Cuauhtémoc: Tortured, Never Surrendered

I bet you didn’t know the last Aztec emperor was tortured by Spain… and never surrendered.

In 1521, during the Siege of Tenochtitlán, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captured

Cuauhtémoc — the final ruler of the Aztec Empire. This is where the empire ends.

But not the man. By the time Cuauhtémoc takes the throne, the city is already dying.

Smallpox is spreading. Food is gone. The Spanish have surrounded Tenochtitlán by land and water.

And Cortés isn’t alone. He’s allied with rival Indigenous states who want

the Aztecs gone. This isn’t just Spain vs the Aztecs. It’s a war from every direction.

For months, the Spanish cut off supplies. They destroy canals. They starve the