt
was made to retrieve the defeat at Azcapuzalco, by Coyuhuacan, the
strongest of the remaining Tepanec provinces. The rulers of this
province applied for aid to all the lords in the region, picturing the
danger that hung over all from the Aztec power and ambition; but for
some reason, probably fear of the new alliance, all refused to take
part in the war, and the Tepanecs were left to fight their own battles.
They began by robbing and insulting Mexican market-women visiting their
city for purposes of trade; afterwards invited the Mexican nobles to a
feast and sent them back clad in women's garments; and finally openly
declared war. Their strong towns of Coyuhuacan and Atlacohuayan soon
fell, however, before the allied armies under Itzcoatl and Montezuma,
and the whole south-western section as far as Xochimilco was brought
under subjection,[VIII-1] Itzcoatl making a triumphal return into his
capital in 1432.
[Sidenote: OCCUPATION OF TEZCUCO.]
It was determined in the following year that Nezahualcoyotl should
return to Tezcuco and take possession of his ancestral throne of
Acolhuacan. A large army was fitted out for the conquest, but its
aid was not required; for the lords that had thus far held out in
the capital, realized that their cause was hopeless, fled to Tlascala
and in other directions, allowing the king to enter Tezcuco without
resistance, where he was gladly received by the people, was publicly
crowned by Itzcoatl, and proclaimed a general amnesty, which course
soon brought back many even of the rebel lords.[VIII-2] Soon after his
return he made a visit to Tlascala, concluding with that power a
treaty of alliance, and afterwards ruling in great harmony with all
his allies; at least, such is the version of the Abbé Brasseur, and
Clavigero speaks of no trouble at that period; but other Spanish
writers, although not agreeing among themselves, give a very different
version of the events that occurred immediately after the occupation of
Tezcuco. According to the statements of Ixtlilxochitl and Veytia,[VIII-3]
Itzcoatl soon repented of having allowed Nezahualcoyotl the supreme
rank of Chichimecatl Tecuhtli, and made some disparaging remarks about
his colleague. Nezahualcoyotl, enraged, announced his intention to
march on Mexico within ten days; Itzcoatl, frightened, made excuses,
and sent twenty-five virgins as a conciliatory gift, who were returned
untouched; a bloody battle ensued, and the Mexican king was obliged to
sue for peace, and submit to the payment of a tribute. Ixtlilxochitl
even says that the Acolhuas entered Mexico, plundering the city and
burning temples. Torquemada[VIII-4] mentions a difficulty between the two
monarchs, and Nezahualcoyotl's challenge, but states that Itzcoatl's
excuses were accepted and an amicable arrangement effected. Boturini
refers the quarrel and challenge to the later reign of Axayacatl.
Ortega, Veytia's editor, denies that any difficulties occurred;[VIII-5]
and, indeed, the story is not a very reasonable one, which is perhaps
Brasseur's reason for ignoring it altogether.
Once seated on the throne of Acolhuacan, Nezahualcoyotl devoted himself
zealously to the reconstruction of his kingdom, following for the most
part the plan marked out by his grandfather Techotl, and establishing
the forms of government that endured to the time of the conquest, and
that have been fully described in a preceding volume. Unlike the king
of Mexico, and against his advice, he restored to a certain extent the
feudal system, and left many of his vassal lords independent in their
own domains, instead of appointing royal governors. He was prompted
to this course by a sense of justice, and by it his popularity was
greatly increased; the plan was very successful; but whether it would
have succeeded in later years without the support of the Mexican and
Tepanec armies, may perhaps be doubted. Many however, of the strongest,
the most troublesome, and especially the frontier provinces, or cities,
were placed under the king's sons or friends. Full details of the
governmental system introduced by this monarch, of the many councils
which he established, are given by the authorities but need not be
repeated here. Particular attention was given to science and arts, and
to educational institutions, which continued to flourish under his son,
and for which Tezcuco was noted at the arrival of the Spaniards. The
city was definitely divided into six wards called after the inhabitants
of different nationalities, Tlailotlacan, Chimalpanecan, Huitznahuac,
Tepanecapan, Culhuacan, and Mexicapan, and was enlarged and embellished
in every direction with new palaces, temples, and both public and royal
parks and pleasure-grounds.[VIII-6]
[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF XOCHIMILCO.]
In 1434 the Chichimec-Culhua city of Quauhtitlan was brought under
subjection to Mexico, or at least entrusted to governors appointed by
Itzcoatl, who made certain troubles among the people in the choice of
a ruler an excuse for marching an army into that part of the country.
Tultitlan was also conquered, probably in the same expedition.[VIII-7]
Xochimilco was now one of the largest cities in Anáhuac, and by reason
of its location partially on the lake, and of a deep moat which guarded
the land side, was also one of the strongest. Cuitlahuac was even more
strongly defended; but both cities were forced to yield to the Mexicans
and their allies during this year and the following. Many Tepanecs had
taken refuge in these towns after the fall of Azcapuzalco, and their
rulers, trusting to their increased force and the strength of their
defences, were disposed to regard the Aztecs without fear. Some authors
accuse the Xochimilcas of having provoked a war by encroachments;
others state that they were formally summoned by Itzcoatl to submit
and pay tribute or resort to the lot of battle. They made a brave
resistance, but Itzcoatl's forces crossed their moat by filling it with
bundles of sticks and brambles, and entered the town, driving the army
to the mountains, where they soon surrendered. Authorities differ as to
the treatment of the people and the government imposed, as they do in
the case of most of the conquered cities; but Xochimilco was certainly
made tributary to the Mexican king. The Cuitlahuacs were conquered in a
later expedition. The cause of the war, as Tezozomoc tells us, was the
refusal to send their young girls to take part in a festival at Mexico.
The battle was fought for the most part in canoes, the city was taken,
as is said, by a detachment of students under the command of Montezuma,
and many prisoners were brought back to be sacrificed in honor of the
god of war. According to Tezozomoc and Duran, the people of Xochimilco
with those of Coyuhuacan were ordered to furnish material and build a
causeway, the first, it is said, which led from Mexico to the mainland.
Herrera and Acosta tells us that after the conquest of Cuitlahuac,
Nezahualcoyotl, seeing that it was useless to resist the destiny of the
Mexicans, voluntarily offered his allegiance to Itzcoatl and retired to
the second rank in the alliance. The latter adds that to content the
monarch's subjects with such a measure, a sham battle was fought, in
which the Acolhua armies pretended to be defeated.[VIII-8]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: AFFAIRS IN QUAUHTITLAN.]
An opportunity was soon offered the allied powers to test their
strength outside the limits of the valley, where reports of their
valor and rapidly growing power had preceded them. The rich city of
Quauhnahuac in the south-west, had once, as we have seen, formed an
alliance by marriage with the Mexicans, but friendly relations seem to
have ceased. In a difficulty between the lords of Quauhnahuac and
Xiuhtepec, a neighboring city, about the hand of the former's
daughter, the latter called upon the Mexicans for aid, which they were
only too ready to grant. The three kings, together with the Tlahuica
forces of Cohuatzin, lord of Xiuhtepec, marched against the fated
town, entered it after hard fighting, burned its temple, imposed a
heavy tribute of cotton, rich cloths, and fine garments, thus taking
the first step in their victorious march toward the South Sea.[VIII-9]
The re-building and re-peopling of Xaltocan, by colonies of Mexicans,
Acolhuas, and Tepanecs, and by a gathering of scattered Otomís, is
attributed by the _Codex Chimalpopoca_ to the year 1435. At the same
time were laid the foundations of a new temple in honor of Cihuacoatl,
and work on the grand temple of Huitzilopochtli, begun long before,
was actively prosecuted. So zealous was king Itzcoatl in advancing the
glory of his people that he is reported by Sahagun[VIII-10] to have
destroyed the ancient records which related the glorious deeds of more
ancient peoples. Nothing further is recorded during Itzcoatl's reign
save the execution of the death penalty on certain Chichimec families
of Quauhtitlan, who refused to participate in some of the religious
rites in honor of the Aztec gods, a short campaign against the
province of Ecatepec, and a vaguely mentioned renewal of hostilities
with Chalco.[VIII-11]
I have already noticed the statements of Acosta and Herrera, that after
the conquest of Cuitlahuac Nezahualcoyotl resigned his supremacy in
favor of the Mexican king. Other authors, as Tezozomoc, Duran, Gomara,
and Sigüenza y Góngora, also imply that from the end of Itzcoatl's
reign, the Mexican king was supreme in the alliance; but their
statements disagree among themselves, and with previous statements
by the same authors to the effect that the Mexican king was supreme
monarch at the foundation of the alliance. Although Itzcoatl and his
successors, by their valor and desire of conquest, took a leading
part in all wars, and were in a sense masters of Anáhuac, there is
no sufficient evidence that they ever claimed any superiority in rank
over the Acolhua monarch, or that any important difficulties occurred
between the two powers until the last years of the Aztec period.[VIII-12]
The king died in 1440, recommending the allies above all things to live
at peace with each other, ordering work to be continued on the temple
of Huitzilopochtli, and making provision for statues of himself and his
predecessors on the throne of Mexico. He was succeeded by his nephew,
Montezuma Ilhuicamina, or the elder, who was already commander of the
armies and high-priest of Huitzilopochtli.[VIII-13]
[Sidenote: REIGN OF MONTEZUMA I.]
