The Aztec tribe is incredible in how they lived and thrived between the 14th century and the 16th century. They were very advanced for their time and had cities that were just as large as some in Europe. The Aztecs had enormous temples, remarkable ceremonies that included human sacrifice, and gigantic monuments, all to worship their gods. All within a 200 year span the Aztecs became an empire unlike any other. It seemed as though they were unstoppable. Until 1521, when they were conquered by the Spaniards and their glorious empire was destroyed. What were the factors for the immense growth rate of the Aztec empire and how did the Spaniards conquer and destroy their empire? These questions are what this essay will be exploring and finding the …show more content…
He was a great warrior and is remembered as the father of the Aztec Empire. Under his reign he solidified the alliance with Tlacopan and Texcoco, as well as major expansion took place and the city of Tenochtitlan started to become the dominant city of the triple alliance. Tenochtitlan was the driving force of the Aztec’s military and lead the conquests of new city-states. When city-states or territories were conquered the Aztec emperors did not rule over each one directly, local governments were formed for certain areas but still were forced to contribute certain amounts of tribute to the Triple Aliiance, most of them going to the city of Tenochtitlan. With over 500 city-states and five to six million people, 140,000 living in Tenochtitlan alone, this way of government worked very well for the empire. Since there were so many people in the empire, the local governments could make sure everybody was happy and enforce stability and laws. It was also their duty to keep the economy running and in good …show more content…
When these empires conquer other empires much blood is lost in the process and almost every trace of their way of life is destroyed. The Aztec population experienced a huge massacre and lost many loved ones but the heritage of the Aztec people still lives on in many places in Mexico and even places in the United States. In Mexico, the Aztecs are the biggest native group of people and still have their ancient language. Their religion is still practiced also but is a combination of Catholicism and Aztec religion. Some foods that are present in todays society that originated from the Aztecs include, tacos, chili, and chocolate. The overtaking of the Aztec empire was a disaster and most of their culture and heritage became destroyed but some of it still lives on today. The Aztec Empire was remarkable in its ways of life and will be remembered as an extraordinary
Hernan Cortes. Spain’s savior, nightmare for the Aztecs. The man who brought gold and glory to Spain, at the cost of the destruction of a rich, thriving civilisation. Hernan Cortez was a cunning, manipulative, intelligent conquistador and he and his army single handedly took down one of the greatest civilizations of all time by forging, advanced weaponry, alliances and the Conquistador’s Formula. Some may argue that Dona Marina is most responsible because she advised and told Cortes what the enemy was planning, but she was merely a pawn in Cortes’s grand scheme of conquering the Aztecs, as Cortes was the true mastermind and defeated the Aztecs for these reasons: First Cortes and his army has more advanced weapons such as Halberds, crossbows,
During which the time of the Aztec society lived and reigned they had some major obstacles thrown at them to keep there culture alive. The Spanish conquistadors had a large impact on the aztecs and were a big part of their death. Through the story of Aztec life before the Spanish, the short term impacts, long term impacts and much more we can begin to see what the Spanish conquistadors did. The Aztec culture had a way of life before the Spanish conquistadors came along.
The atlatl was a revolutionary tool that was used by humans more than 25,000 years ago. Different cultures and periods had their own differences and uses, when it came to making the atlatl. An atlatl is a spear-throwing weapon, it was made for leverage and to achieve greater velocity. It all depended on how they used their atlatl, like was it used for hunting, or was it used for warfare. The Aztecs used the atlatl in an different way than how a human would use it in the Upper Paleolithic.
Tenochtitlán was the capital city of the Aztec civilization. It was founded in AD 1325 by the Mexica people. This city was built on a cluster of small natural islands on Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. The small island was gradually enlarged as Tenochtitlán grew. It became one of the largest and most powerful cities in Mesoamerica.
