...people who have heard about the Aztecs and their empire, but are they aware what truly brought the Aztec civilization to a screeching halt? Among other things the Conquistadors had the largest influence in the downfall of the Aztec Empire. According to a well-known historical anthropologist by the name of Ross Hassig the conquest to Mexico (which was where the Aztecs lived) has captured historians' interest for centuries and the expedition has undergone relentless investigation. The conquistadors took over the Aztec Empire which became known as Mexico, and later became under Spain's control. Since the Conquistadors were from a different civilized part of the world, they had advanced weaponry to aid them in the great feat. Not only did the Spanish, or better known as conquistadors, bring unknown weapons they also brought unknown diseases which was a detriment to the fall of the Aztec Empire. Spain sent conquistadors to Mexico to expand their empire and Herman Cortes was ultimately considered the Gran Conquistador since it was his expedition that led to the conquest of Mexico and the fall of the Aztecs (Levy, 332). Cortes arrived on the shores of Mexico with an army of conquistadors with the intent to expand the Spanish empire. On his journey he schemed to covert the native inhabitants to Catholicism and carry of a fortune of gold, of course the only thing that stood in his way were the Aztecs. Tenochtitlan, the city in which the Aztecs resided, was where Cortes met his...
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...How and when did the Aztec and Inca empires fall? . The Aztec and Inca names do not necessarily refer to people who inhabited the Americas but they reference the empires themselves. The empires were made up of many groups. The Aztec Empire encompassed the ethnic groups of the Acolhua, the Tepanecs and the Mexicas. The Aztec Empire was ruled by the Mexicas. The Mexicas were warriors. They built their capitol in a city called Tenochtitlan. It was located where central Mexico is today (Chasteen 28). Hernan Cortes was a Spanish leader who had a lot of experience with the indigenous people by the time he came upon the Aztec empire. The Mexica had no clued what the Spanish wanted or their intentions. After the Mexica accepted the Spanish into their land, Cortes took their leader Moctezuma hostage. Next Cortes made allies with long time Mexica enemies (a common tactic by the Europeans) and waged war on the Mexica. The Mexica also suffered from a rapidly spreading sickness which worked to Cortes advantage to decimate the Aztec Empire. The Inca Empire was located in the areas of what today makes up Columbia, Peru and Chile. It was south of the Aztec Empire and its capitol was called Cuzco. It was made up of a federation of four governments. The Chinchay Suyu , Anti Suyu, Kunti Suyu, and Qulla Suyu (Wikipedia). A distant relative of Cortes by the name of Franscisco Pizarro used similar techniques to defeat the Inca Empire. Pizarro took the Incan leader hostage and eventually killed...
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...Central and South America. They were the Inca and the Aztec. Although neither Empire would last long after Europeans came into the picture they were still the dominating powers in Mesoamerica. These two empires shared a number of similarities in many aspects of their life, culture and politics. However one must know about each group separately before similarities are noticeable. First, the Aztec civilization grew out of the Valley of Mexico. After the fall of the Toltec Empire the center of political power and population changed to the Valley of Mexico which contained a number of lakes in which settlements were built around. Many groups...
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...THE FALL OF THE AZTECS The Aztec Empire was the most powerful empire in Central America until now in.A spanish ship is close and they would soon attack the Aztecs with,superior weapons and new animals,the spaniards had the fall of the Aztec Empire with them.Hernan Cortez is the leader of the spanish.He was the one who really conquered the Aztecs with his strategies and wanting for it,even though he had the help by the weapons,and new animals Another thing that helped Cortes conquer the Aztec was the beliefs and culture the Aztecs had The Aztecs had their beliefs,traditions,religions,and culture their capital was Tenochtitlan which was a little island in Mexico.They had a new leader,Montezuma,and it will be the last because the Spanish were close.When Cortez got their he was determine to conquer this new land filled with gold,he started conquer the cost villages. In that time he realized that the Aztecs were afraid of the horses and dogs so he used them as a very important part on conquering them.Also with the fire weapons just as guns,muskets,and cannons,he made the indians psychology scared of him so that they will lose in their minds when ....
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...The Aztecs people of Central Mexico have been a controversial culture studied by many archeologist and anthropologist a like. The Aztec had an empire in central Mexico when the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. The Aztecs had a very controversial practice not seen in many cultures around the world and that is human sacrifice. To understand the practice of human sacrifice one must look at the reasons why the culture did such practices. There are three main ways of examining a cultural practice from a anthropological perspective. These ways are cultural relativism, ethnocentrism and critical cultural relativism. The purpose of the examining the human sacrifice the way of critical cultural relativism is the best and superior way to look at foreign...
