Huey Tlatoani Ilhuitemoc VI Cuauhtemoc (1502-1555)
In 1502, Ilhuitemoc VI Cuauhtemoc became the new Huey Tlatoani.
During the first months of his reign, a mayan expedition found something that would forever change the destiny of the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl and all her people. In the region of Isthmus, a region that the mayans had been preparing to explore for years, a settlement inhabited by mysterious people clad in metal and mounted on giant beasts had been discovered. Some among the members of the expedition believed Quetzalcoatl had returned, but most of them, having grown in a highly secularized society, dismissed such claims as being nonsense.
Soon after, this mysterious people began to appear at various points outside the de-facto territory of the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl. They did not know this lands, and so, they appeared to be exploring them.
Envoys of the Huey Tlatoani made contact with them, and tried to strike a deal with them. They would exchange their knowledge with ours, we would both learn about each other and about the mysterious world we all live in. Unfortunately, they declined, and immediately expelled the royal envoys threatening them with their metallic weapons. The Huey Tlatoani immediately ordered the fortification of the most important altépetl, and ordered the warriors to be ready for any kind of attack. If this mysterious people did not want to cooperate, it was probable they were preparing to attack
Large forces of warriors were sent to the regions in which the mysterious people had been sighted, and engaged in a few skirmishes against the mysterious people, and eventually the skirmishes escalated into battles.
More of this mysterious peoples were soon sighted all over the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl. However, they were not aggressive towards the people, it was only when they encountered mexica warriors that it escalated into violence. The Huey Tlatoani deduced that sending the warriors only served to provoke the mysterious foreigners, and quickly issued orders to avoid these situations, and sent messengers to improve relations between the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl and the foreigners. After a couple of years, the Huey Tlatoani exchanged basic knowledge with the visitors.
Meanwhile, settlers from the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl arrived to the regions beyond the great river, founding new altépetl in the name of the Huey Tlatoani. However, some of the local tribes were to aggressive for their own good, and the Huey Tlatoani was forced to send warriors to protect the growing altépetls in the region.
New foreigners arrived from the sea east of the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl, these new people did not establish settlements as the previous ones had done, instead they seemed to be mapmakers and explorers. A couple of them reached Tenochtitlan, and were more than happy to exchange maps and discoveries with the Huey Tlatoani. It was through this means that the people of the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl learned about the concepts of continents called Europe and America (among many other european concepts); more european expeditions would arrive to the americas in the following years, and trade between the continents would flourish through the colonies that the european powers had established in america, and the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl which could be considered the most powerful political entity in the continent.
Soon after, a Cherokee messenger would arrive in Tenochtitlan with a message for the Huey Tlatoani. The Cherokee were involved in a drawn-out war against neighboring tribes, and hoped the mighty Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl could turn their war in their favour.
He was already old, and he had witnessed the beginning of what would eventually become the most influential changes for the people of the continent; but before passing away he would help the cherokee win their war, and in exchange the Mexica Tlahtohcāyōtl would receive a small outpost in north america.