Aztecs had a wide majority of power over Southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Yucatan. Spanish arrived in Mexico in 1519, and wanted to take advantage of the massive amount of silver, the mines produced in the Aztec’s land. In South America, ingitis labor was cheaper, so it was beneficial to the Spanish to use these people to work in the mines to earn them high valued items that they can take back to the Old
To figure out if these army individuals were royal, the Aztecs gave the Spaniards golden banners and necklaces to see how they would react to it. “Like monkeys they grabbed the gold. It was as though their hearts were put to rest, brightened, freshened. For gold was what they greatly thirsted for…” (Marcus,10) From finding out that the Spanish were not a type of god it really opened their eyes and they knew that maybe the Spanish were able to get
The Broken Spears by Miguel Leon Portilla portrays many themes about the spanish conquest in the account of the Aztecs. However, The Seven Myth of the Spanish Conquest by Matthew Restall conveys themes harmonize with The Broken Spears concepts. In The Broken Spear the spaniards were perceived as barbaric by the Aztecs and vise versa. When the spaniards attacked during the fiesta of Toxcatl they performed a lot of bloodshed and barbaric actions.
The Aztec Empire lasted from the year 1345 to the year 1521. During these years, the Aztec Empire was able to flourish all throughout central Mexico. Their capital was established on Teotihuacan, on top of a lake. The Aztec Empire alone was 117,501 miles squared long. The citizens of the Aztec Empire were feared all over Mexico.
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.
In this week’s reading, “Spanish Conquest” by Elizabeth Carmichael and Chloe Sayer discuss the subjugation, ethnocide, and struggle the indigenous population of Mexico endured during the Spanish conquest. The Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortez, enslave and forced the Aztecs to believe that Christianity was the one true religion. Therefore, the indigenous people were forced to convert their faith through the Spanish missionaries to lose their indigenous roots. Later, the authors explain the many difficulties and conflicts Spanish priest underwent to teach the Christian faith to the Aztecs. The Spanish friar first taught the indigenous people Christianity in Nahuatl.
The Aztec and Incan empires were destroyed in similar ways. While their empires were ruled differently and focused on different things their downfall was caused by even the same group of people. Their destruction wasn't peaceful and somewhat gory. Important factors of the fall of the Aztec and Incan empires were European expeditions, disease, and warfare. The Aztec and Incan empires were both unique in their own ways.
The people of Mexico wanted to get their land back, however there was so much to do in order to obtain the land back and the poor people could not do. There was peasant leader named “Emiliano Zapata, who hoped a revolution would lead to land reform”(EDSITEment). Along with Emiliano Zapata who was a leader from the southern state of Morelos, two other leaders from the north named Pascual Orozco, and Pancho Villa were ready to fight for their land. All three had armies ready for war, and all of this revolting was for a new and better Mexico that will peaceful. There is a corrido named, “Corrido de Zapata Nino”, which praise Emiliano Zapata.
Many of these countries faced the same problems in their economic development during the turn of the 19th century. Mexico is seen to being very highly influenced by its neighbors with elites often adopting themes that are successful in other countries. These newly adopted ideas that the elites brought about to the country created a large divide within the social classes due to ignorance in wanting to modernize. The Los de Abajo’s and the Los de Arriba’s, the social classes in Mexico often clashed in what they believed was right for Mexico and found it very hard to come to terms with each other. Judas burning and violence throughout the religious holy week did not aid to bringing these two classes together either.
The fall of the Aztec Empire was due to the determination of the Spaniards. The Spaniards were destructive. They did not respect the Natives’ religions at all. They almost destroyed all of the Natives’ culture, and now we know very little about Natives. The Spaniards’ greed and obsession with power, this was their main motivation to conquer the Aztec Empire.
There was not a simple clear and distinct dichotomy between the “good” and the “bad”. As established previously, the Aztecs did not all live in perfect harmony, leading to tensions, and side-taking when Europeans arrived. A number of Indigenous peoples had a part to play in the downfall of the Aztec empire. Furthermore, the importance of gold in these relations was of great significance, and “Cortes bullied… tortured the Aztec lords… to obtain gold” (p.116). León-Portilla chooses to end on the topic of the tributes of “gold that had been lost in the Canal of the Toltecs” which the Captain expects to be returned to him.
On May 22, Hernan Cortes and his military forces stormed the great Aztec city, Tenochtitlan. Hernan Cotes did this for gold, God, and glory. The Aztecs were fighting a losing battle that only lasted 93 days before defeat, in total it is estimated that only 100 Spaniards lost their lives, but 100,000 Aztecs lost their lives. Therefore, Spanish military technology severely affected the fall of the Aztec civilisation because the Aztecs didn’t have advanced Military technology as the Spanish did like advanced ships, armour, weapons, and tactics.
Document A states how “the Aztecs created one of the two most powerful empires in the Western Hemisphere, and was considered “queen” of all settlements.” Document A shows how almost all narratives find the Aztecs to be very advanced politically. Document L is a mural that represents the agriculture and food production of the Aztecs. Document L shows the “chinampas across the lake as far as the eye can see” and also many people working, in which their political and technological advancement can help with increase their produce, trade, and relationships with other countries. Important to realize, Document N talks about how there was "a great marketplace" and how crowds of people would come in, this represented how advanced their society is.
In central Mexico the Spanish myth of the golden northern land stirred awareness in the legend of Aztlan. According to their own histories the Aztecs had left their homeland in 1168 and journeyed to the lakes where in 1325 where found in Tenochtitlan. By mid-1700’s the Edenic picture of the north had been forgotten in the minds of the authorities in Mexico City. Since most of the settler from the very beginning were Indians and Mestizos and had intermarried with northern natives it wasn’t surprising that eventually saw the border land as their
As a young conquistador coming to a strange land that has a large pyramid with thousands of people surrounding it as they were chanting and yelling while looking toward the very top of the stairs that led to the top of the pyramid. You see people at the top and notice how they are cutting out the hearts of these human sacrifices and tossing them down the stairs. You stare in horror and notice what a terrible and cruel place you have come across. There was human sacrifice going on and gruesome wars over land that ultimately led to more and more death. But then you take another look around and see their agriculture and all the amazing irrigation systems they have set up and you 're completely shocked about how well their farming systems are.
