Editing Moctezuma II (section)

===Host and prisoner of the Spaniards===
[[File:Van Beecq - Moctezuma imprisoned by Cortés.jpeg|right|upright=0.7|thumb|Moctezuma captured and imprisoned by Cortés]]
Six days after their arrival, Moctezuma became a prisoner in [[Palace of Axayacatl|his own house]]. Exactly why this happened is not clear from the extant sources.

According to the Spanish, the arrest was made as a result of an attack perpetrated by a tribute collector from [[Nautla, Veracruz|Nautla]] named [[Qualpopoca]] (or Quetzalpopoca) on a Spanish Totonac garrison. The garrison was under the command of a Spanish captain named [[Juan de Escalante]] and the attack was in retaliation for the Totonac rebellion against Moctezuma which started in July 1519 after the Spanish arrived. This attack resulted in the death of many Totonacs and approximately seven Spaniards, including Escalante.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|pp=304–305}} Though some Spaniards described that this was the only reason for Moctezuma's arrest, others have suspected that Escalante's death was merely used as an excuse by Cortés to imprison Moctezuma and usurp power over Mexico, positing that Cortés might have planned to imprison Moctezuma before they even met.{{sfn|López de Gómara|2007|p=160}} Cortés himself admitted that he imprisoned Moctezuma primarily to avoid losing control over Mexico, understanding that nearly all of his forces were within his domains.{{sfn|Cortés|1866|p=89}}

Moctezuma claimed innocence for this incident, claiming that though he was aware of the attack as Quetzalpopoca brought him the severed head of a Spaniard as a demonstration of his success, he never ordered it and was highly displeased by these events.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|pp=306–308}}

Around 20 days after his arrest, Quetzalpopoca was captured, together with his son and 15 nobles who allegedly participated in the attack, and after a brief interrogation, he admitted that indeed Moctezuma was innocent. He was publicly executed by burning soon after, but Moctezuma remained prisoner regardless.{{sfn|Cortés|1866|p=91}}

Despite his imprisonment, Moctezuma continued to live a somewhat comfortable life, being free to perform many of his daily activities and being respected as a monarch. Cortés himself even ordered for any soldiers who disrespected him to be physically and roughly punished regardless of rank or position. However, despite still being treated as a respected monarch, he had virtually lost most of his power as emperor as the Spaniards oversaw nearly all of his activities.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|pp=318–319, 322, 324}}

Moctezuma repeatedly protected the Spaniards against potential threats using the little power he had left, either under the threat of the Spanish or by his own will, such as during the [[#Texcoco crisis|succession crisis in Texcoco mentioned above]], when he ordered for the ruler of Texcoco, Cacamatzin, to be arrested as he was planning to form an army to attack the Spaniards.

The Aztec nobility reportedly became increasingly displeased with the large Spanish army staying in Tenochtitlán, and Moctezuma told Cortés that it would be best if they left. Shortly thereafter, in April 1520, Cortés left to fight [[Pánfilo de Narváez]], who had landed in Mexico to arrest Cortés. During his absence, tensions between Spaniards and Aztecs exploded into the [[Massacre in the Great Temple]], and Moctezuma became a hostage used by the Spaniards to ensure their security.<ref group="N.B.">See the account of Moctezuma's captivity, as given in {{harvtxt|Díaz del Castillo|1963|pp=245–299}}.</ref>