After his coronation, Moctezuma set up thirty-eight more provincial divisions, largely to centralize the empire. He sent out bureaucrats, accompanied by military garrisons, who made sure tax was being paid, national laws were being upheld and served as local judges in case of disagreement.
Internal policy Natural disasters Moctezuma's reign began with difficulties. In the year 1505, a major drought resulted in widespread
crop failure, and thus a large portion of the population of central Mexico began to starve. One of the few places in the empire not affected by this drought was
Totonacapan, and many people from Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco sought refuge in this region to avoid starvation. Large amounts of
maize were brought from this area to aid the population. Moctezuma and the lords of
Texcoco and Tlacopan,
Nezahualpilli, and Totoquihuatzin, attempted to aid the population during the disaster, including using all available food supplies to feed the population and raising tributes for one year. The drought and famine ultimately lasted three years, and at some point became so severe that some noblemen reportedly sold their children as slaves in exchange for food to avoid starvation. Moctezuma ordered the
tlacxitlan, the criminal court of Tenochtitlan (which aside from judging criminals also had the job of freeing "unjustified" slaves), to free those children and offer food to those noblemen. Another natural disaster, of lesser intensity, occurred in the winter of 1514, when a series of dangerous snowstorms resulted in the destruction of various crops and property across Mexico.
Policies and other events during his reign During his government, he applied multiple policies that centered the government of the empire on his person, though it is difficult to tell exactly to which extent those policies were applied, as the records written about such policies tend to be affected by propaganda in favor of or against his person. According to Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, among Moctezuma's policies were the replacement of a large portion of his court (including most of his advisors) with people he deemed preferable, and increasing the division between the commoner and noble classes, which included the refusal to offer certain honors to various politicians and warriors for being commoners. He also prohibited any commoners or
illegitimate children of the nobility from serving in his palace or high positions of government. This was contrary to the policies of his predecessors, who did allow commoners to serve in such positions. Moctezuma's
elitism can be attributed to a long conflict of interests between the nobility, merchants, and warrior class. The struggle occurred as the result of the conflicting interests between the merchants and the nobility and the rivalry between the warrior class and the nobility for positions of power in the government. Moctezuma likely sought to resolve this conflict by installing
despotist policies that would settle it. However, it is also true that many of his elitist policies were put in place because he did not want to "work with inferior people", and instead wanted to be served by and interact with people he deemed more prestigious, both to avoid giving himself and the government a bad reputation and to work with people he trusted better. However, some of his policies also affected the nobility, as he had intentions of reforming it so that it would not pose a potential threat to the government; among these policies was the obligation of the nobility to reside permanently in Tenochtitlan and abandon their homes if they lived elsewhere. Regarding his economic policies, Moctezuma's rule was largely affected by natural disasters in the early years. As mentioned before, the famine during his first years as
tlatoani resulted in a temporary increase in tribute in some provinces to aid the population. Some provinces, however, ended up paying more tribute permanently, most likely as the result of his primary military focus shifting from territorial expansion to stabilization of the empire through the suppression of rebellions. Most of the provinces affected by these new tributary policies were in the
Valley of Mexico. For example, the province of
Amaquemecan, which formed part of the
Chalco region, was assigned to pay an additional tribute of stone and wood twice or thrice a year for Tenochtitlan's building projects. This tributary policy eventually backfired, as some of the empire's subjects grew disgruntled with Moctezuma's government and launched rebellions against him, which eventually resulted in many of these provinces—including Totonacapan (under the
de facto leadership of
Chicomacatl), Chalco and
Mixquic (which were near Tenochtitlan)—forming alliances with
Spain against him. The famine at the beginning of his rule also resulted in the abolishment of the
huehuetlatlacolli system, which was a system of
serfdom in which a family agreed to maintain a
tlacohtli (
slave or serf) perpetually. This agreement also turned the descendants of the ones who agreed into serfs. During his campaign against
Jaltepec and Cuatzontlan (
see below), he made negotiations with the
Tlatelolca to obtain the weapons and resources needed. As a result of these negotiations, Tlatelolco was given more sovereignty; they were permitted to rebuild their main temple which was partially destroyed in the
Battle of Tlatelolco in a civil war during
Axayácatl's reign, act largely independently during military campaigns, and be absolved from paying tribute. Many of these policies were planned together with his uncle
Tlilpotonqui,
cihuacoatl of Mexico and son of
Tlacaelel, at the beginning of his reign, while others, such as his tributary policies, were created as the result of various events, like the famine which occurred at the beginning of his rule. His policies, in general, had the purpose of centralizing the government in his person through the means of implementing policies to settle the divide between the nobility and commoners and abolishing some of the more
feudal policies of his predecessors, while also making his tributary policies more severe to aid the population during natural disasters and to compensate for a less expansionist focus in his military campaigns. Most of the policies implemented during his rule would not last long after his death, as the empire fell into Spanish control on 13 August 1521 as a result of the
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, one year after he died. The new Spanish authorities implemented their laws and removed many of the political establishments founded during the pre-Hispanic era, leaving just a few in place. Among the few policies that lasted was the divide between the nobility and the commoners, as members of the pre-Hispanic nobility continued to enjoy various privileges under the
Viceroyalty of New Spain, such as land ownership through a system known as
cacicazgo.
