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Show BOOK lJI. ~ SEcT. vr. Et1mity of Max tinton to the W.exicaas. H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. they had fcarcely time to breathe, when a new enemy and bloody perfecutor fl:arte:d up, in the fame royal £1mily of Azcapazalco. Maxt!aton prince of Coyoacan, and fon of the king of Azcapozalco, a cruel, turbulent, ambitious man, and who was feared even by his fathor upon that account, had been difpleafed at the marriage of his fifl:er Ayauhcihuatl with the king of Mexico. He concealed his di.fpleafure, for fome time, out ofrefpetl: to his father; but in the tenth yearofthe reign of Huitzilihuitl, he went to Az<.:apozalco, and alfembled the nobility, in order to lay before them his complaints againft the Mexicans Md their king. He reprefentcd the increafe of the population of Mexi. co; enlarged upon the pride and arrogance of that peopl~, and upon the fatal effects which were to be feared from their prefent difpofitions; and efpecially complained of the great affront done to him by the Mexican king, in depriving him of his wife. It is necelfary to obferve, that Maxtlaton and Ayauchcihuatl, although both children of Tezozomoc, were yet born of different mothers; and perhaps fuch marriages were in thofe times, permitted among the Tepanecas. Whether he ever aCtually intended to marry his fifter, or only made that a pretext to cover his cruel defigns, is uncertain ; but, in the alfembly of the nobles, it was determined to fummon Huitzilihuitl, to anfwer to the pre- . tended charge. The Mexican king went to Azcapozalco; nor will this appear extraordinary, when we confider that it was no uncommon thing, at that time, for princes to vifi t one another; and that, bcfiJes, it was the duty of Huitzilihuitl, as a feudatory of that crown; for, although from the birth of Acolnahuacatl, the queen of Mexico had pre· vailed upon her father Tezozomac to relieve the Mexicans from the opprcfEons to which they had been fubjected for fo many years before, yet Mexico !l:ill continued in the nature of a fief of Azcapozalco, and the Mexicans owed the Tepanecan king an annual prefent of a couple of ducks by way of acknowledgement of his fuperiority. Maxtlaton received Huitzilihuitl in a hall of the palace, and after having dined with him in the prefence of the courtiers who fbttered all his fchemes, he charged Huitzilihnitl in the fevereft terms, with the pretended outrage done to him by the marriage of Ayauhcihuatl. The Mexican king with the grc.lte!l: refpeet afferted his innocence:, and fa.id, that he certainly would never have folicited the priFlcefs, nor hel' father H l S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. · father have given her away to him, if ihe had been bethrothed to an- BOOK nr. other. But in fpite of the truth of his julhfication and the weight of ' his reafons, Maxtlaton angrily replied, " I might now, without hear- " ing more, put you to inftant death, and fo punifh your boldnefs and " avenge my own honour; but I would not have it faid that a f epane- " can prince killed his enemy in a treacherous manner. Depart in " peace; and time will give me an opportunity of taking a more ho- " nourable revenge." The Mexican went from him, filled with rage and vexation, and was· not long without feeling the effeCts of his cruel kinfman's difpleafure. The true caufe of Maxtlaton's enmity arofe from his fear of the crown of the Tepanecas one day coming to his nephew Acolnahua<.'atl, by which event his nation would become fubjeet to the Mexicans. To remove the caufe of his fear, he formed the barbarous refolution of putting his nephew to death, who was accordingly murdered a fhort time after by fome perfons who hoped, by that at.l: of cruelty, to gain the favour of their mafier; no prince evc::r wanting, about him, mercenary men, who are ready to ferve his paffior.s (s). Tezozomoc gave no confent to the perpetration of this crime, but we do not know that he fhewed any dif.:1pprobation of it. In the fequel of this. hiftery we !hall fee that the haughtinefs, the ambition, and the cruelty of Maxtlaton rather encouraged than connived at by his indulgent father, brought ruin· upon himfelf and his kingdom. Huitzilihuitl could ill brook fuch a barbarous injury; but he yet wanted fuHicient power to take revenge. .. In the fame year with this tragical event (I 399) died at Tlateloko, SEcT. vrr. the firft king, ~aquauhpitzahuac, leaving his fubjeets much more ci- Tlacatcotl, fccond king vilized, and the city greatly enlarged by handfome buildings and gar- of Tlatelol-dens. He was fucceeded by Tiacatcotl~ of whofe origin hifl:orians dif- co. fer widely in their relations; fome imagining he was a Tepanecan as well as his predeceffor, while others take him to have been an Acol- (J) There is no author who gives any account of the circumftances of this murder; and it fs hardly to be conceived how the Tepanecas lhould be able to execute fuch n deed in Mexico . 'but we cannot doubt of the faa, as it is confirmed b:y all the national hiflorians · but f.1che~ Acona .has committed a mi!lake in col)founding the murder of this young prince' Acolnalrua• ntl, With the death of Chimalpopoca the· third king of Mexico. huan, • |
