Moctezumas Mistake

The illusion of knowledge, according to the novel Invisible Gorilla, is implicitly

believing that you understand things at a deeper level than you really do, and it lurks behind
some of the most dangerous and misguided decisions we make. (Chabris & Simons 115). A
perfect example that came to mind regarding this illusion is how Moctezuma II confused Hernan
Cortez as being the returning Aztec God Quetzalcoatl. This major mistake done by Moctezuma
basically lead to the Aztec Empires downfall and the Spaniards conquest, which lasted almost
exactly three hundred years. In this research-based essay I will be making an argument on how
the Aztec Empire came to its knees by this grave misunderstanding and explain why the illusion
of knowledge fits so well with the Aztec example.
Id like to begin the argument by giving a brief history on Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl who
was also known as the feathered serpent, was the ruling God of Teotihuacan. It is believed by
many historians that Quetzalcoatl despised human sacrifice, instead he told his people that if they
were to sacrifice they should offer animals, insects and plants as sacrifices to their other gods.
Due to his belief of not practicing human sacrifice, several different high priests plotted
Quetzalcoatls exile. As the feathered serpent departed from his former kingdom he vowed to
return in one-reed year or how the Aztecs referred to it, Ce-Acytl. A last piece of important
information needed to know about Quetzalcoatl is his appearance. He was of light skinned, had a
beard, and was very tall. This important feature is what cause Moctezuma II to believe Hernan
Cortez was in fact Quetzalcoatl returning to regain power of his former thrown.
Centuries have passed since the exile of Quetzalcoatl. It was now Moctezuma II who
ruled over the Aztec Empire. He was worried because when Moctezuma was ruling a Ce-Acytl
was instore for him and it was said that the feathered serpent god was to return in this year. The

year 1519 came and Moctezuma was now highly paranoid because reports of flying mountains
have been seen flying through the ocean. Little did they know that those flying mountains were
in fact the ships of Hernan Cortes sailing through the Yucatn Peninsula. When the ships arrived
to shore Moctezuma greeted the unbeknownst Spaniards with many gifts which included gold,
silver, other miscellaneous objects and most important quetzal feathers. He did so because again,
he was under the influence that Cortez was the ancient mythical Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl. He
believed this because the feathered serpent and Cortez shared similar features. They were both
light skinned, tall, bearded men. Also Cortez fulfilled the Aztec prophecy by arriving to the Aztec
Empire on a reed year, or a Ce-Acytl.
Moctezuma was so confident with himself. He had Cortez and his men return with the
Aztecs back to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. There the Aztec emperor showed the Spaniards the
beautiful lands of Tenochtitlan. Little did Moctezuma know was that Cortez did not care about
the Aztecs and their culture. The only thing that motivated Cortez to go along with the Aztecs
was the gold and silver they had from over the years. Moctezuma was so blind to this that he
showed the Spaniards where all of the Aztec gold, silver and other precious stones were.
However, the Aztec people caught onto Hernan Cortezs deviant plan. When they pleaded with
Moctezuma, they begged him to realize that Cortez was in fact an imposter and not the return of
their God Quetzalcoatl. The Aztec emperor ignored them and continued on with his mission to
please, who he thought was his returning God. The Aztec people felt they had to put an end to
this treachery. They revolted against Moctezuma and his in denial followers and of course
against the Spaniards. This commenced the Spanish conquest against the Aztecs. There is many
speculations as to how Moctezuma died. Some major ones were that he was tortured and killed

by the Spaniards, another was that his very own people stoned him to death for being very
ignorant.
In conclusion, this example of Moctezuma, I believe is a perfect explanation of illusion of
knowledge. Moctezuma believed in the prophecies of Quetzalcoatl and when he saw a stranger
sail to his land that fit the description of his god, he did whatever he could to fulfill the gods
wishes. This blind ignorance by the former Aztec emperor was the main act that contributed to
the Aztec empire downfall.

Works Cited
Bassett, molly. "Meeting The Gods: Apotheoses And Exchans Of The Early Encounter."
Material Religion 8.4 (2012): 416-438. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

Brinkerhoff, Thomas J. "Reexamining The Lore Of The "Archetypal Conquistador":

Hernn Corts And The Spanish Conquest Of The Aztec Empire, 1519-1521."
History Teacher 49.2 (2016): 169-187. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Carther-Krone, Tiffany A., Sarah Shomstein, and Jonathan J. Marotta. "Looking Without
Perceiving: Impaired Preattentive Perceptual Grouping In Autism Spectrum Disorder."
Plos ONE 11.6 (2016): 1-13. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Chabris, Christopher F, and Daniel J. Simons. The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our
Intuitions Deceive Us. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2010. Print
Jimnez, Carlos M. The Mexican American Heritage: With Writing Exercises. Berkeley, CA:
TQS Publications, 1994. Print.