His election having been confirmed by the kings of Tezcuco and
Tlacopan, Montezuma I. was crowned with something more than the
usual ceremonies, both because of his high ecclesiastical position
and because he was the first monarch crowned by the Mexicans as a
perfectly independent nation. According to several authors this king
made an expedition against the Chalcas before his coronation to obtain
the necessary prisoners for sacrifice.[VIII-14] From the first days of his
reign Montezuma gave great attention to the building of temples in his
capital, obtaining many of his workmen from Tlacopan, and his plans
from the skilled architects of Tezcuco. He seems to have instituted
the custom so extensively practiced in later years, of erecting in
Mexico temples in honor of the gods of foreign provinces conquered or
about to be conquered, making these gods subordinate to Huitzilopochtli
as their worshipers were subject to the Mexicans. Two temples are
especially mentioned by the documents which Brasseur follows; one
called Huitznahuateocalli, and the other that of Mixcohuatepec.
The latter was built to receive the relics of the ancient chief
Mixcohuatl,[VIII-15] which had been preserved for centuries in their temple
at Cuitlahuac, an object of veneration to all of Toltec descent. A
quarrel between Tezozomoc and Acolmiztli, rival lords of that city,
afforded a sufficient pretext for sending thither a Mexican army;
the temple caught fire, by accident as was claimed, and the lord who
had received aid could not refuse Montezuma's request for the now
shelterless relics, which were transferred to their new resting-place
in Tenochtitlan. This was in 1441.[VIII-16]
The Chalcas whom we have often found fighting, now on the side of
the Acolhuas, now on the side of the Tepanecs, but always hating
the Mexicans most bitterly, seem to have managed their alliances so
shrewdly up to this time, as to have avoided becoming involved in the
ruin that at different times had overwhelmed the leading powers of
Anáhuac. Since the formation of the new alliance, in which they had
no part, their soldiers had fought many skirmishes with the allied
forces, but the latter had made no united effort to conquer them.
Having become numerous and powerful, the Chalcas now dared, in 1443, to
measure their strength against the allies, their chief purpose being
to humble Mexico. They provoked hostilities by seizing and putting to
death a party of noble young men who were hunting near their frontier.
The party included some members of the Mexican royal family, and two
sons of Nezahualcoyotl. The dead bodies of the latter were embalmed
and made to do service in the palace of Toteotzin, lord of Chalco,
as torch-bearers. The effect of such an indignity was immediate, and
brought upon the perpetrators the whole strength of the allied kings.
The Mexicans and Tepanecs approached by water, the Acolhuas by land;
they were met by the Chalca army, and for several weeks the conflict
raged fiercely without decisive advantage on either side. Kings
Montezuma and Totoquihuatzin commanded in person; Nezahualcoyotl's
forces were under his two eldest sons. Another son, Axoquentzin, only
about seventeen years old, performed prodigies of valor and turned the
tide of victory. Visiting his brothers in camp, he was about to eat
with them, when they ridiculed his youth and told him that was no place
for a boy who had done no deed of valor. Ashamed and angry, he seized
arms and rushed alone against the enemy, taking captive one of their
mightiest warriors--their aged lord Toteotzin himself, Ixtlilxochitl
says--and creating a panic which caused ultimate defeat. The victory
was complete, the Chalca army was scattered, the city taken and made
tributary to the central powers, although these people were able
subsequently to cause the victors much trouble. Nezahualcoyotl was so
angry at the murder of his sons that for once he shared to some extent
the bloodthirsty spirit of the Aztecs, and gladly gave up the Chalca
captives, among whom was their chief, to the sacrificial block.[VIII-17]
[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF TLATELULCO.]
The exact status of Tlatelulco under the tri-partite alliance is not
clearly recorded; but the inferior position accorded that city had
doubtless caused much jealousy and dissatisfaction, which had already
produced some trouble, though not open rupture, between the two
kings, if we may suppose Quauhtlatohuatzin to have been at this date
considered as a king. During Montezuma's absence in the Chalca war,
the Tlatelulca chief ventured so far as to engage in plots against
the existing state of things; Montezuma, on his return declared war;
the people were reduced to submission, their ruler was killed, and
Moquihuix, supposed to be in the interests of the Mexicans, was put in
his place.[VIII-18] On his return from the Chalca war, and while Montezuma
was punishing the treason of the Tlatelulca chief, Nezahualcoyotl was
engaged in quelling a revolt in the northern province of Tulancingo,
where the rebels had burned some towns and driven out the Acolhua
garrisons. The province was now finally conquered and joined to the
domain of Acolhuacan under royal governors. Nezahualcoyotl is also
said to have founded a new town in this region, and sent colonists from
Tezcuco to dwell in it.[VIII-19]
The rich provinces of Cohuixco and Mazatlan, just south of Anáhuac
and of the province of Quauhnahuac, at the time the southern limit
of Mexican conquest, had long been coveted by the Aztec kings; and
in 1448 the desired opportunity presented itself. The Cohuixcas
attacked and put to death a large number of traveling merchants from
Mexico, provoked to the outrage doubtless by the arbitrary conduct
of the latter, who deemed that the great power of their own nation
freed them from all obligation to obey the laws of nations which
they visited. The murder of the traders was more than a sufficient
cause of war to the belligerent allies, and by a campaign concerning
which no details are recorded, the two provinces, or at least most of
their towns, were conquered and annexed as tributaries to the Aztec
domains.[VIII-20] During the following years the Aztecs were called upon
to suspend their foreign conquests and to struggle at home against
water and snow and frost and drought and famine, foes that well nigh
gained the mastery over these hitherto invincible warriors. In 1449
heavy and continuous rains so raised the waters of the lake as to
inundate the streets of Tenochtitlan, destroying many buildings and
even causing considerable loss of life. The misfortune was bravely
met; the genius of Nezahualcoyotl, the engineering skill of the
valley, and the whole available laboring force of the three kingdoms
were called into requisition to guard against a recurrence of the
flood. A dike, stretching from north to south in crescent form, was
constructed for a distance of seven or eight miles, separating the
waters of the lake into two portions, that on the Mexican side being
comparatively independent of the fresh water flowing into the lake
in the rainy season. The dike was built by driving a double line of
piles, the interior space being filled with stones and earth, the whole
over thirty, or, as many authors say, sixty feet wide, and forming a
much-frequented promenade. This work may be considered a great triumph
of aboriginal engineering, especially when we consider the millions
spent by the Spaniards under the best European engineers in protecting
the city, hardly more effectually, against similar inundations. The
Chalcas seem to have taken advantage of the troubles in Mexico to
revolt, but were easily brought into subjection by an army under
Montezuma.[VIII-21]
[Sidenote: FAMINE AND PLAGUES.]
The famine and other plagues already alluded to began two years later,
and continued for a period of six years.[VIII-22] The authorities do not
altogether agree respecting the exact order of the visitations, but
severe frosts, a heavy fall of snow, long-continued drought, consequent
failure of all crops, famine, and epidemic pestilence are mentioned
by all. All the valley and many provinces without its limits were
visited by the famine; indeed, Totonacapan, or northern Vera Cruz,
is reported to have been the only part of the country that entirely
escaped its effects. The suffering and mortality among the lower
classes were terrible; the royal granaries were thrown open by order
of Nezahualcoyotl and Montezuma, but the supply of maize was soon
exhausted, and the fish, reptiles, birds, and insects of the lakes were
the only sources of food. Thousands of the poor sold themselves into
slavery, some at home, others in foreign provinces, to obtain barely
food enough to sustain life. Several Mexican colonies attribute their
origin to this period of want. The rulers could not prevent the sale
of slaves, but they forbade children to be sold at less rates than
four or five hundred ears of corn each, according as they were boys or
girls. This national disaster was, of course, attributed to the anger
of the gods, and the utmost efforts were made to conciliate their irate
divinities by the only efficacious means known, the sacrifice of human
victims. But since fighting and conquest had ceased, such victims were
exceedingly scarce. Nezahualcoyotl would allow none but prisoners of
war to be sacrificed in his dominions, arguing that such forfeited
their lives by being defeated, and that it made but little difference
to them whether they died on the field of battle or on the sacrificial
altar. Moreover, only strong soldiers were believed to be acceptable to
the gods in such an emergency; the sickly and famishing plebeians and
slaves could not by their worthless lives avert the divine wrath. The
result of this difficulty was one of the most extraordinary compacts
known in the world's history. It was agreed in a solemn treaty that
between the Mexicans, Tepanecs, and Acolhuas in the valley, and the
Cholultecs, Tlascaltecs, and Huexotzincas of the eastern plateaux,
battles should take place at regular intervals, on battle-grounds set
apart for this purpose, between foes equal in number, for the sole
purpose of obtaining captives for sacrifice. Such battles were actually
fought during the years of famine, and perhaps in later years, although
the almost constant wars rendered such a resort rarely necessary. In
the last years of the famine Nezahualcoyotl laid the foundations of a
great teocalli at Tezcuco, in 1455 the tying-up of the cycle and the
renewal of the sacred fire were celebrated, and the following year of
1456 was one of great abundance. The time of want and disaster was at
last completed; a period of plenty and prosperity ensued.[VIII-23]
[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF MIZTECAPAN.]
