Reign 1396–1417 Siblings Itzcoatl | Name Huitzilihuitl Huitzilihuitl Died 1417, Mexico City, Mexico | |
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Coronation Five Snake / 22 January Issue ChimalpopocaTlacaelel IMoctezuma IHuehue ZacaCitlalcoatlAztacoatlAxicyotzinQuauhtzitzimitzinXiconocTeotlatlauhquiCuitlahuatzinMiccayaocihuatlMatlalchihuatzin Children Chimalpopoca, Moctezuma I, Tlacaelel, Huehue Zaca, Matlalcihuatzin Parents Acamapichtli, Tezcatlan Miyahuatzin Similar People | ||
Huitzilihuitl_0001.wmv
Huitzilihuitl [wit͡siˈliʔwit͡ɬ] (Nahuatl language; English: Hummingbird Feather) (d. ca. 1417) was the second tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, governing from 1396 to 1417, (or 1390 to 1410 according to other sources).
Contents
Family and childhood
Huitzilihuitl was born in Tenochtitlan, and was the son of Acamapichtli, first tlatoani of the Mexica, and Queen Tezcatlan Miyahuatzin, and had a half-brother Itzcoatl. His maternal grandfather was Acacitli. Only 16 years old when his father died, Huitzilihuitl was elected by the principal chiefs, warriors and priests of the city to replace him. At that time, the Mexica were tributaries of the Tepanec city-state of Azcapotzalco.
Reign
Huitzilihuitl, a good politician, continued the policies of his father, seeking alliances with his neighbors. He founded the Royal Council or Tlatocan and established four permanent electors to advise the new king, in his inexperience, at the beginning of each reign.
He married Ayauhcihuatl, daughter of Tezozomoc, the powerful tlatoani of Azcapotzalco, and obtained a reduction of tribute payments to the symbolic level. Their son Chimalpopoca would succeed his father as tlatoani. After the death of Ayaucihuatl, Huitzilihuitl married a second time, to Miahuaxihuitl. She bore him Moctezuma I, who also succeeded to the throne as the fifth tlatoani of Aztecs.
During his reign, the weaving industry grew. It provided cotton cloth not only for Tenochtitlan, but also for Azcapotzalco and Cuerhavaca. The Mexicas no longer had to dress in coarse ayates" of maguey fibers, but were able to change to soft, dyed cotton.
Huitzilihuitl also wanted to introduce potable water into the city, bringing it to the island from the mainland over the brackish water of the lake. But the nobles not approving the cost, he was unable to put his plan into operation. He constructed a fort on a rock on the island.
In 1409, the ruler of Texcoco, Techotlala, died and the throne passed to Ixtlilxochitl I. In the following years, relations between Ixtlilxochitl and Tezozomoc of Azcapotzalco deteriorated, breaking into open hostilities c. 1416.
In spite of having given his daughter Matlalchihuatzin in marriage to Ixtlilxochitl, Huitzilihuitl joined his father-in-law in making war on Texcoco. He assisted in the conquest and sacking of the cities of Tultitlan, Cuauhtitlan, Chalco, Tollantzingo, Xaltocan, Otompa and Acolman. Huitzilihuitl profited from the booty of these conquests and also from the traffic of the canoes on the lakes surrounding Tenochtitlan.
Death
Huitzilihuitl died, probably in 1417, before the end of the war between Azcapotzalco and Texcoco. His successor, his son Chimalpopoca, continued to support Tezozomoc and Azcapotzalco.