Cortés Meets Moctezuma II at Tenochtitlan

Cortés enters Tenochtitlan across the great causeway. Moctezuma II comes out to meet him in an elaborate procession, carried in a litter and covered with a canopy of feathers and gold. The city dazzles the Spaniards — Bernal Díaz writes it seemed like an enchantment. Within a week, Cortés has seized Moctezuma as a hostage, using the ruler to govern the empire from captivity — a bold gamble that temporarily paralyzes Aztec resistance. What Moctezuma thought and intended remains deeply contested by scholars.