With returning plenty and prosperity at home, came back the spirit
of foreign conquest. The first to fall before the allied forces was
the province of Cohuaixtlahuacan, or Upper Miztecapan, lying in the
south-west, in what is now Oajaca, and adjoining that of Mazatlan,
which had already been added to the Aztec domain. As in the case
of the last-mentioned province and of many others, ill-treatment of
Mexican traders was the alleged motive of the war. The Miztec king,
called Dzawindanda in his own country and Atonaltzin by the Mexicans,
had caused many of the traveling merchants to be put to death and had
finally forbidden the whole fraternity to trade in or to pass through
his territory. There is every reason to believe that this prohibition
was merited by the conduct of the Mexicans. At this time, and still
more so in later years, the monarchs of Anáhuac made use of their
merchants as spies to report upon the wealth and power of different
provinces, to ascertain the best methods of attack, and to provoke a
quarrel when the conquest had once been determined upon. The province
of Miztecapan was a rich field of traffic and was moreover on the
route to the rich commercial towns on the southern coast of Anáhuac
Ayotlan, where the products of the countries both north and south of
the isthmus were offered for sale at the great fairs. The Mexicans
attended these fairs in companies which were well armed and were
little less than small armies, trusting in their own strength and that
of their sovereign, and showing but little respect for the laws of
provinces traversed. Atonaltzin was a proud and powerful ruler, and
was not at all unwilling to measure his strength against that of the
central nations. Montezuma sent an embassy to hear his complaints;
Atonaltzin sent back by the same embassy a great quantity of valuable
gifts, samples, as he said, of the tribute the Mexicans might expect
if they should succeed in conquering his armies in the war which must
decide which king was to pay tribute to the other. Montezuma's reply
was to march at the head of a large army towards Tilantongo, the
capital of Cohuaixtlahuacan. The result was that the allied forces were
utterly routed and driven back with great loss to their home. Montezuma
had underrated the strength of his adversary and had undertaken the
conquest without sufficient preparation.
A few months were now spent in new preparations on both sides for
a renewal of the struggle. The Aztecs in some way formed a secret
alliance with the lord of Tlachquiauhco, near Tilantongo, who was an
enemy to Atonaltzin. The Miztecs on the other hand obtained aid from
the Tlascaltecs and Huexotzincas, who before the Aztec alliance had
been the leading traders of the country, and who were jealous of the
commercial enterprise shown and success achieved by their rivals.
The war began with an assault by the Miztec leader and his eastern
allies on Tlachquiauhco; but the Mexicans, Acolhuas, and Tepanecs,
under Montezuma, inflicted this time as severe a defeat as they had
suffered before; Atonaltzin was forced to surrender, and the whole
province was annexed to the domain of the victors, as were Tochtepec,
Zapotlan, Tototlan, and Chinantla, soon after. The auxiliary army of
the Tlascaltecs and Huexotzincas was almost annihilated. The record
closes with a romantic episode of Montezuma's love for Atonaltzin's
queen; the Miztec king was killed shortly after by his own subjects,
not improbably at the instigation of the Aztecs, and the assassins
brought his queen with the news of his death to Mexico. A palace was
built for her, but she is said to have resisted the Aztec monarch's
ardor, and to have remained faithful to her first husband. The conquest
of Cozamaloapan and Quauhtochco, also in the Miztec region, followed
during the same year and the following, provoked as before by the
pretended murder of traveling merchants.[VIII-24]
[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF CUETLACHTLAN.]
Elated by their success in the south-west, the allied kings next turned
their attention toward the south-eastern province of Cuetlachtlan, in
what is now central Vera Cruz, lying between the Aztec possessions
and the thriving commercial towns of the Xicalancas on the gulf
coast in the Goazacoalco region. According to Veytia, Torquemada,
and Clavigero, the chiefs of the province, incited by the Tlascaltecs
and promised aid by them and the other cities of the eastern plateau,
declared or adopted measures to provoke the war. Duran and Tezozomoc,
on the contrary, represent the Mexicans as having sent an embassy to
the south-eastern provinces, demanding a tribute of rare shells, or
even of live shell-fish, and threatening war as an alternative. The
ambassadors were to include the Totonac territory in their demands,
but were seized and murdered in Cuetlachtlan, their dead bodies being
subjected to great indignities, at the instigation of the Tlascaltecs.
The army immediately dispatched from the lake cities was one of the
strongest which had yet fought for the glory of the Aztec alliance,
and numbered among its leaders three Mexican princes, Ahuitzotl,
Axayacatl, and Tizoc, who afterwards occupied the throne, and Moquihuix
the ruler of Tlatelulco. The alliance of the Olmec province with
Tlascala and the other cities seems not to have been known at Mexico
when the army began its march, and when it became known excited so
much apprehension that orders were sent to the generals in command to
fall back and postpone the conflict until further preparations could be
made. All were disposed to obey the royal command, save Moquihuix, who
bravely announced his purpose to attack and defeat the enemy with his
Tlatelulca soldiers unaided. His enthusiasm had an electric effect on
the whole army; there was no longer any thought of retreat; the battle
was fought in disobedience of orders, near Ahuilizapan, now Orizava;
the army of the enemy was defeated; the Aztecs were masters of a broad
tract, extending from Anáhuac south-eastward to the sea; and over six
thousand captives were brought back to die on the sacrificial block.
Duran and Tezozomoc state that the nations of the eastern plateau did
not give the aid they had promised, treacherously leaving the province
of Cuetlachtlan to its fate; but this is consistent neither with the
character nor interests of the Tlascaltecs, and it is more likely
that their army shared the defeat. The victors were received at Mexico
with the highest honors, the kings, priests, and nobles marching out
to meet them; the leaders were rewarded for their bravery with lands
and honors, particularly Moquihuix, who received besides the hand of a
Mexican princess nearly related to the royal family; and the blood of
the six thousand captives furnished an offering most acceptable to the
gods at the dedication of a temple that had just been completed.
A revolt of the province of Cuetlachtlan is recorded by Duran and
Tezozomoc at a later date not definitely fixed, when the Mexican
governor was murdered, the payment of tribute suspended, and the
ambassadors sent to ascertain the cause of such suspension, shut up
in a tight room and suffocated with burning chile. The Tlascaltecs, as
before, offered aid which was not forthcoming; the guilty parties were
put to death by order of the Aztec monarchs, and the tributes of the
province were doubled.[VIII-25]
[Sidenote: REVOLT OF THE CHALCAS.]
The Chalcas never missed an opportunity for revolt, and did not fail
to take advantage of the events which obliged the hated Aztecs to give
their whole attention to foreign wars. During the war in Cuetlachtlan,
they are said to have defied the Aztec power by refusing certain
blocks of stone from their quarries needed for building-purposes in
the capital, and also to have seized and imprisoned several Mexicans
of high rank. Among the latter was a brother of Montezuma, whom,
according to several authorities, they offered to make king of Chalco;
he refused to betray his country, but at last, influenced by entreaties
and threats, pretended to consent. At his request a high platform was
erected for the performance of certain ceremonies designed to fire
the hearts of the Chalcas in the new cause; but from its summit the
captive prince denounced the treachery of his captors, called upon
the Mexicans to avenge him, predicted the defeat and slavery of the
people of Chalco, and threw himself headlong to the earth below. The
total annihilation of this uncontrollable people was determined upon
by the kings of Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlacopan; and a peculiar air of
mystery enshrouds the war which followed. During the whole period of
preparation, of conflict, and of victory, the people of the capital
engaged in solemn processions, chants, prayers, sacrifices, and other
rites in honor of the Aztecs who had perished in past Chalca wars.
