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Question for June 2013

Did the Aztecs have a particularly BAD ruler, like we had Henry VIII?? Asked by St. Mary’s RC Pri School. Chosen and answered by Professor Davíd Carrasco

A fascinating question. Of course it depends on what you mean by a BAD ruler. Of the different Aztec rulers there are two in particular who have come under criticism. One is King Tizoc who ruled the shortest of all the rulers - from 1481 to 1486 and was murdered, it is rumored, because other members of the royal family resented his poor leadership. Some sources say he was poisoned and some say he was killed by sorcery.
The other ruler criticized for his leadership is Moctezuma the Second who some believe was too friendly to the Spaniards and allowed them to gain a foothold in the capital when they first arrived. Let me know what you think after you do more research there at St. Mary’s RC Pri School...

Picture
Scanned from our own copy of Codex Telleriano-Remensis by Eloise Quiñones Keber, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1995.

Professor Davíd Carrasco has answered 5 questions altogether.

Did the Aztecs have a particularly BAD ruler, like we had Henry VIII?

Did the Aztecs wear masks to take on extra powers?

Did the Spanish first meet the Aztecs during the day or at night?

Going back in time, what one question would you ask the Aztecs?

Did the temple-pyramids have secret passageways?

Comments (1)

Katia H

11th Jul 2013

I agree that a “bad” ruler is hard to define. For example, Christian the 4th of Denmark nearly bankrupted his country building castles but they are now the country’s top tourist attractions.
Following on from the response, did the Aztecs have any way to peacefully/legally oust a ruler who was doing a poor job?

Mexicolore

Good question! Not that we’re aware of - and if they did, they certainly never seem to have used it...!