With the death of Motecuhzoma II at the hands of the Spaniards, and of Cuitlahuac by way of smallpox, it was Cuauhtemoc who was elected to assume the role of Tlatoani and chief defender of the city of Tenochtitlan. However, as the Spaniards and their allies gradually gained a foothold in the basin and began to cut off the metropolis from its allies and resources, his position as ruler was becoming increasingly untenable. Discord amongst the nobility was brewing as a small but ever increasing faction of pipiltin composed primarily (and supposedly) of the sons of Motecuhzoma II, chief amongst them the Cihuacoatl Tzihuacpopocatzin, began to argue for a conciliatory approach towards the Spaniards, some going so far as advocating to submit themselves as tributaries to the would-be conquerors.
Much like Tlaxcallan before them, conflict within the ranks of the Mexica regarding the course of action towards the Spaniards threatened to destabilize the polity, but it was ultimatly the military and priestly class that got their way. Thus, the purge to eliminate the subversive elements of the pipiltin class commenced as Cihuacoatl Tzihuacpopocatzin, Cipactzin, Tecuecuenotzin, Axayacatl II and Xoxopehuáloc were promptly assassinated, and the course for Tenochtitlan was firmly set towards war; the Tlatoani’s reign secure… for now.
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