Editing Moctezuma II (section)

===Internal policy===
====Natural disasters====
Moctezuma's reign began with difficulties. In the year 1505, a major drought resulted in widespread [[crop failure]], and thus a large portion of the population of central Mexico began to starve. One of the few places in the empire not affected by this drought was [[Totonacapan]], and many people from Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco sought refuge in this region to avoid starvation. Large amounts of [[maize]] were brought from this area to aid the population.<ref name="Anales">{{cite book|translator-first=Rafael|translator-last=Tena|title=Anales de Tlatelolco|trans-title=Annals of Tlatelolco|year=2004|orig-year=1528|publisher=Conaculta|location=México, D. F.|language=es, nah|isbn=970-35-0507-4|page=99}}</ref> Moctezuma and the lords of [[Texcoco (altepetl)|Texcoco]] and Tlacopan, [[Nezahualpilli]], and Totoquihuatzin, attempted to aid the population during the disaster, including using all available food supplies to feed the population and raising tributes for one year.{{sfn|de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl|1892|p=309}} The drought and famine ultimately lasted three years,{{sfn|de Sahagún|1577|loc=book VIII, fol. 2v}} and at some point became so severe that some noblemen reportedly sold their children as slaves in exchange for food to avoid starvation. Moctezuma ordered the ''tlacxitlan'', the criminal court of Tenochtitlan (which aside from judging criminals also had the job of freeing "unjustified" slaves), to free those children and offer food to those noblemen.{{sfn|de Sahagún|1577|loc=book VIII, fol 25v – 26r}} Another natural disaster, of lesser intensity, occurred in the winter of 1514, when a series of dangerous snowstorms resulted in the destruction of various crops and property across Mexico.{{sfn|de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl|1892|p=319}}

====Policies and other events during his reign====
During his government, he applied multiple policies that centered the government of the empire on his person, though it is difficult to tell exactly to which extent those policies were applied, as the records written about such policies tend to be affected by propaganda in favor of or against his person.{{refn|group=N.B.|name=Ixtlilxochitl|An example of this is Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, an important chronicler whose writings were likely influenced by his own opinions and propaganda. He was a direct descendant of the ''tlatoani'' Ixtlilxochitl II,<ref>{{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Ixtlilxochitl, Fernando de Alba|year=1900}}</ref> who allied with the Spanish conquistadors during the conquest of the empire because of his rivalry with Moctezuma and his decisions, and it is possible his opinions of Moctezuma were highly biased because of this event.}}

According to Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, among Moctezuma's policies were the replacement of a large portion of his court (including most of his advisors) with people he deemed preferable, and increasing the division between the commoner and noble classes, which included the refusal to offer certain honors to various politicians and warriors for being commoners.{{sfn|de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl|1892|p=310}} He also prohibited any commoners or [[illegitimate child]]ren of the nobility from serving in his palace or high positions of government. This was contrary to the policies of his predecessors, who did allow commoners to serve in such positions.{{sfn|Vazquez Chamorro|1981|p=210}}

Moctezuma's [[elitism]] can be attributed to a long conflict of interests between the nobility, merchants, and warrior class. The struggle occurred as the result of the conflicting interests between the merchants and the nobility and the rivalry between the warrior class and the nobility for positions of power in the government. Moctezuma likely sought to resolve this conflict by installing [[Despotism|despotist]] policies that would settle it.{{sfn|Vazquez Chamorro|1981|p=208}} However, it is also true that many of his elitist policies were put in place because he did not want to "work with inferior people", and instead wanted to be served by and interact with people he deemed more prestigious, both to avoid giving himself and the government a bad reputation and to work with people he trusted better.{{sfn|Durán|1867|p=417}} However, some of his policies also affected the nobility, as he had intentions of reforming it so that it would not pose a potential threat to the government; among these policies was the obligation of the nobility to reside permanently in Tenochtitlan and abandon their homes if they lived elsewhere.{{sfn|Vazquez Chamorro|1981|p=211}}

