Cuitláhuac 1476 – 1520

Biography

Cuitláhuac was born on January 1, 1476, in the great city of Tenochtitlan, where he would spend his entire life. He rose to prominence in one of history’s most turbulent periods, ultimately serving as Tlatoani—the supreme ruler—of his people during their darkest hour.

As Tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, Cuitláhuac inherited leadership during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. His tenure was marked by the extraordinary challenges facing his civilization as it confronted an unprecedented foreign invasion and the diseases that accompanied it.

On January 1, 1520, Cuitláhuac died in Tenochtitlan at the age of forty-four, having contracted smallpox. The disease that claimed his life would prove far more devastating to his people than any military force, reshaping the course of Mesoamerican history in ways that few leaders have witnessed or endured.