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Aztlan Research Paper

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Aztlan was once known as one of the most advanced ancient civilizations in history. From sacrificing often to using cocoa beans as currency, their culture was wealthy and thriving. Which might make it a wonder how the Aztec civilization crumbled as immediately as it started. The Aztecs consisted of around 15 million people, and they were at the height of their power in 1519. However, August 13, 1521 was the death of Aztlan. They had many enemies, but were eventually defeated by Hernan Cortes. He used others' hatred for the Aztecs to his advantage, setting up Aztlan against people with better fighting techniques. Another reason why the Aztec culture failed was disease. Smallpox overtook Aztlan and killed most of their people, including their rulers. …show more content…
In 1504, Cortes left Spain and ended up in Cuba in 1511. In Cuba, he convinced the king to let him be captain on a ship heading towards Mexico. Hernan fought Aztlan and killed approximately 200,000 Aztecs, bringing down their entire empire. Hernan died at his home in Spain on December 2, 1547, after continuing his love for exploring. I found the Aztec culture very interesting. I liked how they used cocoa beans as money and how organized they're overall government was. Even though they had too many enemies that killed them in the end, the Aztecs tried very hard to keep the Spaniards as allies. Moctezuma, Aztlan's emperor, even went as far as to promise a visiting Spaniard anything he would need or any amount of gold he desired. The Aztecs sacrificed humans because they believed that if they didn't, the sun would stop rising and the universe would collapse. They sacrificed in a specific way to please their god, Huitzilopochtli. They would place their victim on a stone slab and cut through their chest, pull out the heart and hold it to the sky to respect

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