{"id":6585,"date":"2021-11-08T07:05:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T06:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=190537"},"modified":"2021-11-08T07:22:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T06:22:09","slug":"8-november-on-this-day-in-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/8-november-on-this-day-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"8 November: On this day in history"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Dominic Sandbrook\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 08 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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8 November 1519: Conquistador Corte\u0301s meets Moctezuma<\/h3>\n

The encounter leads to the fall of the Aztec empire<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On the shores of Lake Texoco, Herna\u0301n Corte\u0301s was riding towards destiny. The date was 8 November 1519 and ahead of him lay the great city of Tenochtitla\u0301n, capital of the people now known as the Aztecs. The city was teeming with life and colour, its canals and causeways lined with crowds. Nine months after he had landed at the head of a small Spanish expedition, Corte\u0301s was about to face his greatest challenge.<\/p>\n

As Corte\u0301s\u2019s little army rode across the causeway towards Tenochtitla\u0301n, he could see a group of locals coming towards him. In the centre was the emperor, Moctezuma, carried on a beautiful litter. Corte\u0301s was keen to make a good impression. \u201cI dismounted and stepped forward to embrace him, but the two lords who were with him stopped me with their hands so that I should not touch him; and they likewise all performed the ceremony of kissing the earth,\u201d he wrote afterwards to the Spanish king, Charles V. Corte\u0301s gave the emperor a pearl and glass necklace, which he solemnly put around his neck. In return, Moctezuma gave the Spanish captain two necklaces of his own.<\/p>\n

Historians still dispute what the two men said that day. Did Moctezuma seriously believe, for example, that Corte\u0301s was a god, come to reclaim his kingdom? What is not in doubt, though, is the Spaniards\u2019 eagerness to emphasise that they came in peace. \u201cThere is nothing to fear,\u201d Corte\u0301s told his interpreter. \u201cWe have wanted to see him for a long time, and now we have seen his face and heard his words. Tell him that we love him well and that our hearts are contented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then they went into the city. Six days later, Moctezuma was a prisoner; seven months after that, he was dead.<\/p>\n

Julian Humphrys rounds up smaller anniversaries\u2026<\/h4>\n

8 November 1520<\/h6>\n

Following a successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces under Christian II, around 100 prominent supporters of Swedish independence were put to death in what was dubbed the Stockholm Bloodbath.<\/p>\n

8 November 1569<\/h6>\n

The Catholic earls of Northumberland and Westmorland, who were on the point of rebelling against Elizabeth I<\/a>, wrote to Pope Pius V asking him to excommunicate the queen.<\/p>\n

8 November 1861<\/h6>\n

Under the command of Captain Charles Wilkes, the Union frigate San Jacinto intercepted the British mail packet Trent and forcibly removed two Confederate diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell, who were travelling on it to Europe to press for recognition of the Confederacy. The incident caused uproar in Britain and briefly raised Confederate hopes that Britain might declare war on the Northern states. However diplomacy prevailed and the two diplomats were eventually released to continue their (ultimately unsuccessful) mission to Europe.<\/p>\n

8 November 1948<\/h6>\n

A group of crofters known as the Seven Men of Knoydart launch a land raid in a bid to live independently from the landlord system. They stake out 65 acres of land on Lord Brocket\u2019s Knoydart estate but are defeated in the courts.<\/p>\n

8 November 1987<\/h6>\n

Eleven people are killed when a bomb explodes at a Remembrance Day<\/a> service at Enniskillen, Fermanagh.<\/p>\n

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Browse more On this day in history<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n