Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/802

784 MONTEZUMA MONTFORT his allies the Tezcucans. The Ohalcos were routed in a great battle, and their chief city was entirely destroyed. A war followed with the king of Tlatelolco, who was defeated and killed. Montezuma next conquered the prov- ince of Cuihixcas, and subsequently that of Tzorapahuacan. In a war with Atonaltzin, a chief of the Mixtecas, he suffered reverses which led to a confederacy between Atonaltzin and the Huexotzincas and Tlascalans against the Mexicans ; but Montezuma in his first en- counter with them gained a signal victory, which greatly enlarged his empire. In 1457 he conquered Cuetlachtan, a province on the Mexican gulf, and carried 6,200 of the people to Mexico, where they were sacrificed to the god of war. Montezuma II., the last of the Aztec emperors, born about 1480, succeeded his uncle Ahuitzotl in 1502, and was killed June 30, 1520. He was both a soldier and a priest, and had taken an active part in the wars of his predecessor. When his election to the imperial dignity was announced to him, he was sweeping the stairs of the great temple of Mexico. At the commencement of his reign he led a successful expedition against a rebel- lious province, and brought back a multitude of captives to be sacrificed at his coronation. For several years he was constantly at war, and his campaigns, which extended as far as Honduras and Nicaragua, were generally suc- cessful. He made important changes in the internal administration of the empire, espe- cially in the courts of justice, and became noted for strictness and severity in the execution of the laws, as well as for munificence to those who served him and in his expenditures for public works. He became equally noted also for arrogance, pomp, and luxury, and his heavy taxes led to many revolts. At the time of the arrival of Cortes in Mexico in 1519, Montezuma was alarmed not only by the internal troubles of his empire, but by the appearance of comets and other strange lights in the sky, and of mysterious fires in the great temple, which the seers interpreted as omens of the approaching downfall of the empire. Thus disheartened, he did not meet the invasion of the Spaniards with his usual energy. He at first forbade the white men to approach his capital, and then sent an embassy to welcome them. When Cortes entered Mexico (Nov. 8) he was re- ceived by Montezuma with courtesy and ap- parent good will, and at first treated the em- peror with the greatest deference ; but a colli- sion between the Mexicans and a Spanish gar- rison at Vera Cruz soon afforded a pretext for a change of measures. At the end of a week after his arrival he waited upon Montezuma with a few of his officers under pretence of a friendly visit, and, after upbraiding him with the transactions at Vera Cruz, took him cap- tive, and carried him to the Spanish head- quarters. The emperor, fearing instant death if he made any opposition, assured his subjects, who were about to attempt a rescue as he passed through the streets, that he accompa- nied the Spaniards of his own free will. Mon- tezuma was for a while put in irons, and was so completely humbled that when Cortes of- fered to liberate him, he declined to return to his palace, apparently ashamed to be seen by his nobles. He was subsequently induced to swear allegiance to the king of Spain, and was kept a prisoner for seven months, till in June, 1520, the people of the capital rose in insurrection and besieged the Spaniards in their quarters. He was induced by Cortes to address his subjects from the battlements of his prison in hopes of appeasing the tumult ; but though at first listened to with respect, his appeals in behalf of the white men at length exasperated the Mexicans ; a shower of missiles was discharged at him, a stone struck him on the temple, and he fell senseless. He refused all remedies and nourishment, tore off the bandages, and died in a few days. Some of the children of Montezuma became Christians, and were carried to Spain. From them de- scended the counts of Montezuma, one of whom was viceroy of Mexico from 1697 to 1701. MONTFAUCON, Bernard de, a French scholar, born at Soulage, Languedoc, Jan. 13, 1655, died in Paris, Dec. 21, 1741. He belonged to a noble family, and after completing his educa- tion at the college of Limoux, he served in two campaigns in Germany under Turenne, and in 1675 entered a Benedictine convent at Tou- louse. Afterward he went to Paris, where he became a member of the congregation of St. Maur, and acquired a high reputation for his scholarly attainments. In 1719 he was made a member of the academy of inscriptions. His most important works are : Palaographia Grceca, sive de Ortu et Progressu Literarum GroBcarum (fol., Paris, 1708); Vantiquite ex- pliquee et representee en figures (in French and Latin, 10 vols. fol., 1719; supplement, 5 vols. fol., 1724) ; and Les monuments de la monarchie francaise (in French and Latin, 5 vols. fol., 1729-'33). He also published valuable editions of the works of several of the Greek fathers. MONTFERRAT (Ital. Monferrato), a territory of Italy, formerly an independent duchy, bounded N. and W. by Piedmont, S. by Genoa, and E. by Milan. It was separated by a strip of Milane territory into the divisions of Casale on th( north and Acqni on the south, Casale being the capital. It often changed masters, and for more than a century was in the hands of the dukes of Mantua; but in 1703 it was bestowed by the emperor Leopold I. upon the duke of Savoy, a possession of whose house it has since remained. The territory is now divided among the provinces of Alessandria, Genoa, Coni, Turin, and Novara. The family of Montferrat was of remote origin, and very conspicuous in the middle ages. MONTFORT, Jean (IV.) de, duke of Brittany, born in 1293, died in Hennebon, Sept. 26, 1345. He was the son of Duke Arthur II., and suc- ceeded his brother Jean III. in 1341. The