Editing Moctezuma II (section)

===First interactions with the Spanish===
{{Spanish colonization of the Americas}}
[[File:Placa moctezuma.jpg|left|thumb|Meeting place of Moctezuma and Hernán Cortés, at [[Calzada de Tlalpan]], [[Mexico City]], the road which connects the southernmost part of the city with the [[Zócalo|central plaza]]. This plaque commemorating the meeting is located at the eastern wall of the {{ill|Church of Jesus the Nazarene|es|Iglesia de Jesús Nazareno (Ciudad de México)}}, in [[Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City|Cuauhtémoc borough]]]]
In 1518,<ref name="Anales" /> Moctezuma received the first reports of Europeans landing on the east coast of his empire; this was the expedition of [[Juan de Grijalva]] who had landed on [[San Juan de Ulúa]], which although within [[Totonac]] territory was under the auspices of the Aztec Empire. Moctezuma ordered that he be kept informed of any new sightings of foreigners at the coast and posted extra watchguards and [[watchtower]]s to accomplish this.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|1963|p=220}}

When Cortés arrived in 1519, Moctezuma was immediately informed and he sent emissaries to meet the newcomers; one of them was an Aztec noble named Tentlil in the Nahuatl language but referred to in the writings of Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo as "Tendile". As the Spaniards approached Tenochtitlán they allied with the [[Tlaxcaltec]]a, who were enemies of the Aztec Triple Alliance, and they helped instigate revolt in many towns under Aztec dominion. Moctezuma was aware of this and sent gifts to the Spaniards, probably to show his superiority to the Spaniards and Tlaxcalteca.{{sfn|Restall|2003}}

On 8 November 1519, Moctezuma met Cortés on the causeway leading into Tenochtitlán and the two leaders exchanged gifts. Moctezuma gave Cortés the gift of an Aztec calendar, one disc of crafted gold, and another of silver. Cortés later melted these down for their monetary value.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|1963|pp=216–219}}

According to Cortés, Moctezuma immediately volunteered to cede his entire realm to [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], King of Spain. Though some indigenous accounts written in the 1550s partly support this notion, it is still unbelievable for several reasons. As Aztec rulers spoke an overly polite language that needed a translation for their subjects to understand, it was difficult to determine what Moctezuma said. According to an indigenous account, he said to Cortés: "You have come to sit on your seat of authority, which I have kept for a while for you, where I have been in charge for you, for your agents the rulers&nbsp;..." However, these words might be a polite expression that was meant to convey the exact opposite meaning, which was common in Nahua culture; Moctezuma might have intended these words to assert his stature and multigenerational legitimacy. Also, according to Spanish law, the king had no right to demand that foreign peoples become his subjects, but he had every right to bring rebels to heel. Therefore, to give the Spanish the necessary legitimacy to wage war against the indigenous people, Cortés might just have said what the Spanish king needed to hear.<ref>{{cite book|first=Camilla|last=Townsend|title=Malintzin's choices: an Indian woman in the conquest of Mexico|location=Albuquerque|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|year=2007|pages=86–88}}</ref>