Death Case

Views of the Conquest and The Stay in Mexico were the two narratives surrounding Moctezuma's death. Views of the conquest seems to come from a view guided by the Aztecs while The Stay in Mexico comes from a Spaniards point of view.

After many interviews and a lot of research, I have come to discover that the Spaniards are guilty of killing Moctezuma. I interviewed dozens of witnesses and came to the conclusion that it was the Spaniards plan all along to march into Tenochtitlan, a seemingly invincible empire, capture Moctezuma and bring him under their power. It also came to my attention that the Spaniards were after riches and gold. Moctezuma sent noblemen to meet Cortes outside of Tenochtitlan and present him and his people with precious items of gold. They took the gold and acted like "monkeys" and were excessively greedy for it. The Spaniards were greeted in Tenochtitlan with great loyalty and many gifts, which is why Cortes seized the opportunity to take Moctezuma in hopes that he could govern the empire through him. In other words, he took the opportunity to use Tenochtitlan as his headquarters in his conquest of Mexico. One of the noblemen of Nahua from Tlatelolco explained that the Spaniards seized Moctezuma and took him as a prisoner when they all went to enter the great palace. The next morning Moctezuma had his noblemen serve the Spaniards with whatever they needed until his noblemen abandoned him. They felt angry that Moctezuma could not stand up to the foreigners and get them to leave.

At first, I thought the Aztecs were trying to cover up that they were at fault for Moctezumas death when I learned how much they resented him right before he died. Also, most of the Spaniard witnesses stressed and were all certain that the Moctezuma died from stoning by his own people. The Aztecs brought much more evidence and proof to back up the fact that it was the Spaniards who were at fault for his death. The Spaniards had a much greater motive to kill Moctezuma than his own people.

The Spaniards were harsh in their methods and motives. One motive was clear though; the Spaniards were after wealth and riches. They sought and still are seeking fame, land, religion and gold. Every witness agreed that Cortes left Tenochtitlan to confront Panfilo de Navarez, the governor of Cuba, to arrest Cortes and his people. Cortes uses this to his advantage by confronting them with promises of gold if they come with him. Meanwhile