Isabel Moctezuma: The Emperor’s Most Valuable Commodity
Isabel Moctezuma was born around 1510, and was originally known as Tecuixpo Ixtlaxóchitl, Tecuichpo or Tecuichpochtzin, which has been translated to mean either “cotton flower” or “lord’s daughter.” She was the daughter of Moctezuma II, the 9
th ruler of the Aztec Empire. The identity of Isabel’s mother, however, is less certain. According to a contemporary Spanish historian, Francisco López de Gómara, Moctezuma had as many as 3,000 wives and concubines. According to another historian, the mestizo Fernando Alva Ixtlilxochitl, Isabel’s mother was Tayhualcan, the emperor’s chief wife. Ixtlilxochitl adds that Tayhualcan was the daughter of Totoquihuaztli, the last pre-Hispanic ruler of Tlacopan.