The fall of the Aztec empire was one of the decisive actions that took place in Central America, that has intrigued people for generations. The main worldviews that lead to the demise of the Aztec Empire can be discussed under the three main areas: economy, knowledge, and beliefs. First, the economy was a huge worldview of the Spanish. Once Columbus had returned to Spain after his first exploration of the Americas the Spanish crown had sent a governor named Nicolas de Ovando to establish the economic system called the Encomienda system which had been used to control the behaviours of the indigenous people who were in the conquered lands. This was done after they have established a new colony called New Spain followed by the surrender of the Aztecs. The model of the …show more content…
The Spanish also had a very powerful weapon which was called the Cavalry. The cavalry was a Spanish soldier dressed in full armor on a horse which was also dressed in armor with a weapon. Furthermore, the Aztecs were terrified mostly because they have never seen an animal called a horse and they did not know how to face the Cavalry. Another deciding factor was the role of disease. The Spanish did not know they were carrying diseases such as Smallpox. The Aztec empire was devastated by this sinister disease, which wiped out 25% of the Aztecs, in the event the rest of the Aztecs were either sick or too weak to fight, and consequently, it was an easy victory for Cortes. The third and the last deciding factor was Beliefs. After the Spanish took over Tenochtitlan (the city of the Aztecs), a group of Franciscan priests came. The Franciscan priests are a type of missionaries who lived in poor conditions, obey superiors and never marry. When they arrived, Cortes kneeled and showed them respect. The Franciscan priests took children and made them destroy the Aztec temples and books, as an intention of eradicating the Aztec way of
"The Broken Spears" by Miguel Leon-Portilla gives a different perspective on the defeat of the Aztecs. Through reasons such as religion and culture beliefs, the Spanish technological advancement, and their strategy of gaining alliances in the new land contributed to the defeat of the Aztecs. The two factors that played the biggest roles were the poor leadership of Motechuhzoma and the timing of the plague. Those two factors were indeed what brought down this great Empire.
Spain, as one of the most powerful nations in the old world, had a great influence on many events in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Spanish also had an influence on many other empires/nations' fate. One of the empires that suffered a grave fate at the hands of the Spanish was the Aztec empire. The Aztec empire was not the oldest Mesoamerican empire and it was formed from an agreement between three city-states. The Aztec's class system had the emperor on top, then the priests, and everyone else below them. The priests were responsible for keeping the gods happy. The sacrifice of goods and people was a commonplace in the Aztec culture, and it was often the goods/people of other nations that were taken for sacrifices. As one can imagine,
It is the 1450s. Foreigners have invaded your land, and they’re capturing the citizens living there for their lethal rituals. (Doc. A) You are unlucky enough to find yourself kidnapped, along with your family. Your mother is taken away quickly, but your father is forced to become a human sacrifice for the Aztec gods. What does this mean, exactly? According to The History of the Indies of New Spain by Friar Diego Duran, your father’s chest is severed, and his heart is taken out of his body. This is all while he is still awake, and before the time of pain medication. He slowly bleeds to death on the temple stairways - and you’re watching it all. This sounds terrible, does it not?
Aztecs were tribe. In Chronicler’s Account talked about Spaniards with Aztecs from 1519 to 1521.When the Spaniards arrived in Tenochtitlan, and they bought horses, guns and also smallpox that killed a lot of people there. A Text from the Chronicler’s Account saids “ at about the time that the Spaniards had fled from Mexico….there came a great sickness, a pestilence, the smallpox. It …. spread over the people with great destruction of men.” The Aztec chronicler was trying to be objective in what happened at that time. Aztec Chronicler wrote about struggled in
Back in the time of the Aztec their culture was very different but also similar from our now. For instence they belived in human sacrifice and also there was only a few different jobs that you could make a living through. . There are four major jobs in their society,which are being a priest,tradesmen,warrior or in your a women you would more often then not work hard in the houses learning how to weave and make clothes.
The Aztec Empire was the most powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time. They dominated the valley of Mexico in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Aztecs were an advanced and successful civilization that built beautiful, sophisticated cities, temples, and pyramids. They also created a culture full of creativity with mythological and religious traditions. Aztecs lead a structured and evocative life that let their society to become a very superior civilization. The Aztec’s communication skills were very well developed for their time; through religious beliefs, government involvement, and family life they lived a full and productive life. Until in 1519 when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico, and defeated the Aztecs.