Signal fires blazed on the hills and in the watch-towers; and it is
even said that the gods sent an earthquake to warn the Chalcas of their
impending doom. The battle raged for a whole day before the fated city
and the Aztecs were at last victorious, as they had been in a previous
war against the same city. Great numbers of the enemy fell in battle
or were put to the sword during the pursuit; the almost deserted town
was entered by the Aztec army; surviving Chalcas were scattered in
all directions; many took refuge in the cities of the eastern plateau,
others perished in the mountains rather than to submit to their hated
foe; but enough were finally pardoned by Montezuma and allowed to
return to their city to cause not a little trouble in later years.[VIII-26]
Other events recorded as having occurred before 1460 are few in number.
The most important was the conquest and annexation to the Tezcucan
domain of many towns in the north-eastern provinces of Tziauhcohuac,
Atochpan, and Cuextlan, the home of the Huastecs in the Pánuco region
on the gulf coast. In this campaign the allied troops were under two
of Nezahualcoyotl's sons, and this was the only important addition to
the Acolhua possessions since the date of the tri-partite alliance;
yet there is no evidence that Nezahualcoyotl expressed or felt any
dissatisfaction at the rapid growth of the Mexican domain; he was not
ambitious of conquest, and doubtless received his full share of other
spoils and of tribute. At about the same time the Mexicans conquered
several strong cities on the southern edge of the Cholultec plateau,
such as Tepeaca, Quauhtinchan, and Acatzingo, thus threatening the
independence of the eastern republics; outrages on traveling merchants
were as usual the real or pretended excuse for these conquests.
Tenochtitlan and Tlatelulco had now grown so far beyond their original
limits as to form really but one city, the boundary line being a narrow
and shallow ditch. This ditch was now deepened and widened at the joint
expense of the two powers, and formed into a navigable canal. Great
improvements were also made, particularly in the market buildings of
Tlatelulco, which had now become the commercial headquarters of the
whole country north of Tehuantepec. The commercial interests of the
empire had been most jealously promoted by the reigning monarchs, and
the Aztec merchants had contributed no less than the Aztec armies to
the glory and prosperity of their nation.[VIII-27]
[Sidenote: BIRTH OF NEZAHUALPILLI.]
In 1463 Nezahaulcoyotl married a daughter of the king of Tlacopan,
obtaining her hand, if we may credit Ixtlilxochitl and Torquemada,
in a manner that reflected no credit on his honor. She had been from
an early age the wife of Temictzin, a Tlatelulca general, somewhat
advanced in years, but the marriage had not yet been consummated on
account of her youth. The Acolhua monarch desiring by marriage to leave
a legitimate heir to the throne, and becoming enamored of the young
Azcaxochitl's charms, sent her husband away to the wars, and managed
to have him killed. After her period of mourning was past, the fair
Azcaxochitl was made queen of Tezcuco; the nuptial feasts lasted eighty
days among great rejoicings of nobles and people; and within a year the
queen gave birth to Nezahualpilli, the emperor's only legitimate son
and his successor.[VIII-28] The year 1465 is given as the date of the final
submission of the Chalcas; that is the surrender and return to the city
of the last bands that had since their defeat lived under chieftains
of their own choice in the mountains, and kept up some show of
hostility to Mexico.[VIII-29] In 1466, the causeway and aqueduct extending
from Chapultepec to Mexico, and supplying the capital with pure water
through a pipe of burned clay, were completed. This work had been
planned by Nezahualcoyotl during his residence at Mexico, and had been
commenced by Itzcoatl. Work was continually pushed forward on the grand
temple of Huitzilopochtli, and many teocallis were built at this period
in each of the three allied capitals. One in Tezcuco is particularly
mentioned, which was very richly decorated with gold and precious
stones, and was dedicated by Nezahualcoyotl to the invisible god of
the universe. This pyramid was completed in 1467, but, according to
the _Codex Chimalpopoca_, fell as soon as finished. It was necessary to
rebuild the structure, and that it might be done rapidly, the Tezcucan
monarch called upon Montezuma for laborers from his tributary city of
Zumpango and other northern towns. The permission was given, but the
people of Zumpango refused to send workmen, and raised a revolt, which
was, however, quelled by the Acolhua forces in a short campaign.[VIII-30]
[Sidenote: MISSION TO CHICOMOZTOC.]
A remarkable story told by Duran and attributed to the reign of
Montezuma I., may be introduced here as well as anywhere, although
it is more than doubtful whether it should receive any credit as a
historic record. In the midst of the glory acquired by his valor,
Montezuma determined to send an armed force to the region of the Seven
Caves whence his people came. Though armed they were to bear rich
presents, with orders to explore the country and search for the mother
of Huitzilopochtli, who if yet alive would be pleased to know of her
son's prosperity and glory, and would gladly receive the gifts of his
chosen people. The intention was made known to Tlacaeleltzin--a famous
prince who seems to be identical with Montezuma before the latter
became king, but of whom many wondrous tales are told even after the
latter ascended the throne--who gave his approval, but recommended that
a peaceful embassy of wise men and sorcerers be sent on this mission.
At Coatepec in the region of Tollan, after performing various religious
rites, the sixty sorcerers chosen for the expedition were transformed
into different animal forms and transported with their treasure to
the land of their fathers, to the lake-surrounded hill of Culhuacan.
Here they found certain people who spoke their language and to them
announced their purpose. The priests of this people remembered well
the departure of the Aztec tribes, and were surprised to learn that
their original leaders were dead, for their companions left behind were
yet alive. The messengers were promised an interview with Coatlicue,
mother of their god, and had a most tiresome journey up the sandy
hill with their gifts, much to the wonder of the guiding priests, who
wondered what they could live upon in their new home to have become
so effeminate. At last they found the aged mother of Huitzilopochtli
weeping bitterly, and stating that since her son's departure she had
neither washed her body and face, combed her hair, nor changed her
garments; neither did she propose to attend to her toilet until his
return. The old woman expressed, however, considerable interest in the
affairs of Mexico, and made known some prophecies of her son about
the coming of a strange people to take the land from the Mexicans.
The messengers were finally dismissed with presents of fowls, fish,
flowers, and clothing, for Montezuma; and, re-adopting their disguises,
were brought back in eight days to Coatepec, where they discovered that
twenty of their number were missing. These lost members of the company
were never heard of more.[VIII-31]
Montezuma died in 1469,[VIII-32] leaving his country in a more flourishing
condition than it had ever known, notwithstanding the six years' famine
that had occurred during his reign. He left to his people or to his
nobles the choice of his successor from among his three grandsons--by
his daughter Atotoztli and Tezozomoc, son of Itzcoatl--Tizoc,
Axayacatl, and Ahuitzotl, expressing, however, a preference for the
second, who was now commander of the Mexican armies. His remains were
enclosed in an urn and deposited in the walls of the grand temple now
approaching completion, and his wishes were followed in the choice of
a successor.[VIII-33]
[Sidenote: RAID IN TEHUANTEPEC.]
Before the coronation of the new monarch could be celebrated with
fitting solemnity, and in a manner worthy of his predecessors, victims
for sacrifice must be captured in large numbers; and it had now
become an established custom for each newly elected king to undertake
in person a campaign with the sole object of procuring captives.
Axayacatl, in complying with the usage, distinguished himself by
the most daring raid yet undertaken by Aztec valor. Passing rapidly
southward by mountain routes at the head of a large force, and avoiding
the Miztec and Zapotec towns of Oajaca, he suddenly presented himself
before the city of Tehuantepec, routed the defending army, drawing them
into an ambush by a pretended retreat, entered and pillaged the city,
captured the rich commercial city of Guatulco some distance above on
the coast, left a strong garrison in each stronghold, and returned
to Mexico laden with plunder and with thousands of captives in his
train, almost before his departure was known throughout the country.
Brasseur tells us that he crossed the isthmus in this campaign, and
for the time subjected to Aztec rule the province of Soconusco, even
reaching the frontiers of Guatemala; but Torquemada is given as the
authority for this statement, and this author implies nothing of the
kind, consequently we may doubt it. The sacrifice of captives from
distant and strange lands, together with the rich spoils brought back
from the south-sea provinces, imparted unusual éclat to the coronation
ceremonies; the successful warrior was congratulated by his colleagues
at Tezcuco and Tlacopan; and the people felt assured that in Axayacatl
they had a monarch worthy of his subjects' admiration.[VIII-34]
During the same year, perhaps, a battle was fought against Huexotzinco
and Atlixco on the frontier, in which the three kings took part
personally; and it is recorded that in the midst of the conflict
Tezcatlipoca appeared to the Aztec armies, cheering them on to victory.
