Moctezuma was a great warrior. He conquered land in what is now Honduras and Nicaragua.

When a group of Spanish soldiers led by Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico in 1519, Moctezuma was worried. The Spanish had cannon and guns. The Aztecs only had spears.

Moctezuma was friendly to Cortes but he secretly planned to kill the Spaniard. The emperor?s plan failed. Instead of capturing Cortes, Moctezuma became a prisoner himself.

Nobody knows exactly what happened next. Cortes said that when Moctezuma appeared in public, his subjects threw stones at him. Cortes said the emperor died of his injuries.

The Aztecs said that Cortes and his men killed Moctezuma because they wanted to take over the empire.

After Moctezuma died, Cortes and his men tried to leave secretly at night. They were caught by the angry Aztecs. Many Spaniards were killed but Cortes survived.

Cortes came back with a new army. Two years after Moctezuma?s death, the Aztec empire was destroyed.

Human sacrifices

Find words which mean the opposite of: few, surrendered, commiserate

The Aztecs made lots of sacrifices to their gods. Many were human sacrifices. Priests would tie their victims to a sacrificial stone and then cut out their hearts.

The Aztecs boasted about killing more than 80,000 prisoners to celebrate the opening of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan.

Moctezuma was a very religious man. He made many human sacrifices to Huitzilopochtli, the god of war.

When Moctezuma conquered new territory, he sacrificed prisoners of war. He also made the defeated nations send him children to be sacrificed. Because of this Moctezuma was hated and feared.

Impersonating Quetzalcoatl

Fill in the gaps: superstitious, deceived, powerful

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish aristocrat. He and his soldiers travelled to the Americas because they wanted gold. The Aztecs were rich and _________________.

Cortes knew that the Aztecs were also __________________. The Aztecs believed that one day their white, bearded god Quetzalcoatl would return to rule the empire. Cortes grew his beard, pretended he was Quetzalcoatl and went to see Moctezuma.

Moctezuma pretended to believe Cortes was the god. But he was not ____________________. The emperor invited Cortes to the palace so he could learn about his weaknesses and then kill the invaders.

If Moctezuma?s plan had worked, the Aztec empire might still be here today.

True or false?

To test your memory, try answering without referring to the text. If you can?t remember the details, read the piece again.

1 Moctezuma ruled a huge Aztec empire in Honduras.

2 Hernan Cortes was a Spanish aristocrat.

3 The Aztecs fought wars with cannon and guns.

4 Cortes pretended he was an Aztec god.

5 Human sacrifices were common in Aztec religious ceremonies.

Quick facts Moctezuma II

Famous for: human sacrifices and being the last great ruler of the Aztecs

Born: 1466

Died: June 30, 1520, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City)

Married: the emperor had several wives, eight daughters and 11 sons

Profession: emperor

Answers:

September 23

From prisoner to president: race, protests, set free, elected

Playing rugby for peace: together, supported, public

Apartheid: apart, divided, public, freed

True or false: 1. T, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T, 5. F