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... 2014 Spanish Conquest The Aztec civilization during its peak was the strongest civilization in the western hemisphere. When the Spaniards first came to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, they could not believe that a civilization so undeveloped in their minds could have been so culturally developed and powerful. As said by the article (Clendinnen1991:79) “the city fell to the combined forces of Cortes and an assortment of Indian “allies”. Indians had tension with the Aztecs, which was learned by the Spaniards and was taken advantage of by full force provoking internal and already existing problems that existed within the two groups of. This exploration of understanding and examining people was what the Spaniards were best at. (Clendinnen1991:66) Those internal and existing are factors to blame for the downfall of the Aztec Empire. The exploration was focused on sources that came from the period such as that of Bernal Diaz Del Castillo and Bernardino de Sahagún, along with the most notable conquistador Cortes that also had a major role to the conquest of the Aztec empire. Although many believe that the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs due to their better weaponry or the epidemic of deadly diseases, there were a great amount of factors, primarily the alliance that Cortes made with the Tlaxcala, which the Spanish used to take advantage of the Aztec people. Many historians argue that the Tlaxcala were already on the verge of a war with the Aztec people and that the Spaniards were...
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...Aztec assignment 1. The role and importance of warfare in Aztec society. Role (warriors)- The Aztec empire was constantly expanding so it's no surprise that the Warriors and warfare is Itself played a very important role is the culture of the Aztecs. Aztec society was very inflexible and had a class system in which each class had a role specifically to support Aztec warriors. In saying this we can see Warfare was the main power force of both Aztec economy and religion.The military itself also played a huge role in Aztec society. The Aztecs were also extreme concerned about growing their slave labour trade and also capturing live sacrifices for their Gods. In order to maintain these two things and other resources they had to establish and...
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...Chris Garcia Topic: Aztecs Specific Purpose: To inform about the Aztec civilization I. Introduction A. Attention-getter: Have you ever wonder you made the fist chocolate drink or who came out with the color red or who use for the first time the tomatoes the Aztec where the first ones B. Thesis: Today you will know some Aztec history and achievement and the fall of their empire and about their decent C. Preview: Today I will explain some aspect of the Aztec civilization and not only the old Aztec civilization but also the new generation D. Credibility: I have study the Aztec history for one year and half E. Relation: Many of you are not from Aztec decent but never less in some point of your live you want to know little about you background [Transition: Let’s begin with Aztec history.] II. Body A. According to Rand Genera an Instructor of Reedley College the Aztec homeland was Aztlan and then migrated to Mexico. Aztlan was at Utah, Colorado, Nevada 1) During the migration the Aztec where lead by ten leaders one was Tenoch (cactus on a stone) later became the first Aztec emperor 2) They where looking for a symbol, that symbol was an eagle in a cactus eating a snake and where they found that symbol that’s where their new home was going to be 3) Eventually they found the symbol, they called their new home Tenochtitlan [Transition: Now that you know little bit of the Aztec background now let’s talk...
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...The conquest of the Aztec empire was a world-changing phenomenon that led to Spanish colonization and what know is known as modern day Mexico. Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez led the expedition in 1519 with his men in search for new territory to conquer. This event in history is significant because it brings history of past civilizations that went extinct after the terrorization of the Spanish conquest. To begin with, the Spanish had made several trips to Yucatan in 1517 with tales of gold and the Mayan civilization. These rumors gathered interest in the Spanish colonists, which made it all the way to Spanish governor of Cuba Diego de Velasquez. Diego de Velasquez provided Hernan Cortez with two or three ships and...
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...Montezuma II was the 9th emperor of the Aztec empire. He is famous for his dramatic confrontation with the Spanish conquistador Herman Cortes. After succeeding his uncle Ahuitzotl, he became king, ruling from 1502 to 1520. However, it was under his rule that the empire fell apart. This was because the Spanish, led by Cortes, invaded Mexico during the rule of Montezuma II. Born in 1466, Montezuma became a successful ruler and general even before he became emperor. During his reign, the empire expanded to its greatest size and the first contact between Indians and Europeans took place. Montezuma was definitely betrayed by Hernan Cortes during his reign as Aztec empire. Throughout his rule the Aztecs feared and expected the return of an important...