Regarding his economic policies, Moctezuma's rule was largely affected by natural disasters in the early years. As mentioned before, the famine during his first years as ''tlatoani'' resulted in a temporary increase in tribute in some provinces to aid the population. Some provinces, however, ended up paying more tribute permanently, most likely as the result of his primary military focus shifting from territorial expansion to stabilization of the empire through the suppression of rebellions. Most of the provinces affected by these new tributary policies were in the [[Valley of Mexico]]. For example, the province of [[Amaquemecan]], which formed part of the [[Chalco (altépetl)|Chalco]] region, was assigned to pay an additional tribute of stone and wood twice or thrice a year for Tenochtitlan's building projects.{{sfn|Vazquez Chamorro|1981|p=209}} This tributary policy eventually backfired, as some of the empire's subjects grew disgruntled with Moctezuma's government and launched rebellions against him, which eventually resulted in many of these provinces—including Totonacapan (under the ''de facto'' leadership of [[Chicomacatl]]), Chalco and [[Mixquic]] (which were near Tenochtitlan)—forming alliances with [[Spain]] against him.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|pp=141, 499}}

The famine at the beginning of his rule also resulted in the abolishment of the ''huehuetlatlacolli'' system, which was a system of [[serfdom]] in which a family agreed to maintain a ''tlacohtli'' ([[slave]] or serf) perpetually. This agreement also turned the descendants of the ones who agreed into serfs.{{sfn|Vazquez Chamorro|1981|p=211}}

During his campaign against [[Jaltepec]] and Cuatzontlan ([[#Territorial expansion|''see below'']]), he made negotiations with the [[Tlatelolca]] to obtain the weapons and resources needed. As a result of these negotiations, Tlatelolco was given more sovereignty; they were permitted to rebuild their main temple which was partially destroyed in the [[Battle of Tlatelolco]] in a civil war during [[Axayácatl]]'s reign, act largely independently during military campaigns, and be absolved from paying tribute.{{sfn|Durán|1867|pp=435–437}}{{sfn|Vazquez Chamorro|1981|p=210}}

Many of these policies were planned together with his uncle [[Tlilpotonqui]], ''[[Cihuacoatl (position)|cihuacoatl]]'' of Mexico and son of [[Tlacaelel]], at the beginning of his reign,{{sfn|Durán|1867|p=417}} while others, such as his tributary policies, were created as the result of various events, like the famine which occurred at the beginning of his rule. His policies, in general, had the purpose of centralizing the government in his person through the means of implementing policies to settle the divide between the nobility and commoners and abolishing some of the more [[feudal]] policies of his predecessors, while also making his tributary policies more severe to aid the population during natural disasters and to compensate for a less expansionist focus in his military campaigns.{{sfn|Vazquez Chamorro|1981|p=211}}

Most of the policies implemented during his rule would not last long after his death, as the empire fell into Spanish control on 13 August 1521 as a result of the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire]], one year after he died.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|p=621}} The new Spanish authorities implemented their laws and removed many of the political establishments founded during the pre-Hispanic era, leaving just a few in place. Among the few policies that lasted was the divide between the nobility and the commoners, as members of the pre-Hispanic nobility continued to enjoy various privileges under the [[Viceroyalty of New Spain]], such as land ownership through a system known as ''cacicazgo''.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Pedro|last=Carrasco|title=Las tierras de dos indios nobles en Tepeaca en el siglo XVI|trans-title=The lands of two Indian nobles in Tepeaca in the 16th century|journal=Tlalocan: A Journal of Source Materials on the Native Cultures of Mexico|publisher=University of California|location=Los Angeles|volume=4|issue=2|pages=97–119|year=1963|language=es|url=https://revistas-filologicas.unam.mx/tlalocan/index.php/tl/article/view/314/312|doi=10.19130/iifl.tlalocan.1963.314|access-date=25 January 2022|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Patricia|last=Cruz Pazos|title=Cabildos y cacicazgos: alianza y confrontación en los pueblos de indios novohispanos|trans-title=Cabildos and cacicazgos: alliance and confrontation at pueblos de indios from New Spain|journal=Revista Española de Antropología Americana|publisher=Universidad Complutense de Madrid|volume=34|pages=149–162|year=2003|url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/REAA/article/download/REAA0404110149A/23445|access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref>