Construction projects '' (1542) Moctezuma, like many of his predecessors, built a
tecpan (palace) of his own. This was a particularly large palace, which was somewhat larger than the
National Palace that exists today which was built over it, being about 200 meters long and 200 meters wide. However, little
archaeological evidence exists to understand what his palace looked like, but the various descriptions of it and the space it covered have helped reconstruct various features of its layout. Even so, these descriptions tend to be limited, as many writers were unable to describe them in detail. The Spanish captain
Hernán Cortés, the main commander of the Spanish troops that entered Mexico in the year 1519, himself stated in his letters to the
king of Spain that he would not bother describing it, claiming that it "was so marvelous that it seems to me impossible to describe its excellence." The palace had a large courtyard that opened into the central plaza of the city to the north, where
Templo Mayor was. This courtyard was a place where hundreds of courtiers would hold multiple sorts of activities, including feasts and waiting for royal business to be conducted. This courtyard had suites of rooms that surrounded smaller courtyards and gardens. The upper floor had a large courtyard which was likely used as a
cuicacalli, for public shows during religious rituals. The bottom floor had two rooms which were used by the government. One of them was used for Moctezuma's advisors and judges who dealt with the situations of the commoners (likely the
Tlacxitlan). The other room was for the war council (likely the
Tequihuacalli), where high-ranking warriors planned and commanded their battles. As part of the construction of Moctezuma's palace, various projects were made which made it more prestigious by providing entertainment to the public. One of the most famous among these projects was the '''' (House of Birds), a
zoo which had multiple sorts of animals, mainly
avian species, but also contained several
predatory animals in their section. These animals were taken care of by servants who cleaned their environments, fed them, and offered them care according to their species. The species of birds held within the zoo were widely varied, holding animals like
quetzals,
eagles,
true parrots, and others, and also included water species like
roseate spoonbills and various others that had their
pond. The section with animals other than birds, which was decorated with figures of gods associated with the wild, was also considerably varied, having
jaguars,
wolves,
snakes, and other smaller predatory animals. These animals were fed on hunted animals like
deer,
turkeys, and other smaller animals. Allegedly, the dead bodies of sacrificial victims were also used to feed these animals, and after the battle known as
La Noche Triste, which occurred during the early stages of the
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in June 1520 (during which
Moctezuma died), the bodies of dead Spaniards may have been used to feed them. This place was highly prestigious, and all sorts of important people are said to have used to visit this place, including artists, craftsmen, government officials, and
blacksmiths. The
Totocalli, however, was burnt and destroyed, along with many other constructions, in the year 1521 during the
Siege of Tenochtitlan, as the Spanish captain Hernán Cortés ordered for many of the buildings that formed part of the royal palaces to be burnt to demoralize the Mexica army and civilians. Though Cortés himself admitted that he enjoyed the zoo, he stated that he saw it as a necessary measure in his
third letter to
King Charles I of Spain. Another construction was the
Chapultepec aqueduct, built in 1506 to bring fresh water directly from Chapultepec to Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco. These revolts occurred in so many locations that the empire was unable to deal with all of them effectively.
