The Spanish conqueror initially kept Cuauhtémoc as a puppet ruler, hoping to use him to control the remaining population. However, fearing a rebellion during his march to Honduras in 1525, Cortés brought the young emperor along as a prisoner. This decision would seal Cuauhtémoc’s fate.
Accusing him, likely falsely, of plotting a conspiracy to kill the Spaniards, Cortés ordered his execution. Many historians believe this was a pretense to simply get rid of a symbol of resistance who had become a liability.
On that day, at the age of about 30, Cuauhtémoc was hanged from a ceiba tree. With him died the last legitimate ruler of the empire. The resistance that had burned so brightly was finally extinguished.
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