====Construction projects====
{{see also|Casas Nuevas de Moctezuma}}
[[File:Moctezuma palace.jpg|thumb|left|Moctezuma's Palace from the ''[[Codex Mendoza]]'' (1542)]]
[[File:Wikimania 2015 15.07.2015 17-00-11.JPG|thumb|left|The National Palace]]

[[File:Sitio del Totocalli y el palacio de Moctezuma II en el mapa te Tenochtitlán de Hernán Cortés (1524).png|thumb|The location of Moctezuma's palace (left) is south of the central plaza of Tenochtitlan and the ''Totocalli'' (down) next to it in a map likely made by Hernán Cortés.]]
Moctezuma, like many of his predecessors, built a ''tecpan'' (palace) of his own. This was a particularly large palace, which was somewhat larger than the [[National Palace (Mexico)|National Palace]] that exists today which was built over it, being about 200 meters long and 200 meters wide. However, little [[archaeological]] evidence exists to understand what his palace looked like, but the various descriptions of it and the space it covered have helped reconstruct various features of its layout. Even so, these descriptions tend to be limited, as many writers were unable to describe them in detail. The Spanish captain [[Hernán Cortés]], the main commander of the Spanish troops that entered Mexico in the year 1519, himself stated in his letters to the king of Spain that he would not bother describing it, claiming that it "was so marvelous that it seems to me impossible to describe its excellence."<ref name="Evans 2004">{{cite journal|first=Susan Toby|last=Evans|editor-first1=Susan Toby|editor-last1=Evans|editor-first2=Joanne|editor-last2=Pillsbury|title=Aztec Palaces and Other Elite Residential Arquitecture|journal=Palaces of the Ancient New World|year=2004|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection|isbn=0-88402-300-1|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://anth.la.psu.edu/documents/Evans_AztecPalaces.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130215656/https://anth.la.psu.edu/documents/Evans_AztecPalaces.pdf|archive-date=30 January 2022|pages=15, 22–24}}</ref>

The palace had a large courtyard that opened into the central plaza of the city to the north, where [[Templo Mayor]] was. This courtyard was a place where hundreds of courtiers would hold multiple sorts of activities, including feasts and waiting for royal business to be conducted. This courtyard had suites of rooms that surrounded smaller courtyards and gardens.<ref name="Evans 2004" />

[[File:Remains of the palace of Moctezuma II in the National Palace of Mexico.jpg|thumb|Remains of the ''Casa Denegrida'' in the [[Museo Nacional de las Culturas]] at the time of its excavation]]
His residence had many rooms for various purposes. Aside from his room, at the central part of the upper floor, there were two rooms beside it which were known as ''coacalli'' (guest house). One of these rooms was built for the lords of Tlacopan and Texcoco, the other two members of the Triple Alliance, who came to visit. The other room was for the lords of [[Colhuacan (altepetl)|Colhuacan]], [[Tenayuca|Tenayohcan]] (today known as [[Tenayuca]]) and Chicuhnautlan (today, {{interlanguage link|Santa María Chiconautla|es}}). The exact reason why this room had this purpose remains uncertain, though a few records like [[Codex Mendoza]] say the reason was that these lords were personal friends of Moctezuma. There was also another room which became known as {{lang|la|[[Casa Denegrida de Moctezuma]]}} (Spanish: Moctezuma's Black House), a room with no windows and fully painted black which was used by Moctezuma to [[meditate]]. Remains of this room have been found in recent years in modern [[Mexico City]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Hallados los restos del palacio del emperador Moctezuma en Ciudad de México|trans-title=Remains of the palace of emperor Moctezuma found in Mexico City|newspaper=El País|date=6 June 2008|url=https://elpais.com/cultura/2008/06/07/actualidad/1212789602_850215.html}}</ref> The upper floor had a large courtyard which was likely used as a ''cuicacalli'', for public shows during religious rituals. The bottom floor had two rooms which were used by the government. One of them was used for Moctezuma's advisors and judges who dealt with the situations of the commoners (likely the ''Tlacxitlan''). The other room was for the war council (likely the ''Tequihuacalli''), where high-ranking warriors planned and commanded their battles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://codicemendoza.inah.gob.mx/index.php|title=Códice Mendoza|publisher=[[Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia]]|access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref>

