The Aztecs were very religious, disciplined, independent, and resourceful people. They conquered neighbouring states and cities, as well as formed trading and defense alliances. The conflict and defeat of the Aztecs by the Spanish was not unavoidable. Firstly, Spain was a very religious nation and saw the spread of Christianity as gaining support. Secondly, Spain's gold and silver were low because of the cost involved in fighting wars. Thirdly, Spain's goal with the explorations was to gain new land and therefore power and wealth.
Religion was very important to the Spanish, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella wanted to make everyone catholic because they believed if you're not catholic you're not going to heaven. They had a religious duty
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Spain also used much of its gold and silver up by buying new weapons training, new recruits, feeding soldiers, and building hospitals. Doing all of these was very costly for Spain. Without money Spain was a poor and vulnerable country they had to pay for their protection. Spain had almost no industry and they had to buy goods from other countries. Then King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sent columbus to return with gold and wealth to support the economy.
The Spanish wanted to be known as a powerful empire by other empires even though there were quite powerful at the time. Since there was little land in Europe the new world became a place to go look for personal glory because then the Spanish would have more land and power. Cortes journeyed to america and conquered the Aztecs for glory and gold after conquering the Aztecs he wanted to start a colony in Mexico a colony that he could rule he thought he would get more glory if he stayed in Mexico then go back to Spain. Spanish had lots of advantages against the Aztecs because Spanish had horses more troops better firearms
The Aztec’s and Incas seemed like a very well devoted tribe to one another. Even though they only lived a few thousand miles away from each other and didn’t know about each other they were well known. The artifacts left behind shows that they were very advanced, and the food they ate they knew how to take care of their bodies. The Aztec and Inca’s also knew how to prepare for war also. These two tribes are some of the best warriors known to man.
"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?
The pottery was used to eat out of and they could also trade it to other tribes for food or maybe even horses. The Aztecs did feather working and goldworking. They made shields and did art work with the feathers. They held the feathers together with glue made from bat dung.
The following Essay must be a minimum of 5 paragraphs of 10-12 sentences each (a sentence is 10 words or more) .
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 and Aztecs were both, very powerful and rich empires. They both were immensely successful. The Aztecs, originally known as the Mexica, was a group of people who lived in Tenochtitlan, now know as Mexico City. They believed that the gods controlled the world, and that they worshipped them by sacrificing. If the gods were not fed blood, the believed that the world would end. The Aztecs became one of the greatest cities in the world. On the other hand, the Spanish lived in the west of Europe, converting people to Catholicism. The Spanish wanted to explore, to conquer and by doing that, they could get rich. They were both powerful in their own areas. The Spanish soon were exploring and came across the Aztecs. The Spanish were seeking
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.
The Maya and Aztec civilizations were both indigenous people that flourished in Mesoamerica during different periods of time. Maya 's classic period is dated from 250 to 900 AD, which was considered to be the peak of their civilization. They covered much of the Yucatan Peninsula and were centered in what is now known as Guatemala. The Aztecs dominated from 1325 AD to 1521 AD, in what is now modern day Mexico. Although they shared cultural similarities such as their social structure, they also had their differences in military and religious rituals.
The Spaniards arrived at the Americas prior to the English. The Spanish mainly wanted to explore in the first place because after the Black Death, the population increased, and thus, so did the frequency of commerce. There was a sudden new interest in new products and the new strong monarchs who sponsored the journeys wanted to be more affluent. Therefore, explorers such as Christopher Columbus attempted to go west to target Asia. However, he ended up on Cuba and called the natives Indians. The Spanish soon started to consider the Americas less of a blockage and could now see it as a source of resources. In 1518, Cortes arrived into Mexico with his group of conquistadors, or conquerors, which is a proper name because the men after gold exterminated native areas using their military skills, brutality and greed to turn the Southern America into a vast Spanish empire. The smallpox the Spanish unknowingly carried also helped wipe many people out. When they saw the religious ceremonies of the Aztecs that produced many skulls, they thought of these people as savages and not entirely human. This of coarse was quite hypocritical because the Spanish have killed before during the Inquisition for their faith. It was this contempt that made them think it was all right to slaughter the natives. Spanish colonies were established when conquistadors had gotten a license to finance the expedition from the crown to fixture encomiendas. These encomiendas were basically Indian villages that became a source of labor. The Spanish dreamed of becoming wealthier from South America, but they also wanted a profitable agricultural economy and to spread their Catholic religion (the Pueblo Indians converted to Christianity), which became very important in the 1540s.
As for the Aztec people, they were a simple people with strong spiritual convictions which meant that they could easily be manipulated and Cortés, conscious of their naivety, cunningly used this to his advantage. He saw an opportunity to sway influence over the Aztec people by deliberately using their own religious beliefs and mythology against them. This eventually and inevitably led to the downfall of the Aztec Civilisation. To say it was like taking candy from a baby would be an understatement, and although clever in practice, the way in which Hernán Cortés took control in Mexico was relatively callous especially considering what was to follow. History should not
The Spanish Conquest was a significant expedition in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Cortés’s fleet, crew, weapons, and horses helped him in his conquest. However that alone was not enough to defeat a larger society, and with the alliances formed by Cortés with the Tlaxcalans who hated the Aztecs helped him gain more power in his overpowering of the Aztec empire. The expedition was successful and it brought Spain many goods and riches making it very important to Spain.
Cortes was able to conquer the Aztecs for several very different reasons. In combination these reasons allowed him to have the upper hand in the conquest of Mexico. Arguably these reasons can be sorted into six different categories. The various causes for Cortes' success will be assessed in a climax pattern. To begin with the Aztecs had a harsh tribute system that was not popular among the people of Mexico. This cruel tribute system allowed Cortes to act as a liberator. Furthermore, with the Spanish brought several diseases into Mexico in witch they were immune to but the Aztecs were not. The spread of diseases such as small pox reduced the Aztec population and furthered Cortes' success unintentionally Also Marina was a tribal girl given as a gift to Cortes, she proved invaluable in translating local dialects in combination with Geronimo de Aguilar. Also an important aspect of his success was due to Montezuma's belief that Cortes was Quetzakoatl. A predominant reason for the Spanish success was due to their weaponry especially their armour and firepower. Perhaps the most important reason of all was that of Cortes' Indian allies such as the Tlaxcalans who made up the majority of his combined army. All these reasons worked together to allow Cortes, originally with 508 men to conquer the Aztec Empire of millions of people.
From 711-1492, Christian Spaniards lived under Moorish rule until eventually, the Christian Kingdoms took over during the Reconquista. The conflicts between the Muslims and Christians created a militaristic culture in Spain that surpassed that of any other European nation. Furthermore, being trained militarily was often exclusively attributed to the nobility however, in Spain, “many young men knew these skills and used them to their advantage.” Without a doubt, recently reconquering their homeland motivated the Spanish to a basis for expansion and conquest that most other European societies were lacking. In addition, the voyages of Christopher Columbus led to discovering the New World which undoubtedly contributed to added interest in conquest. Eventually, each conquest further raised Spanish hopes for fame and