On the return of the victors, Axayacatl and Moquihuix of Tlatelulco
each erected a new temple to the gods of Huexotzinco to propitiate
those divinities in case of the war being resumed, which was foretold
by the oracles. The Mexican temple was called Coatlan, and that in
Tlatelulco Coaxolotl; the latter was a grander structure than the
former and its erection in a spirit of rivalry excited some ill-feeling
on the part of the Mexicans, and was not without an influence in
fomenting the troubles that broke out between the cities a few years
later.[VIII-35] An eclipse of the sun which took place about the time
the temples were completed, was thought to portend disaster, and was
followed within a period of two years by the death of the Tepanec and
Acolhua monarchs. Totoquihuatzin, king of Tlacopan, died in 1470 at an
advanced age and after a long and prosperous reign, during which he had
gained the respect of his subjects and colleagues, fighting bravely in
the wars of the empire and accepting without complaint his small share
of the spoils as awarded by the terms of the alliance. He was succeeded
by his son Chimalpopoca.[VIII-36]
[Sidenote: DEATH OF NEZAHUALCOYOTL.]
The burning of an immense tract of forest lying to the west of
Azcapuzalco toward the Matlaltzinco region, is recorded by one
authority as having occurred in 1471;[VIII-37] and in the next year
took place the death of Nezahualcoyotl, the king of Acolhuacan, and
considered as the greatest and wisest of the Chichimec monarchs. His
adventures in early life while deprived of his ancestral throne have
cast a glamour of romance about his name; and the fortitude with which
he supported his misfortunes, his valor in regaining the Tezcucan
throne, and the prominent part taken by him in the wars of the allies,
are enthusiastically praised by his biographers. His chief glory,
however, depends not on his valor as a warrior, but on his wisdom and
justice as a ruler. During his reign his domain had been increased
in extent far less than that of Mexico; but he had made the city of
Tezcuco the centre of art, science, and all high culture--the Athens
of America, as Clavigero expresses it, of which he was the Solon--and
his kingdom of Acolhuacan a model of good government. Such was his
inflexibility in the administration of justice and enforcement of the
laws, that several of his own sons, although much beloved, were put to
death for offenses against law and morality. Official corruption met no
mercy at his hands, but toward the poor, the aged, and the unfortunate,
his kindness was unbounded. He was in the habit of traveling incognito
among his subjects, visiting the lower classes, relieving misfortune,
and obtaining useful hints for the perfection of his code of laws,
in which he took especial pride. Ever the promoter of education and
culture, he was himself a man of learning in various branches, and a
poet of no mean talent.[VIII-38] His religious views, if correctly reported
by the historians, were far in advance of those of his contemporaries
or of the Europeans who in the cause of religion overthrew Tezcucan
culture; he seems to have been unable to resist the Aztec influence in
favor of human sacrifices, but he deserves the credit of having opposed
the shedding of blood and ridiculed the deities that demanded it. The
only dishonorable action of his life is the method by which he obtained
his queen, and that may have received a false coloring at the hands
of unfriendly annalists. Some of his poems were afterwards regarded as
prophecies, in which was vaguely announced the coming of the Spaniards.
He died in 1472, leaving over a hundred children by his concubines, but
only one legitimate son.[VIII-39]
Feeling that his death was near, Nezahualcoyotl had assembled his
family and announced Nezahualpilli as heir to the throne. He informed
his older natural sons that only by leaving the throne to a legitimate
successor could he hope to secure a peaceful succession and future
prosperity. He expressed great esteem for his oldest son Acapipioltzin,
who was now at the head of his armies, and great confidence in
his ability, calling upon him to serve as guardian and adviser of
Nezahualpilli, at the time only eight years old, during his minority,
and to protect his interests against possible attempts of his other
brothers to usurp the crown. Acapipioltzin promised to obey his wishes,
and was ever after faithful to his promise. Several authors say that
the king gave orders that his death should not be announced until
after his son was firmly seated on the throne; others state that it
was a popular belief among the common people that Nezahualcoyotl had
not died, but had been called to a place among the gods. After the
funeral of the dead king, at which assisted an immense crowd of nobles,
even from foreign and hostile provinces, such as Tlascala, Cholula,
Tehuantepec, Pánuco, and Michoacan, three of his sons showed such
evident designs of disloyalty to the appointed successor, that the
young prince was removed to Mexico by his Aztec and Tepanec colleagues,
and the ceremony of coronation was performed there. Axayacatl is said
to have spent most of his time in Tezcuco during Nezahualpilli's
minority, and it is not improbable that he took advantage of his
colleague's youth to strengthen his own position as practically head of
the empire.[VIII-40]
[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF TLATELULCO.]
In the year of Axayacatl's accession three hills trembled in
Xuchitepec, that is, there was an earthquake foreboding disaster,
which came upon the people in 1472, in the shape of an Aztec army under
Axayacatl. During a raid of a few days, the province was ravaged and a
crowd of captives brought back to die on the altars of Huitzilopochtli.
Such is Torquemada's account, which is interpreted by Brasseur as
referring to a raid across the isthmus into the Guatemalan province of
Xuchiltepec, or Sochitepeques, but there seems to be very little reason
for such an interpretation when we consider that there were two towns
named Xuchitepec in the immediate vicinity of Anáhuac.[VIII-41]
[Sidenote: DEATH OF MOQUIHUIX.]
All the authorities relate with very little disagreement that in 1473
Tlatelulco lost her independence, and was annexed to Mexico under
a royal governor. Hitherto this city, notwithstanding the troubles
during the reign of Montezuma resulting in the death of her king and
the elevation of Moquihuix, had been more independent and enjoyed
greater privileges than any of the other cities tributary to the
Mexican throne. But the Tlatelulcas viewed the rapid advance of Mexican
power with much jealousy; they could not forget that for many years
their city had been superior to her neighbor; they were proud of
their wealth and commercial reputation, and of the well-known valor of
their prince Moquihuix. We have seen that there had been considerable
dissatisfaction about the building of the temples a few years earlier;
and frequent quarrels had taken place in the market-places between
the men and women of the two cities. Duran and Tezozomoc relate
certain outrages on both sides at the beginning of the final struggle.
Moquihuix at last, counting on the well-known hatred and jealousy of
the different nations in and about the valley toward the Aztec king,
formed a conspiracy to shake off the power of Axayacatl, and invited
all the surrounding nations except Tlascala, whose commercial rivalry
he feared, to join it. Except Tlacopan, Tezcuco, and Tlascala, nearly
all the cities of the central plateaux seem to have promised aid,
and the plot began to assume most serious proportions, threatening
the overthrow of the allied kings by a still stronger alliance.
But, fortunately for his own safety, Axayacatl was made aware of the
conspiracy almost at the beginning. It will be remembered that a near
relative of his--his sister, as most authorities state--had been given
to Moquihuix for a wife in reward for his bravery in the south-eastern
campaign. She had been most grossly abused by her husband, and learning
in some way his intentions, had revealed the plot to her brother, who
was thus enabled to obtain from his allies all needed assistance,
and to be on his guard at every point. I shall not attempt to form
from the confused narratives of the authorities a detailed account
of the battles by which Tlatelulco was conquered. At the beginning of
open hostilities the wife of Moquihuix fled to Mexico. A simultaneous
attack by all the rebel forces had been planned; but none of the rebel
allies actually took part in the struggle, approaching the city only
after the battle was over and devoting their whole energy to keep from
Axayacatl the knowledge of their complicity. Moquihuix, confident of
his ability to defeat the unprepared Mexicans without the aid of his
allies, having excited the valor of his chieftains and soldiers by
sacrificial and religious rites, giving them to drink the water in
which the stone of sacrifice had been washed, began the conflict before
the appointed time. For several days the conflict raged, first in one
city, then in the other; but at last the Mexicans invaded Tlatelulco,
sweeping everything before them. The surviving inhabitants fled to the
lake marshes; the remnants of the army were driven in confusion to the
market-place; and Moquihuix amid the imprecations of his own people for
the rashness that had reduced them to such straits, was at last thrown
down the steps of the grand temple, and his heart torn from his breast
by the hand of Axayacatl himself. The city was for a time devoted to
plunder; then the inhabitants were gathered from their retreats, after
having been compelled--as Tezozomoc, Acosta, and Herrera tell us--to
croak and cackle like the frogs and birds of the marshes in token
of their perfect submission; heavy tributes were imposed, including
many special taxes and menial duties of a humiliating nature; and
finally the town was made a ward of Tenochtitlan under the rule of a
governor appointed by the Mexican king. The re-establishment of peace
was followed by the punishment of the conspirators. The Tlatelulca
leaders had for the most part perished in the war, but two of them,
one being the priest Poyahuitl who had performed the religious rites
at the beginning of hostilities, were condemned to death. The same
fate overtook all the nobles in other provinces whose share in the
conspiracy could be proven. So terrible was the vengeance of Axayacatl
and so long the list of its victims, that the lords of Anáhuac were
filled with fear, and it was long before they dared again to seek the
overthrow of the hated Aztec power.[VIII-42]
A strange anecdote is told respecting the fate of Xihuiltemoc, lord
of Xochimilco, who had either taken part in the Tlatelulca war on the
rebel side, or more probably had failed to aid the Mexican king in
a satisfactory manner. Both Axayacatl and Xihuiltemoc were skilled
in the national game of _tlachtli_, or the ball game, and at the
festivals in honor of his victory, the former challenged the latter to
a trial of skill. The Xochimilca lord, the better player of the two,
was much embarrassed, fearing either to win or to allow himself to be
beaten, but the king insisted, and wagered the revenues of the Mexican
market and lake for a year, together with the rule of certain towns,
against the city of Xochimilco, on the result. Xihuiltemoc won the
game, and Axayacatl, much crest-fallen, proclaimed his readiness to
pay his wager; but either by his directions, or at least according to
his expectation, his opponent was strangled with a wreath of flowers
concealing a slip-noose, by the people of the towns he had won, or as
some say by the messengers charged to deliver the stakes.[VIII-43]
[Sidenote: CONQUEST OF MATLALTZINCO.]
