Life in Latin America Before the Europeans Arrived

The Aztecs believed him to be the representative for some white skinned god, and hence feared and respected him. It was not until they saw him melting their statues and shipping the blocks of gold to Spain that they acted. They attacked Hernanado and his men, and succeeded in driving them off. However, Cortes returned later with the support of local Indian tribes that hated the Aztecs for centuries of cruel treatment to defeat the mighty Aztecs and take the empire. This ended the Aztec civilization forever.

When the Aztec’s first met the Spanish they were amazed by them. The Spanish used the Aztec’s own legends to take advantage of them and gain the upper hand. Other disadvantages that the Aztecs had was the need to take prisoner to sacrifice, they were not untied with other tribes (Spanish were able to unite with other tribes to help fight the Aztecs), had primitive weapons, and couldn’t stay on the battle field for long, because they ran out of supplies quickly (Age of Reconnaissance 167). The Spaniards didn’t destroy the Aztec civilization all by their self another factor which helped the Spanish were the disease that they brought over to the Americas from Europe and Africa. The introduction of diseases like syphilis, measles, smallpox, malaria, mumps and yellow fever are just some sickness that plagued the Budhu 2 Aztecs.

The Aztec civilization was a very complex society that was feared and known well for their various gory sacrifices done to please their many gods in their polytheistic religion. The much feared civilization began by the exile of one of the two Toltec leaders, which lead to the decline of the Toltec state that was later replaced by Mexica, or the Aztecs. According to the Aztecs, the land chosen to build their main city was chosen by the portrayal of an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. Through military might, the Aztecs managed to become the most powerful civilization in the mid-fourteenth century. They maintained their power through military might and the fear they caused other civilizations because of the human sacrifices they performed on their captured victims.

What is searched for can be caught. What is neglected escapes.” Basically, the gods concluded their destruction series in condemning Oedipus to exile or having him executed. In conclusion, the gods, Apollo in particular, played a major part in the overall circumstances of Oedipus. Oedipus’ destruction influenced his family, and thus the gods demolished an entire family. As a result of this terrible destruction of a man’s life and his family, the reader would consider the gods guilty and evil.

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.

This angered the people on the pueblos, but there new leader Pope’, a mysterious medicine doctor, tried to keep the Indian beliefs around and resisted the Christian religion. The Spaniards hated this, so they captured his older brother. This enraged Pope’ against the Spaniards so he held meetings to tell everybody that the Spaniards must leave. The Spaniards found out about this and arrested Pope, publicly flogged him and released him back to the pueblos. When he was captured, the pueblo people set fires in the Indian villages in New Mexico.

The Aztec and the Maya were very strict in practicing their culture and religion and human sacrifice was a big part of their culture. Life in Latin America prior to European contact insinuated duality because they engineered buildings, had a strong understanding of astronomy, yet had limited technology, and practiced human sacrifice and blood-letting. Latin America before the Europeans came had a tough but advanced life. The Olmec, Inca, Maya, and Aztec were advanced in their own way and practiced religion differently. They had their own setbacks with resources and engineered sacred temples that are still standing today.

The Aztecs found people that they wanted to sacrifice and it started out that they sacrifice their own people, but once they found out that their own people would become extinct then they started finding other people and captured them. They took those people to the top of their temples and painted them and after they painted them they would be put on a slab and the sacrificer would rip their hearts out and offer the hearts to the sun. These were the Aztecs.

When the Aztecs reached the Valley of Mexico in about 1193, this fertile inland basin was already heavily populated and little land was left for them to colonize. The Aztecs appeared rude and uncivilized to the members of the older city-states that clustered around the basin . For about another 100 years they continued to look for a permanent home. As they continued their search they served as mercenary soldiers and servants... ... middle of paper ... ...s have found the site of the Great Temple in downtown Mexico City where Tenochtitlan was once located. Archaeologists have uncovered all four sides of the building and recovered about 6,000 objects, including jewelry, pottery, statues, wall carving, and remains of human and animal sacrifices.

From 1427 to 1440, the Mexica became allies with two surrounding city-states: Texcoco and Tlacopan, forming the Triple Alliance. The new alliance eventually conquered the city of Atzcapotzalco and gained control over much of central Mexico and their capital was Tenochtitlan. By the early sixteenth century, only a few unconquered people existed in various parts of central M... ... middle of paper ... ...he Portuguese Americas. They both chose to relocate the indigenous people. The Spanish Americas were more successful than the Portuguese because of the diseases inflicted upon the Native Americans by the Portuguese.