As part of the construction of Moctezuma's palace, various projects were made which made it more prestigious by providing entertainment to the public.

[[File:Totocall - zoológico de Tenochtitlán, en el folio 30v del libro VIII.png|thumb|left|The ''Totocalli'' as depicted in the Florentine Codex]]
One of the most famous among these projects was the ''{{interlanguage link|Totocalli|es}}'' (House of Birds), a [[zoo]] which had multiple sorts of animals, mainly [[Bird|avian]] species, but also contained several [[predator]]y animals in their section. These animals were taken care of by servants who cleaned their environments, fed them, and offered them care according to their species. The species of birds held within the zoo were widely varied, holding animals like [[quetzal]]s, [[eagle]]s, [[true parrot]]s, and others, and also included water species like [[roseate spoonbill]]s and various others that had their [[pond]].{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|p=287}}{{sfn|de Sahagún|1577|loc=book VIII, fol. 30r–30v}}

The section with animals other than birds, which was decorated with figures of gods associated with the wild, was also considerably varied, having [[jaguar]]s, [[Mexican wolf|wolves]], [[snake]]s, and other smaller predatory animals. These animals were fed on hunted animals like [[deer]], [[turkeys]], and other smaller animals. Allegedly, the dead bodies of sacrificial victims were also used to feed these animals, and after the battle known as [[La Noche Triste]], which occurred during the early stages of the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire]] in June 1520 (during which [[La Noche Triste#Loss of control in Tenochtitlan|Moctezuma died]]), the bodies of dead Spaniards may have been used to feed them.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|pp=287–288}}

This place was highly prestigious, and all sorts of important people are said to have used to visit this place, including artists, craftsmen, government officials, and [[blacksmith]]s.{{sfn|de Sahagún|1577|loc=book VIII, fol. 30r–30v}}

The ''Totocalli'', however, was burnt and destroyed, along with many other constructions, in the year 1521 during the [[Siege of Tenochtitlan]], as the Spanish captain Hernán Cortés ordered for many of the buildings that formed part of the royal palaces to be burnt to demoralize the Mexica army and civilians. Though Cortés himself admitted that he enjoyed the zoo, he stated that he saw it as a necessary measure in his [[Third letter of Hernán Cortés to the Emperor Charles V|third letter]] to [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|King Charles I of Spain]].{{sfn|Cortés|1866|p=222}}

Another construction was the [[Chapultepec]] [[Aqueduct (water supply)|aqueduct]], built in 1506 to bring fresh water directly from Chapultepec to Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco.<ref name="Anales" /> This water was driven to the merchant ports of the city for people to drink and to the temples.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|pp=235, 298–299}} This aqueduct was destroyed less than a year after Moctezuma's death, during the [[Siege of Tenochtitlan]] in 1521, as the Spaniards decided to destroy it to cut Tenochtitlan's water supply. Some Mexica warriors attempted to resist its destruction, but were repelled by the Tlaxcalan allies of the Spanish.{{sfn|Díaz del Castillo|2011|p=566}}