The Spanish defeat of the Aztecs has been extensively criticized for many years. Religion was a motive for discovery, enabled the Spanish to enter the heart of the empire, and was used as justification for torture of the natives. The centrality of religion as a force in Spanish conquest is undeniable. Virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed and the Spanish victory has had lasting effects for both natives and Europeans up to and including the present-day.
Two of the biggest and greatest civilization in the Americas were the Aztecs and Incas. These two civilization were both said to be conquered by the Spanish, but it wasn’t just the Spanish who conquered them. These two civilizations both fell from a combination of a weak government, lack of technology, new disease introduced by the invaders, and not being prepared for the invaders. For many centuries the Aztec civilization revolved around a ideological, social, and political system in which expansion was the cornerstone. Expansion was the cornerstone of their whole civilization, because their religion requested that a large number of human sacrifices where to be made to the gods.
...ketplaces for people to do their daily shopping. Small cities set up market places every 5 days while big cities could set up market places everyday. Some merchants set up markets everyday seeking profits. While others were farmers that went to sell some of their goods. The city Tenochtitlan was visited by thousands of people daily to buy goods. The currency for the Aztecs was pretty much beans. If someone wanted to buy something they had to give up a portion of beans. That is how it worked in the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs traded with one another as well so everything stayed within the empire. All the trading with each other helped their economy flourish which meant a strong empire.
Around 1428 Mexica monarch, Itzcoalt formed a triple alliance with the city states of Texcoco and Tlacopan. The triple alliance was made to fight the dominant Tepanecs of the city state of Azcapotzalco. After the combined forces of the triple alliance, The Triple Alliance was able to defeat Azcapotzalco. The year that followed brought the victory over Culhuacan and Huitzilopocho. The now known Aztecs would take over the valley of Xochimilco in 1429, Ixtapalpan in 1430, and Mixquic in 1432. “With this conquest, The Triple Alliance established the practice of leaving the deafeted king in power, but taking lands in the conquered territory and assigning them to dignitaries in Tenochtitlan and allied towns” (Brumfiel and Feinman 2008). Aztecs controlled thirty-eight provinces. Although the Aztec empire is known for being extremely religious, pleasing their gods with human sacrifices, the Aztecs were also very militaristic. Having a very organized command structure was what brought the success, growth, and dominance to the central region of Mexico. Aztecs were feared and respected; they were powerful and brought fear to neighboring regions for sacrificing enemies and even their own people to please their gods.
The Rise and fall of the Aztec Empire is possibly the most important area of study in the modern world. Of all of the nomadic tribes who migrated into Mexico, the Aztecs were one of the last. At first driven away by established tribes, the Aztecs slowly began to develop an empire of immense wealth and power by the late fifteenth century. Due in large part to the accomplishments of their ruler Itzcoatl, the empire expanded to include millions of people from a number of different tribes, including the Cempoala, who would later aid the Spanish in defeating the Aztecs. Because of the "melting pot" within the empire, the Aztecs had a very diverse culture. However, this immense Aztec Empire would soon be brought to its knees by the doings of one man and his army.
... (Schweikart 5-6). The Aztecs’ greed for sacrificial hostages turned these Indian neighbors against them (Kingfisher 196-197). The Aztecs were defeated, partially because they had been weakened by smallpox, but also because the Spanish fought together as a single force, while Aztecs fought as individuals (Schweikart 6-7).
Paintings illustrate the Aztec’s style of clothing and the important roles they play as such as those who led the ceremonies wore robes
August 13th, 1521 marked the end of a diabolical, yet genius group of leaders. They were referred to as the Aztecs. They were an extremely advanced ancient civilization. The Aztec’s were overthrown by the Spanish, yet we still haven’t forgotten the Aztecs. But since their culture was so complex it’s hard to know what is the most necessary thing to study when it comes to them, especially when their were so many things that defined their culture. The Aztecs were highly religious and believed in human sacrifice. They also had a complex method of farming called chinampas. This grew an extremely large amount of food per year by using canals. This was extremely successful because of how complex it was. When asked if historians should emphasize agriculture
The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire. While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script, a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines that come together to make the event happen. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec is no different. Three major themes are seen in this struggle. One of them is the incredible advantage that the Spaniards technology gave them over the Aztecs. A second major theme is the greed that fueled the conquests in the New World. The last major theme was the effect of the political divisions and rivalries within Montezuma’s Central American Kingdom. As this historical event progressed each one of these themes began to intertwine until they became an almost unstoppable force.