Cuauhtemoc

Cuauhtemoc (c. 1495-1525), whose name is rendered in Spanish-era sources as Guatimozin or Guatemoc and means roughly one who has descended like an eagle, was the last independent Aztec emperor, ruling Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521. He took power as tlatoani during the final, most desperate phase of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, after his predecessors Moctezuma II and Cuitlahuac had died, and led the defense of Tenochtitlan through a prolonged siege by Hernan Cortes and his indigenous allies. When the city fell in August 1521 he was captured attempting to flee by canoe, and was later tortured by the Spanish in an unsuccessful attempt to force him to reveal the location of hidden treasure. He was eventually executed by Cortes in 1525 during an expedition into Central America, and is remembered in Mexico today as a symbol of Indigenous resistance to Spanish colonization.