Tzimtzincha-Tangaxuan II (died February 14, 1530) was the last ''

cazonci Irecha was the title held by the ruler of the Purépecha Empire, which existed from the 14th to the 16th centuries in the area of the modern mexican states of Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and the State of Mexico The State of Mexi ...

'' (monarch) of the

Purépecha Empire The Purépecha Empire, also known by the term Iréchikwa, was a polity in pre-Columbian Mexico. Its territory roughly covered the geographic area of the present-day Mexican state of Michoacán, as well as parts of Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Jalisc ...

, from 1520–1530. He was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

Francisco when his realm made a peace treaty with

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

. He was executed by burning by

Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán (Spanish) or (Catalan) is a masculine given name of Latin origin (, , , and so on). Its Portuguese form is . Its patronymic is (). Already in the Middle Ages the name was being confused with the similar but distinct name Munio. The meaning of ...

on February 14, 1530. After hearing about the fall of the

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...

, Tangáxuan II sent emissaries to the Spanish victors. A few Spaniards returned with them to Tzintzuntzan where they were presented to Tangáxuan and gifts were exchanged. The Spaniards returned with samples of gold and Cortés' interest in the Tarascan state was awakened. In 1522 a Spanish force under the leadership of Cristóbal de Olid was sent into Tarascan territory and arrived at Tzintzuntzan within days. The Tarascan army numbered many thousands, perhaps as many as 100,000, but at the crucial moment they chose not to fight. Tangáxuan submitted to the Spanish administration, but for his cooperation was allowed a large degree of autonomy. This resulted in a strange arrangement where both Cortés and Tangáxuan considered themselves rulers of Michoacán for the following years: the population of the area paid tribute to them both.

, then president of the first Audiencia decided, to march on northwestern Mexico with a force of 5,000–8,000 men in search for new populations to subdue, and when he arrived in

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

and found out that Tangáxuan was still ''de facto'' ruler of his empire he allied himself with a Tarascan noble Don Pedro Panza, known as Cuinierángari, against the Cazonci. The Cazonci was tried for plotting a rebellion, withholding tribute, sodomy and heresy, and he was tortured and executed.Gorenstein (1993, xv). According to some other sources Tangaxuan II was dragged behind a horse and then burned. His ashes were thrown into the

Lerma river The Lerma River ( es, Río Lerma) is Mexico's second longest river. It is a river in west-central Mexico that begins in Mexican Plateau at an altitude over above sea level, and ends where it empties into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, nea ...

. A period of violence and turbulence began. During the next decades, Purépecha puppet rulers were installed by the Spanish government. According to legends, Tangaxuan II was the father of Princess Eréndira, although there are no contemporary accounts of her existence.

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References

* * {{s-end Year of birth missing 1530 deaths Executed Mexican people People executed by New Spain Purépecha people People executed by Spain by burning 16th-century indigenous people of the Americas