Zuangua
| Zuangua | |
|---|---|
| Cazonci of Tzintzuntzan | |
| Reign | 1511–1520 |
| Predecessor | Tzitzipandáquare |
| Successor | Tangaxuan II |
| Born | 1479 Janitzio (Mexico) |
| Died | 1520 Tzintzuntzan, Purépecha Empire (Mexico) |
Zuangua, also spelled Zuanga (1479-1520), was a political figure in the late years of the Purépecha Empire. The son of Tzitzispandáquare, cazonci of Tzintzuntzan, he was a commander before acceding to the throne in C.E. 1486 after the death of his father. He conquered the so-called Pueblos de Ávalos in the Chapala and Zayula basins, and defeated the Mexica armies sent by Moctezuma II in C.E. 1517, which were commanded by the Tlaxcalan warrior Tlahuicole. He refused to support the Mexica when Hernán Cortés invaded Tenochtitlan. He died of smallpox in C.E. 1520.
Early life
He was born in C.E. 1479, Janitzio in the Purépecha Empire, (Modern-day Mexico).
Control
Zuangua was the son of cazonci Harame and his natural heir. In his youth, he participated in the final stage of the saltpeter war, which the Purépecha were fighting with a coalition of smaller tribes. In 1510, however, the war ended in failure and the Tarascans had to withdraw from the area of Lake Chapala. At the same time Harame died, and at the end of the year, or in early 1511, Zuangua ascended the throne.
To rebuild his reputation, which was damaged by the lost war, the new cazonci got involved in the conflict with the Mixtecs. The result of the fighting was the capture of Tututepec and the territories around this city. Around this time, the last clashes in Moctezuma II's decades-long conflict with the Aztecs took place. The conflict ultimately ended with the Purépecha state defending its independence.
Shortly before the untimely death of the cazonci, an Aztec delegation unexpectedly arrived in Tzintzuntzan in 1519. The envoys asked for military support against the new belligerent invader – the Spaniards of Hernán Cortés. Zuangua – remembering the wars fought for three generations by the Tarascans and Aztecs – refused to provide support, not recognizing the danger common to all peoples of Mesoamerica.
The ruler did not live to see the fall of Aztec Tenochtitlán. In 1520 he died of smallpox brought from Europe. He left a strong but isolated state. Despite the attempt, his son and successor Tangaxuan II was unable to resist the Spanish power.
Bibliography
- Cárabes Pedroza Jesus, Active "History of Mexico", Meksyk 1972.
- Paredes Martínez Carlos S., "History and society: essays from the colonial history seminar of Michoacán", Morelia 2012.
References
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