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...Ancient Aztec Religion: A complex interaction of gods, dates, directions and color that dealt mainly with fear of nature, and of the world. The Aztecs are famous for their sacrificial rituals that were held in order to repay the gods for the sacrifices they had made in order to bring humans life. For instance the sun god Huitzilopochtil, who gave up movement to be the sun will stop if he is not appeased bringing the world to an end, something the Aztec people feared would occur every 52 years if they made one wrong step. The main city of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan(Mexico City) where they ruled and were the military power until the Spaniards came in 1519. They formed alliances with the two other major cities Texcoco and Tlacopan. Government: .The family unit was the basic unit of the Aztec government .Nobles and priest had a large amount of power, and although nobility provided leadership, they weren’t automatically placed into government. .The true power belonged to the city councils. Each council had an executive council that consisted of four individuals. Of those four there would be a Hatcani or Leader of the city. (The city council of Tenochtitlan has been compared to the Roman senate) .The Huey Tlatcanin (emperor) was worshipped as a god who’s rule is supported by city councils, priests, judges, governers , etc. He has absolute power in a sense –could be removed by a democratic system. The Fall: .The last Aztec Emperor Cuitlahuac surrendered to...
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...Ahmad Nourzaie Hist 2b Response #1 Aztec Awe The Aztec Empire is regarded as the greatest Mesoamerican empire of all time. Their Empire stretched for more than 80,000 square miles through what is now central and southern Mexico. Tenochtitlán was the capital city of this great Empire; and the location of the eventual fall of the Empire. Hernán Cortés was the Spanish conquistador that conquered the Aztecs during the period of 1519-1521. One of Cortés’ foot soldiers was a man by the name of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, who later wrote of his experience upon entering Tenochtitlán. Díaz wrote his account many years after the events he described; in order to create a much more honest description of the conquest in response to the contemporary reiteration of the historians of his day. In his account, Díaz seemed to be very taken aback by the Aztecs; in regards to their fighting, their city, and their rituals. Díaz who although was a very firm believer in Spain’s conquest of Aztecs; had a level of respect and admiration for the Aztec. Díaz was first and foremost a soldier; he never seemed to have any second thoughts in regards to his role as a soldier, he always fought, and believed he was fighting for the right cause. Throughout Díaz’s war account; he mentions God, which illuminates the fact that beyond the monetary goal of this conquest; there was a sense of doing God’s work. “In that small platform were many more diabolical objects, trumpets great and small...
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...The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (begun February 1519) was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The conquest must be understood within the context of Spanish patterns on the Iberian Peninsula during the Reconquista by Christians, defeating the Muslims, who had ruled the peninsula since 711. These patterns extended to the Caribbean following Christopher Columbus' establishment of permanent European settlement in the Caribbean. The Spanish authorized expeditions or entradas for the discovery, conquest, and colonization of new territory, using existing Spanish settlements as a base. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before. In fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a whole generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme (Central America), learning strategy and tactics of successful enterprises. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices.[2] The Spanish campaign began in February 1519, and was declared victorious on August 13, 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Hernán Cortés and Xicotencatl the Younger captured the emperor Cuauhtemoc and Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. During the campaign, Cortés was given support from a number of tributaries and rivals of the Aztecs, including the Totonacs, and the Tlaxcaltecas, Texcocans...
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...what Gods influenced its peoples, and who explored it, invaded and colonized this land. It is very uncertain when we speak about the Mexica (people of Mesoamerica) people, because we know very little about them. Much of the information that has been gathered about them comes from large scale excavations, and archeological endeavors that have found ancient ruins, sculptures, temples and the like. But, the things that we do know Beltran 2 about the Mexica come from discoveries that have been well preserved, and are ranked as reliable sources of information by historians, archeologists and anthropologists. One ethnicity that has a tremendous impact in the history of Mesoamerica are the people referred to as the Aztecs, which were the Nahualt speaking people who founded and settled the...
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...Their names are the Mayas, Aztecs, and the Incas. Mayans Many of the Mayans greatest achievements dates back to the Classic Period (300 -900 C.E.) It was during this time that the Maya civilization achieved its greatest achievements in art, culture, power and influence. Most of their achievements were so high that hundreds of years later other groups such as the Aztecs and the Incas used them (i.e. the calendar and mathematics) The Mayans are important because they made a major breakthrough in both Mathematics and Astronomy. The Mayans were the first to calculate the number of days in a year accurately by observing how the start and planets move. Doing this, they helped create the calendar as we know it today. The Mayans also had a strong hand the Art and Crafts, they made large statue of solid rock to represent an important leader (Called a Stele). Not only did they represent important leader, but they represented a written record of his accomplishments in the formed of carved stone glyphs. Aztecs Even though the origins of the Aztecs are not necessarily clear, we know that they did adapt from the Mayan ways. One of their achievements was building their city called Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs appeared in Mesoamerica–as the south-central region of pre-Columbian Mexico is known–in the early 13th century. Their arrival came just after, or perhaps helped bring about, the fall of the previously dominant Mesoamerican civilization, the Toltec. Aztec education was an important...
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