Thus far the Aztec conquests had been directed toward the south-east
and south-west, while the fertile valleys of the Matlaltzincas,
immediately adjoining Anáhuac on the west, had for some not very clear
reason escaped their ambitious views. A very favorable opportunity,
however, for conquest in this direction presented itself in 1474, when
the Matlaltzincas were on bad terms with the Tarascos of Michoacan,
their usual allies, and when the lord of Tenantzinco asked the aid
of the Mexicans in a quarrel with Chimaltecuhtli the king. Axayacatl
was only too glad to engage in an undertaking of this nature, but, in
order to have a more just cause of interference--for, as Duran says,
the Aztecs never picked quarrels with other nations!--he peremptorily
ordered the Matlaltzincas to furnish certain building-material and a
stone font for sacrificial purposes, and on their refusal to comply
with his commands, marched against their province at the head of the
allied troops, and accompanied, as Torquemada says, by his colleagues.
Town after town in the southern part of the province fell before his
arms, and were placed under Mexican governors. Such were Xalatlauhco,
Atlapolco, Tetenanco, Tepemaxalco, Tlacotempan, Metepec, Tzinacantepec,
and Calimaya. Some Aztec colonists were left in each conquered town,
and Torquemada tells us that people were taken from the other towns
to settle in the first, Xalatlauhco. Tezozomoc relates that the king
at one time in this campaign concealed himself in a ditch with eight
warriors, and fell upon the rear of the enemy who had been drawn on by
a feigned retreat of the Aztecs, causing great panic and slaughter.
Flushed with victory, the allies pressed on to attack Xiquipilco
in the north, the strongest town in the province, and Toluca, the
capital. Xiquipilco is spoken of as an Otomí town under the command
of Tlilcuetzpalin, with whom Axayacatl had a personal combat during
this battle, being wounded so severely in the thigh that he was lame
for life, and narrowly escaped death. Tezozomoc claims that the Otomí
chieftain was hidden in a bush and treacherously wounded the Mexican
king, who was in advance of his troops; Ixtlilxochitl, ever ready
to claim honor for his ancestors, tells us that it was the Acolhua
commander who saved Axayacatl's life; while Clavigero and Ortega
imply that a duel was arranged between the two leaders. The enemy
was defeated, their leader and over eleven thousand of his men were
taken captives, and the town surrendered, as did Toluca a little
later, and other towns in the vicinity. The news of the conquest was
received with great joy at the capital; the senate marched out to meet
and receive the victorious army on its return; triumphal arches were
erected at frequent intervals, and flowers were strewn in the path of
the victors. The captives were sacrificed in honor of the god of war,
or as Tezozomoc says, at the dedication of a new altar in his temple,
except the brave Tlilcuetzpalin and a few comrades who were reserved
to grace by their death another festival, which took place somewhat
later. During this Matlaltzinca war a very severe earthquake was
experienced.[VIII-44]
A year or two later the Matlaltzincas revolted and obtained the promise
of assistance from the Tarascos, who were anxious to measure their
strength against that of the far-famed Aztecs. But the Tarasco monarch
was unused to the celerity of Mexican tactics, and Axayacatl's army,
thirty-two thousand strong, had entered Matlaltzinco, re-captured
Xiquipilco and other principal towns, crossed the frontiers of
Michoacan, and captured and burned several cities, including
Tangimaroa, or Tlaximaloyan, an important and strongly fortified place,
before the news of their departure reached Tzintzuntzan, the Tarasco
capital. But the Tarasco army, superior to that of the Aztecs, and
constantly re-inforced, soon reached the seat of war, attacked the
invaders with such fury that they were driven back, with great loss, to
Toluca. This was doubtless the disaster indicated by an eclipse during
the same year. After thus showing their power by defeating the proud
warriors of the valley, the Tarascos did not follow up their advantage,
but returned to their own country, leaving the Mexicans still masters
of Matlaltzinco. Another attempt at revolt is vaguely recorded some
years later, but in 1478 the Matlaltzinca cities were permanently
joined to the Mexican domain, and the leading Matlaltzinca divinities
transferred to the temples of Tenochtitlan.[VIII-45]
[Sidenote: DEATH OF AXAYACATL.]
Axayacatl died in 1481, just after his return, as Duran informs us,
from Chapultepec whither he had gone to inspect his image carved on
the cliff by the side of that of Montezuma I. Brasseur states that
his days were shortened by the excessive number of his concubines.
He was succeeded, according to the wish of his predecessor, by Tizoc,
Tizocicatzin, or Chalchiuhtona, his brother, who was succeeded in his
office of commander of the army by Ahuitzotl. Duran insists that the
throne was again offered to the mythical Tlacaeleltzin, who declined
the honor but offered to continue to be the actual ruler during Tizoc's
reign.[VIII-46]
FOOTNOTES:
[VIII-1] _Duran_, MS., tom. i., cap. x.; _Clavigero_, tom. i., pp.
222-3; _Tezozomoc_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 18-25;
_Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 194-5; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las
Ynd._, pp. 486-7; _Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 145. Duran and Clavigero
place these events after Nezahualcoyotl had gone to Tezcuco. The
former states that Tezcuco was one of the cities applied to for aid
against the Mexicans, and introduces here the story of the people on
the lake shore having been made ill by the smell of fish in
Tenochtitlan; and the latter states that Huexotla aided Coyuhuacan in
this war. Torquemada places the war in the second year of Itzcoatl's
reign, and implies that the Mexicans were forced to make several
expeditions before they were completely successful.
[VIII-2] _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 145-6; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom.
iii., pp. 196-8.
[VIII-3] _Ixtlilxochitl_, pp. 239-40, 407-8; the alliance with
Tlascala is spoken of on pp. 247-8. _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 168-82.
[VIII-4] _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 175.
[VIII-5] _Boturini_, _Idea_, p. 26; _Ortega_, in _Veytia_, tom. iii.,
p. 178.
[VIII-6] See _Ixtlilxochitl_, pp. 239-47, 258-61, 386-8, 407-9, 454-5,
467-8; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 182-209, 223-9; _Torquemada_, tom. i.,
pp. 146-7, 167-9; _Clavigero_, tom. i., pp. 225-6, 242-7; _Brasseur_,
_Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 197-202. Coatlichan, Tepetlaoztoc, Tepechpan,
Chiuhnauhtla, Tulancingo, Quauchinanco, Xicotepec, and Teotihuacan are
mentioned among the provinces whose lords were restored. Ixtlilxochitl
and Veytia say that the same system of provincial government was
forced on Mexico by Nezahualcoyotl.
[VIII-7] _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 202-3; _Veytia_, tom.
iii., p. 236; _Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 150; _Clavigero_, tom. i., p.
228; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., p. 28.
[VIII-8] Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 384, 458, and Veytia, tom. iii., pp.
149-52, 234-5, state that Nezahualcoyotl accomplished the conquest of
Xochimilco with the aid of a few Tlascaltecs, leaving Itzcoatl
entirely out of the affair. Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 226-7, tells us
that the Xochimilcas determined to make war on the Mexicans before
they became too strong. Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. xii., xiii., relates
an evil omen for the Xochimilcas, in the transformation of a dish of
viands, round which they were seated in deliberation, into arms, legs,
hearts, and other human parts. See also _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom.
iii., pp. 203-5; _Tezozomoc_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 25-30;
_Sahagun_, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 268; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las
Ynd._, pp. 488-90; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 140, 148-9; _Vetancvrt_,
_Teatro_, pt ii., p. 28; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii.,
cap. xiii.