The Aztec Empire was a very successful empire up until it wasn’t. The Aztec empire was established in 1345 and they were the first empire to be established on water. They had very unique ways of gaining, maintaining and consolidating power because of how their empire was set up. One way the Aztecs gained power was that, because they were positioned in the middle of a lake they could control the trading that needed to happen between their location and another location. They maintained power by benefitting from the natural resources around them (fish and freshwater).
The Mayas, Incas, and Aztecs all show examples of how complex societies develop. They created complex societies with gender norms and socials structures that helped their culture to grow and flourish. The foundation for all three societies is the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture that produced enough food for the population to expand. The Mayas were controlled by a ruling elites.
In my opinion, the Aztecs should be remembered as having an advanced government.
While many may be aware of the Aztec civilization, their accomplishments can often be overshadowed by the time period when they were conquered by Spanish explorers, such as Hernan Cortez. However, the Aztecs were a prospering society before their downfall to the Spaniards. The Aztec’s demise is not the only characteristic to remember about one of the most commonly recognized civilizations of the fifteen hundreds. As an ancient Mesoamerican civilization displaced by powerful explorers, the Aztecs can still be seen as an organized society driven by their spirituality and traditions. The Aztecs used an organized system of chinampas and documents surveying what conquered peoples owed them, ensuring that they would be productive on a daily basis.
The aztecs were masters of irrigation and in the capital city of Tenochtitlan they could grow four corn crops a year. The aztecs erected many temples and
The Aztecs expanded with intimidation and by killing. Acor”The Aztecs expanded with intimidation and they captured soldiers, slaves, and Aztec citizens.” They scared people away from their empire, they intimidated people for example The ritual killing of war captives and the large-scale displaying of skulls were visceral reminders of the strength of the empire and the extent of its dominion. They did it so nobody would mess with them or try to hurt them because people were scared of the aztecs if they did not do
The author gives insight on how many ways the Spaniards used their power to assist in the downfall of the Aztecs. The reason why the Spaniards became victorious, was because the Spaniards were looked upon as if they were gods because of their outer appearance. The Aztecs broke bread and welcomed the Spaniards with gifts and parties. The Aztecs triggered their relationship with the Spaniards by holding a ritual for the arrival of the god which included a human sacrifice. The Spaniards didn’t agree with the rituals and began to despise the Aztecs.
The Aztecs government was an government that expected tributes as pay for being a Aztec. The Aztec empire’s power was split between many figures of control. The Aztec empire was split into city-states called Altepetl and controlled by Tlatoanis/supreme leaders and Cihuacoatl/supreme judges. Though having an organized government, the Aztecs were sadly conquered by the Spanish Conquistadors lead by Cortes between the years 1519-1521. The ratio of the army of the Spanish Conquistadors and the Aztecs greatly differed in the Aztecs favor.
Montezuma would be the last emperor of the Aztec Empire. He followed his uncle to the throne after being schooled in religion, science, and art. Like the leaders before him, Montezuma worked on expanding the Aztec Empire. He also led improvements in Tenochtitlán, enlarging the palace and creating a zoo.
Humanities Essay: The Aztecs The Aztecs or Mexica as they called themselves, weren’t originally from the Valley of Mexico, many people migrated from the north. As history states the people migrated because of a great drought in northern Mexico and southwestern United States. After two centuries of migration, around 1200 AD the Aztecs started to form their foundation in the Valley of Mexico, and that was the start of one of the most mightest civilization. The Valley of Mexico attracted many more people as it was full of rich resources. The Valley was surrounded by high mountains protecting them from any enemies, freshwater from the mountains, marshy lakes that provided them with food, plants, salt and also water for cultivation and agriculture (Nicoletta Maestri, “Aztec Origins and the Founding of Tenochtitlán - Aztec Tenochtitlan”).
al. 2014). There were runners who would run on these extended roads to deliver messages all around the Empire. The road system helped the government have more control of the administration in the empire, and it improved communication because it linked cities all around the Empire(Ramirez et. al. 213).