A big part of my research for my upcoming historical fiction novel Calusa Gold has been reading about King Montezuma II, ruler of the Aztec empire. Many reports portray him as a weak leader and place much of the blame on him for the Aztec defeat at the hands of the Spaniards led by Hernan Cortes in the 16th century.
My book includes a fictional meeting between Montezuma and a group of Calusa Indian warriors from southwest Florida who travel to the Aztec capital to try to persuade Montezuma to join with the Calusa tribe to drive the Spaniards from their common waters.
After reading several negative descriptions of Montezuma, I decided to add details to my story to make him appear weak and worried about the approaching Conquistadors. and Cortes. I then made an assumption that Montezuma may have resorted to drinking alcohol to deal with his stress. I know the Aztecs had a sacred alcoholic drink called pulque, made from the sap of agave plants, so I started to add scenes of Montezuma drinking a lot of it.
After a few days, I started to think that I was possibly making too much of an assumption and not relying on research and did more reading. I found that the Aztecs generally looked down on intoxication from alcohol, so I did some searches on Montezuma’s weaknesses. This led me to an article titled, "How the Aztecs Appraised Montezuma" by Sara E. Cohen in The History Teacher journal. This changed my approach to writing about Montezuma.
First, while the article has many details about problems Montezuma was having, alcohol was not one of them, so I removed those scenes from my story. The article did say that Montezuma was “very afraid” of the Spaniards and that he “trembled.” It also hinted that he may have fainted due to his anxiety.
It mentioned that he “could not eat, sleep, nor do anything with joy” and had the following sentences: “Instead he was very sad and sighed deeply many times. He was in great anguish, and no amusement gave him pleasure.”
The article included some very telling quotes from Montezuma: “What will become of us? Who is going to have to suffer these ills? None other than I because I am lord and king in charge of all….Where shall I go? How shall I escape?”
Not exactly the picture of a strong, determined leader.
Another article “As if His Heart Died”: A Reinterpretation of Moteuczoma’s Cowardice in the Conquest History of the Florentine Codex by Rebecca Dufendach published by Duke University Press gave me more information on this. Dufendach discusses how the Aztecs felt about mental illnesses. It appears that they saw no difference between illnesses of the body and those of the mind. In other words, they looked at physical ailments as signs of weaknesses in one’s fortitude and self discipline. Taking this a bit further, it is possible Montezuma was suffering from some physical problem, which could have led to criticism of his ability to lead.
The article has a quote from Montezuma that gives a strong hint of this: “My heart is squeezed to death.”
Could this be a sign he was suffering from extreme fear and anxiety? Possibly. Or does it indicate Montezuma had a serious physical problem that was making it difficult for him to lead? To me, this seems possible and maybe more likely.
Now I am going to take a big leap and compare Montezuma’s condition to that of Confederate General Robert E. Lee during the battle of Gettysburg. I remember reading some accounts that Lee may have had a heart attack or some other serious ailment in the months leading up to Gettysburg. Before that battle, Lee had won a string of decisive battles, but at Gettysburg, he made some errors that historians have suggested could have been due to his condition. The biggest of these errors could have been Pickett’s Charge, when Confederate infantry had to attack across a wide field, only to be almost wiped out by Union artillery firing from close range.
I am not a Civil War historian, and I am not trying to make another big assumption here. I am only trying to point out something I see as a possible similarity in two leaders dealing with extremely stressful situations.
This all led me to describe Montezuma as struggling with fear and worry about the Spaniards and also hinting that he might have had a physical ailment affecting his ability to lead. I even paraphrased Montezuma’s quote about his heart. Hopefully this will make him seem like a weakening leader, which fits right into my plot. I also like this scenario much better, as it is based on research and some actual quotes.
So Montezuma wasn’t a drunk, and I got a got reminder to focus on research even as I write my story.
Please comment and consider sharing this post and my newsletter. I am finished with the first draft of Calusa Gold and working on editing and hope to start querying literary agents in August, so the more attention I can get before them, the better. Thanks
I just watched a YT video of a selection from the memoirs of Bernard Diaz, a conquistador in Cortez’s group who recounted that Montezuma required two servants to assist him getting up the steps of the Aztec sacrifice altar. He assumed Cortez, also a supreme leader, would need similar help, which he refused. Apparently going up the steps alone left Montezuma weak and out of breath—heart disease? Out of shape from being carried everywhere? Might be worth listening to a translation from the original Spanish: https://youtu.be/UGaYcUTwXHc
This is an excellent example of allowing the research to take you deeper. You could have settled on the first idea and you could have made it work, but the more complex answer--anxiety, depression - whether cause or effect, gives you a much more nuanced and complex character/plot. Thanks for sharing your process!