[VIII-9] Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 248-9, says that Quauhnahuac and eight
other towns were awarded to Nezahualcoyotl, Tepozotlan, Huastepec and
others to Itzcoatl, besides the share of Tlacopan not specified. The
same author gives here without details of chronology, a list of
subsequent conquests by the allies at this period, which we shall find
scattered throughout this and the following reigns; such are:--Chalco,
Itzucan, Tepeaca, Tecalco, Teohuacan, Cohuaixtlahuacan, Hualtepec,
Quauhtochco, Atochpan, Tizauhcoac, Tochtepec, Mazahuacan, Tlapacoia,
Tlauhcocauhtitlan, and Tulancingo. See also on conquest of
Quauhnahuac, _Clavigero_, tom. i., pp. 227-8; _Torquemada_, tom. i.,
pp. 149-50; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 235-6; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt
ii., p. 28; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 205-7.
[VIII-10] _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 139-41; see p. 190, of
this volume, and vol. ii., p. 528.
[VIII-11] _Codex Chimalp._, in _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp.
208-11; _Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 150.
[VIII-12] _Tezozomoc_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 30-2; _Duran_,
MS., tom. i., cap. xv.; _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 303; _Sigüenza_,
in _Doc. Hist. Mex._, série iii., tom. i., p. 59; Torquemada, tom. i.,
pp. 149-50, denies the story that Nezahualcoyotl submitted to
Itzcoatl. Vetancvrt, _Teatro_, pt ii., pp. 33-4, makes them still of
equal rank. Tezozomoc makes no mention of any events in Itzcoatl's
reign after the conquest of Cuitlahuac. Duran, cap. xiv, states that
his conquests included Chalco, Quauhnahuac, Huexotzinco, and
Coatlichan. Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 228-9, 232-3; Torquemada, tom. i.,
p. 157, and Veytia, tom. iii., pp. 236-7, place in Itzcoatl's reign
the origin of the troubles with Tlatelulco which will be spoken of
hereafter. According to the _Codex Mendoza_, in _Kingsborough_, vol.
v., p. 44, Itzcoatl, or Izcoaci, conquered 24 cities.
[VIII-13] Date, 1440. _Duran_, MS., tom. i., cap. xiv-xv.; _Codex
Mendoza_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. v., p. 45; _Mendieta_, _Hist.
Ecles._, p. 150; _Ixtlilxochitl_, pp. 249, 457; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_,
pt ii., p. 28; _Boturini_, in _Doc. Hist. Mex._, série iii., tom. iv.,
p. 239; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 211-12. Duran also gives
1445 and Ixtlilxochitl 1441. 1436, _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 237-8;
_Clavigero_, tom. i., p. 229; _Bustamante_, _Mañadas de la Alameda_,
tom. ii., p. 174. See also on the succession; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._,
dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xiii.; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, pp.
490-3; _Sahagun_, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 268; _Torquemada_, tom. i.,
pp. 150, 171; _Tezozomoc_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., p. 30;
_Motolinia_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 6;
_Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 303.
[VIII-14] _Veytia_, tom. iii., p. 239; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._,
p. 491; _Herrera_, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xiii.; _Vetancvrt_,
_Teatro_, pt ii., p. 29.
[VIII-15] See pp. 241-2, 250, 255, of this volume.
[VIII-16] _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 213-17; _Veytia_, tom.
iii., pp. 239-40; _Clavigero_, tom. i., p. 230; _Torquemada_, tom. i.,
pp. 150-1; _Duran_, MS. tom. i., cap. xvi. The latter author is
careful to state that Montezuma did not request, but simply ordered
aid in building his temples from Tlacopan and Tezcuco.
[VIII-17] _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 240-2; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp.
150-4; _Clavigero_, tom. i., pp. 230-1; _Ixtlilxochitl_, pp. 255-7,
467-8; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 217-24; _Sahagun_, tom.
ii., lib. viii., p. 268; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., p. 29.
[VIII-18] _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 156-7; _Clavigero_, tom. i., pp.
232-3; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 242-3; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii.,
pp. 224-5; _Granados y Galvez_, _Tardes Amer._, p. 176; _Vetancvrt_,
_Teatro_, pt ii., p. 30; _Sahagun_, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. 273-4.
[VIII-19] _Ixtlilxochitl_, p. 248; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., p.
225. The former author says that this conquest extended to
Quauhchinanco and Xilotepec, but implies that it took place
immediately after the treaty with Tlascala, which followed
Nezahualcoyotl's accession to the Tezcucan throne.
[VIII-20] The towns mentioned as included in this conquest are
Cohuixco, Oztoman, Quetzaltepec, Ixcateopan, Teoxcahualco, Poctepec,
Yauhtepec, Yacapichtla, Totolapan, Tlachmalacac, Tlachco, Chilapan,
Tomazolapan, Quauhtepec, Ohuapan, Tzompahuacan, and Cozamaloapan. See
_Veytia_, tom. iii., p. 243; _Clavigero_, tom. i., p. 233;
_Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 157; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp.
225-7; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., p. 30; _Ixtlilxochitl_, p. 249.
[VIII-21] Several authors give the dates as 1446. _Veytia_, tom. iii.,
pp. 247-8; _Clavigero_, tom. i., pp. 233-4; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp.
157-8; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 228-32. This author gives
the width of the dike as about 30 feet. _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii.,
p. 30.
[VIII-22] 1448-54, _Veytia_; 1451-6, _Brasseur_; 1447-54, _Codex Tell.
Rem._; 1404-7 (1444-7?) 11 years after accession of Montezuma,
_Duran_.
[VIII-23] _Duran_, MS., tom. i., cap. xviii., xix., xxx., says the
snow fell knee-deep in the valley. He also tells us that very many
sold as slaves during the famine were ransomed and returned
afterwards; this, however, does not apply to such as went to
Totonacapan, since these remained in that province. _Ixtlilxochitl_,
pp. 250-1, 257, says that the slaves sold to the Totonacs were all
sacrificed to secure a continuance of productiveness in the province.
This author also names Xicotencatl, a Tlascaltec noble, as the person
who suggested the battles for captives. _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom.
iii., pp. 232-6, implies that the name Totonacapan, 'region of our
subsistence,' was given on account of the events described, although
the same author has spoken frequently of the Totonacs at a period many
centuries earlier. See also, _Tezozomoc_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix,
pp. 63-6; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 158, 171; _Clavigero_, tom. i.,
pp. 233-5; _Sahagun_, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 269; _Veytia_, tom.
iii., pp. 248-9; _Codex Tell. Rem._, in _Kingsborough_, vol. v., p.
150. Acosta, _Hist. de las Ynd._, p. 493, and Herrera, dec. iii., lib.
ii., cap. xiii, merely state that it was agreed to reserve Tlascala as
a battle-field whereon to exercise the armies, and to obtain captives.
Torquemada throws some doubt on this agreement.
[VIII-24] Date, 1458-9, according to Brasseur; 1456 according to the
other authors. Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. xxii., xxiii., and Tezozomoc,
in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 51-3, say nothing of the aid rendered
by the Tlascaltecs and Huexotzincas. See also _Clavigero_, tom. i.,
pp. 236-7; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 249-51; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom.
iii., pp. 237-52; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 159-61; _Vetancvrt_,
_Teatro_, pt ii., pp. 30-1.
[VIII-25] According to Veytia's chronology, this conquest took place
in 1457; Brasseur puts this and the following events in 1458-9. See
_Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 251-3; _Ixtlilxochitl_, p. 467; _Clavigero_,
tom. i., pp. 237-8; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 161-2; _Vetancvrt_,
_Teatro_, pt ii., p. 31; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 252-7;
_Duran_, MS., tom. i., cap. xxi., xxiv.; _Tezozomoc_, in
_Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 48-51, 53-6.
[VIII-26] On the conquest of Chalco, see _Duran_, MS., tom. i., cap.
xvi., xvii.; _Tezozomoc_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 33-40;
_Clavigero_, tom. i., pp. 238-40; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp.
258-61; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, pp. 492-3; _Herrera_, dec.
iii., lib. ii., cap. xiii.; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 253-4.
