Cuitláhuac

The Noche Triste (Sad Night, June 30, 1520) was the night the Mexica drove Hernán Cortés and his men out of Tenochtitlan, inflicting heavy losses as the Spaniards fled across the causeways. The attack was led by Cuitláhuac, brother of Moctezuma II, who had just become tlatoani (ruler) of the Mexica.

Cuitláhuac ruled only about eighty days before dying of smallpox. Don’t confuse him with Cuauhtémoc, the last Mexica ruler, who led the final defense of Tenochtitlan during the siege of 1521.