Territorial expansion The empire's expansion during Moctezuma's rule was mainly focused on southwestern
Mesoamerican territories, in Oaxaca and modern-day
Guerrero. The earliest conquests in this territory were held by
Moctezuma I. The first important conquest during Moctezuma's rule occurred in the year 1504 when the city of Achiotlan (today known as
San Juan Achiutla) was conquered. This war, according to some sources, was supposedly mainly caused by "a small tree which belonged to a lord of the place which grew such beautiful flowers Moctezuma's envy couldn't resist it", and when Moctezuma asked for it, the lord of the city refused to offer it, thus starting the war. After the conquest, this tree was supposedly taken to Tenochtitlan. The second conquest occurred in Zozollan, a place neighboring east of Achiutla, on 28 May 1506, during the campaign against the Yanhuitlan rebellion. This conquest had a particularly violent result, as a special sacrifice was held after the campaign where the prisoners captured in Zozollan were the victims. "The Mexicans killed many of the people from Zozola which they captured in war", according to
History of the Mexicans as Told by Their Paintings, an early colonial source based on
Aztec codices. In the year 1507, the year of the
New Fire Ceremony, abundant military action occurred. Among the towns that are listed to have been conquered this year are: Tecuhtepec (from which multiple prisoners were sacrificed for the ceremony), Iztitlan, Nocheztlan (an important town northeast of Achiutla), Quetzaltepec, and Tototepec. Quetzaltepec was conquered on the same campaign as Tototepec, as both reportedly murdered the merchants sent by Moctezuma in the area. The Mexica managed to raise an army of 400,000 and first conquered Tototepec. Quetzaltepec was also conquered, but it rebelled along with various sites across Oaxaca soon after when the Mexica lost the
Battle of Atlixco against
Huejotzingo. Being a fortified city with six walls, the Mexica put the city under siege for several days, with the each of groups of the Triple Alliance attacking from various locations and having over 200 wooden ladders constructed under Moctezuma's orders. The Mexica eventually emerged victorious, successfully conquering the city. Several military defeats occurred in some of these expansionist campaigns, however, such as the invasion of Amatlan in 1509, where an unexpected series of snowstorms and blizzards killed many soldiers, making the surviving ones too low in numbers to fight. An important campaign was the conquest of Xaltepec (today known as
Jaltepec) and Cuatzontlan and the suppression of the last revolt in Icpatepec, all in Oaxaca. This war started as the result of provocations given by Jaltepec against Moctezuma through killing as many Mexicas as they could find in their area, as some sort of way to challenge him, and the beginning of the revolt by Icpatepec as the result. The Xaltepeca had done this before with previous
tlatoanis and other nations. Moctezuma and the recently elected ruler of Tlacopan themselves went to the fight, along with
Tlacaelel's grandson and
cihuacoatl of Mexico in this period Tlacaeleltzin Xocoyotl. A large portion of the weapons and food was brought by
Tlatelolco, though they were initially hesitant to do so, but were ordered by Moctezuma to offer it as a tribute to Tenochtitlan, and they received multiple rewards as the result, including the permission to rebuild their main temple (which had been partially destroyed during the
Battle of Tlatelolco which occurred during
Axayacatl's reign). This campaign had a highly violent result; Moctezuma, after receiving information on the cities gathered by his spies, ordered for all adults in the sites above the age of 50 to be killed to prevent a rebellion once the cities were conquered, similar to the war in Tlachquiauhco. The conquest was done by dividing the army that was brought in 3 divisions; one from Tlacopan, one from Texcoco, and one from Tenochtitlan, so that each one attacked a different city. The Tenochtitlan company attacked Jaltepec. Moctezuma came out victorious and then returned to Mexico through Chalco, where he received many honors for his victory. This war likely happened in 1511, as a war against Icpatepec is recorded to have happened again in that year. After the campaigns in the Oaxaca region, Moctezuma began to move his campaigns into northern and eastern territories around 1514, conquering the site of Quetzalapan, a
Chichimec territory through the
Huastec region, taking 1332 captives and suffering minimal casualties, with only 95 reported losses. Likely around this time, many other territories in the region were also conquered. He also went to war against the
Tarascan Empire for the first time since
Axayácatl was defeated in his disastrous invasion. This war caused high casualties on both sides. The Mexica succeeded at taking a large amount of captives, but failed to conquer any territory. Among the final military campaigns carried out by Moctezuma, aside from the late stages of the war against Tlaxcala, were the conquests of Mazatzintlan and Zacatepec, which formed part of the Chichimec region. The approximate number of military engagements during his rule before European contact was 73, achieving victory in approximately 43 sites (including territories already within the empire), making him one of the most active monarchs in pre-Hispanic Mexican history in terms of military actions. However, his rule and policies suffered a very sudden interruption upon the news of the arrival of Spanish ships in the east in 1519 (
see below). ==Texcoco crisis==