[VIII-27] According to the _Codex Tell. Rem._, in _Kingsborough_, vol.
v., pp. 150-1, the conquest of Goazacoalco took place about this time,
in 1461. Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 249-50, implies that the Tlascaltecs
fought on the side of Nezahualcoyotl in the conquest of Cuextlan. See
_Veytia_, tom. iii., p. 254; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, p. 493;
_Clavigero_, tom. i., p. 240; _Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 164;
_Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 261-2, 267-9; _Tezozomoc_, in
_Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 40-6; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., p.
32; on the commerce of the Aztecs, see vol. ii., pp. 378-99.
[VIII-28] Clavigero, tom. i., p. 232, states that the Tepanec princess
was the emperor's second wife; and Ixtlilxochitl implies that
Nezahualpilli was her second son. There is also no agreement
respecting her name or that of her father and husband. All agree that
this child was born in 1464 or 1465. See _Ixtlilxochitl_, pp. 253-4,
257, 467; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 244-6; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom.
iii., pp. 271-3; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 154-6; _Vetancvrt_,
_Teatro_, pt ii., pp. 29-30.
[VIII-29] _Codex Tell. Rem._, in _Kingsborough_, vol. v., p. 151;
_Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., p. 277.
[VIII-30] _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 277-80; _Ixtlilxochitl_,
p. 257.
[VIII-31] _Duran_, MS., tom. i., cap. xxvii.
[VIII-32] 1464, _Veytia_; 1468, _Vetancvrt_, _Ixtlilxochitl_, _and
Boturini_; 1469, _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Brasseur_, _Codex Chimalp._, _Codex
Tell. Rem._, _Codex Mendoza_.
[VIII-33] Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. xxviii-xxix., xxxi-ii., and
Tezozomoc, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 58-63, 66, attribute to
Montezuma I. the conquest of Oajaca, and the establishment there of a
Mexican colony. They may refer to the conquest of the land of the
Miztecs already related, or to that of more southern parts of Oajaca
at a later period. They also state that Axayacatl was the son of
Montezuma. Duran tells us that Montezuma before his death had his
image sculptured on the cliff at Chapultepec; and that Axayacatl was
nominated king by Tlacaeleltzin, who declined the throne. The _Codex
Mendoza_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. v., pp. 45-6, followed by Mendieta,
_Hist. Ecles._, p. 150, give the number of provinces conquered by
Montezuma as thirty-three. Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 257, 457, says Montezuma
left several sons. Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 169, 172, says he left
one, not named, but that he disinherited him for the good of the
nation. Acosta, _Hist. de las Ynd._, pp. 493, 495, and Herrera, dec.
iii., lib. ii., cap. xiii., make Tizoc precede Axayacatl, both being
sons of Montezuma. Camargo, in _Nouvelles Annales_, tom. xcviii., p.
178, makes Ahuitzotl precede Axayacatl. Vetancvrt, _Teatro_, pt ii.,
p. 32, says that Axayacatl, Tizoc, and Ahuitzotl were sons of
Montezuma's uncle by a daughter of Itzcoatl. Motolinia, in
_Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 6, and Gomara, _Conq.
Mex._, fol. 303, represent Montezuma as having been succeeded by his
daughter. See also on the death and character of Montezuma I., and the
accession of Axayacatl:--_Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 280-2;
_Clavigero_, tom. i., p. 241; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 254-5;
_Boturini_, in _Doc. Hist. Mex._, série iii., tom. iv., p. 240; _Codex
Tell. Rem._, in _Kingsborough_, vol. v., pp. 149, 151; _Sahagun_, tom.
ii., lib. viii., pp. 268-9.
[VIII-34] Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. xxxii., says that the first five
years of Axayacatl's reign were undisturbed by war. See on the
Tehuantepec raid and the Coronation: _Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 172;
_Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 283-7; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt
ii., p. 32; _Clavigero_, tom., i. pp. 241-2; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las
Ynd._, pp. 496-7. Veytia, tom. iii., p. 256, and Clavigero speak of
wars in the first years of his reign against the revolting provinces
of Cuetlachtlan and Tochtepec.
[VIII-35] Date according to the Spanish writers, 1468. According to
the _Codex Tell. Rem._, in _Kingsborough_, vol. v., p. 150,
Huexotzinco had seized upon the province of Atlixco in 1456, driving
away the people of Guacachula, the former possessors. Only Torquemada,
tom. i., pp. 172-3, and Brasseur, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 287-8,
mention the apparition of Tezcatlipoca. See also _Clavigero_, tom. i.,
pp. 242, 248; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 256-7; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_,
pt ii., pp. 32-3.
[VIII-36] Date 1469 according to Spanish writers; 1470 according to
_Codex Chimalpopoca_. _Veytia_, tom. iii., p. 261; _Brasseur_,
_Hist._, tom. iii., p. 288; _Clavigero_, tom. i., p. 242;
_Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 173; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., p. 32.
[VIII-37] _Codex Chimalp._, in _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., p.
288.
[VIII-38] See vol. ii., pp. 246-7, 294, 471-2, 491-7.
[VIII-39] Date 1470, _Ortega_ and _Clavigero_; 1462 or 1472,
_Ixtlilxochitl_; 1472, _Codex Chimalpopoca_.
[VIII-40] On the character and death of Nezahualcoyotl, and the
succession of Nezahualpilli, see: _Ixtlilxochitl_, pp. 254-62, 408-9,
467-8; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 156, 164-9, 173-4; _Clavigero_, tom.
i., pp. 232, 242-8; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 288-301;
_Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., pp. 33-4; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 247,
261-7.
[VIII-41] _Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 176. The author says, however,
that the province was 'on the coast of Anáhuac.' _Brasseur_, _Hist._,
tom. iii., pp. 301-2.
[VIII-42] Authorities on the Tlatelulca war:--_Duran_, MS., tom. i.,
cap. xxxii-xxxiv.; _Tezozomoc_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp.
66-76; _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 176-80; _Sahagun_, tom. ii., lib.
viii., pp. 269, 274; _Veytia_, tom. iii., pp. 256-61; _Brasseur_,
_Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 302-15; _Clavigero_, tom. i., pp. 248-52;
_Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., pp. 34-5; _Granados y Galvez_, _Tardes
Amer._, pp. 176-8; _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, p. 150; _Acosta_,
_Hist. de las Ynd._, p. 498; _Herrera_, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap.
xiv.; _Ixtlilxochitl_, pp. 262-3; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc.,
Transact._, vol. i., p. 120.
[VIII-43] _Torquemada_, tom. i., pp. 180-1; _Ixtlilxochitl_, pp.
263-4, 458; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., p. 35; _Brasseur_, _Hist._,
tom. iii., pp. 316-17.
[VIII-44] According to the _Codex Tell. Rem._, in _Kingsborough_, vol.
v., p. 151, this war and earthquake took place in 1462. Torquemada,
tom. i., pp. 181-2, places them in the sixth year of Axayacatl's
reign. Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. xxxv.-xxxvi., and Tezozomoc, in
_Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 76-82, state that Tlilcuetzpalin
escaped. See also, _Ixtlilxochitl_, p. 264; _Clavigero_, tom. i., pp.
252-3; _Brasseur_, _Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 317-22; _Veytia_, tom.
iii., pp. 267-8; _Herrera_, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. xviii.;
_Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., p. 35.
[VIII-45] Most of the details of this war are from _Brasseur_,
_Hist._, tom. iii., pp. 322-5. Duran, MS., tom. i., cap.
xxxvii.-viii., and Tezozomoc, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 82-7,
state simply that to procure victims for the dedication of a new
sacrificial stone, the Aztecs marched to the borders of Michoacan and
were defeated by superior numbers, returning to Mexico. The victims
were finally obtained at Tliliuquitepec. Other authors represent the
Aztecs as victorious, they having added to their possessions Tochpan,
Tototlan, Tlaximaloyan, Ocuillan, and Malacatepec. See _Torquemada_,
tom. i., p. 182; _Clavigero_, tom. i., p. 253; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_,
pt ii., pp. 35-6; _Codex Tell. Rem._, in _Kingsborough_, vol. v., p.
151.
[VIII-46] Clavigero, tom. i., p. 253, gives the date 1477. According
to the _Codex Mendoza_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. v., p. 47, it was
1482. All the other authorities agree on 1481. See on family,
character, and death of Axayacatl, and succession of Tizoc: _Veytia_,
tom. iii., pp. 269-71; _Duran_, MS., tom. i., cap. xxxviii-ix.;
_Tezozomoc_, in _Kingsborough_, vol. ix., pp. 88-91, 143;
_Ixtlilxochitl_, pp. 264-5; _Torquemada_, tom. i., p. 182;
_Vetancvrt_, _Teatro_, pt ii., p. 36; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._,
pp. 494-5; _Sigüenza_, in _Doc. Hist. Mex._, série iii., tom. i., p.
70; _Herrera_, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xiii.; _Gallatin_, in _Amer.
Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., p. 164.