The Aztec Empire was a society that existed between the fourteenth and the sixteenth century A.D. the Aztec civilisation was highly advanced for their time, There are many ways in which the Aztecs proved their advancement in their society; this included excelling in a number of fields such as their architecture, health and sanitation, engineering and agriculture. In 1325 the Aztecs began to construct the basic foundations of their city, which was located in the centre of lake Texcoco, the Aztecs named it Tenochtitlan.
The Spanish Conquest in Mexico over the Aztecs in the year 1521 resulted in the victory of the Spanish. This was a huge time of change in the Aztecs’ lifestyle. In this time, changes in nearly every aspect of the Aztecs’ life occured. Adjustments in areas such as the Aztecs’ very worldview, as well as beliefs in religion. Following this, reconstruction in the Aztecs’ way of talking and writing were enforced by the Conquistadors, who spoke Spanish and wrote in words instead of pictures. During the Spanish Conquest, the Aztecs’ lifestyle changed dramatically due to a whole new language replacing their own, they dropped to the bottom of the hierarchy where they were once the
Conquistador, written by Buddy Levy about the famous ventures of Hernan Cortes, places the reader in the 16th century, or the era c.1450-c. 1750 ce. During this time, the idea of exploration was spreading quickly, as kingdoms and empires in Europe sought to expand their territory. Portugal, with Spain following after, led the way for exploration as they headed south. Spain, however, ventured west, driven by a patriotic attitude of expanding past their borders. Levy tells the story of Hernan Cortes, originally setting sail from Spain, as he sailed from Cuba to the shores of Mexico in 1519, eager about the discovery of new lands. Cortes, as well as many other explorers during this time, was inspired by the Three G’s: God, gold, and glory. He planned to conquer the new lands for Spain, to convert the natives to Catholicism, and to obtain the riches of the land, mostly gold.
The Aztecs were a great Empire that lasted approximately 200 years. They entered the Valley of Mexico from North and founded their capital in the center of a lake. Their capital was called Tenochtitlan, and it was founded in 1325. In 1428 a Triple Alliance was formed with other two cities, Texcoco and Tlacopan, consolidating what we now call, the Great Aztec Empire. The primary source, The Broken Spears, not only tells us about the Conquest of the Aztec Empire by the Spaniards, but it reveals us some of their social, cultural and political aspects.
The Broken Spears, by Miguel Leon-Portilla, is an all-inclusive and compelling account of the Spanish conquest, told by the Aztecs also known as the conquered. Leon Portilla’s choice of events depicted in this book collides together giving the reader a broad view of the Spanish conquest. This book gives a history of emotional and spiritual human experiences, allowing the readers to comprehend, and relate to the Aztecs as they went through terror and faced their fears. This book provides an extensive amount of details concerning lack of leadership, bias and technological hardship that led to the Aztec defeat.
While many worldviews exist, The fall of the Aztec empire was unavoidable.The Aztec’s were a group of people who were very religious and lived in Mexico for hundreds of years but one day a group of Spanish people arrived and executed all of the Aztec people. Many of them died from diseases the spanish brought with them like small pox. The others were killed by the spanish and some were taken to spain as slaves. This was led by an explorer named Hernan Cortes.
Mexican anthropologist and historian Miguel Leόn-Portilla gives his readers an alternative view of the destruction of the Aztec empire in his 1962 novel. His book is one of many written on the fall of the Aztecs. As an author, his book stands out from others because it tells the story from a different perspective, that of the ones being defeated.
One of the greatest and most advanced early civilizations is argued to be the Aztecs. From the 12th century to the 15th, the Aztecs had many achievements that are still very significant in today’s society. The Aztec empire was truly a spectacular civilization that to this day is still not completely understood. The people who became part of the great empire were originally nomads whose main focus was to hunt and gather. As their civilization began to expand they had to adapt to an agricultural lifestyle. They built extraordinary pyramids and even built artificial islands to add more land for the citizens and crop growers. There are two turning points in Aztec civilization. One turning point is when they truly became a great society through
In his campaign against the Aztec Empire, Cortez relied upon the other local indigenous tribes for assistance. Why did they ally themselves to Cortez and how did they help him secure ultimate victory?
The conflict and defeat of the Aztecs was not avoidable because the Spanish were looking for gold and land, and would have eventually come into contact with the Aztecs no matter who found the land of Tenochtitlan first. Since the Aztecs had everything the Spaniards wanted, it was likely that a battle between the two was bound to happen. In war the Spanish had a large advantage because of their weapons and battle gear. If the Aztecs came into contact with the Spanish, they were likely to die because of the disease the Spaniards carried with them. Also, a lot of enemies were created against the Aztecs because of the human sacrifices they had to make in order to nourish their gods.
Montazuma the second was possibly one of the most important people in the entire history of The Aztec history. This is because he was the king/emperor when the Spanish concurs concurred the Aztec empire. He was born in 1466 and died in 29 of June 1520. According to one of the sources I used Montazuma was killed by the citizens of Tenochtitlan using rocks and spears because Cortez and his men forced Montazuma to admit defeat to his people. Letting the Spanish in to Tenochtitlan and showing weeknes was a horrible decision because the Spanish concurs saw this and used it against him. To prevent this Montazuma the second should had fought back the Aztec empire could have prevented the dramatic loss.
Compare and contrast the conquests of Mexico (Aztecs) with that of the Inca. What led up to the conquest? The goals of the Conquistadores. The results.
The Aztecs began as a northern tribe whose name came from a valley known as Aztlan, which was the name of their homeland. They appeared in Mesoamerica, today known as the south central region of Mexico, in the 13th century. There, the Aztecs built their proud city, Tenochtitlan. It was the heart of the Aztec civilization. The Aztec emperor didn’t rule every city state. Local governments remained but they were required to pay varying amounts to the city of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopa. This empire is called a hegemonic or informal empire (Moreno-Aguilar, 2013). The Aztecs ruled through a local government, this ensured the locals would keep the people happy. This system worked very well for the people, but the empire would eventually be
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. The Aztecs’ religion is what got them into the most trouble. They sacrificed humans for their Gods, which was wrong in the Spaniards’ eyes (and mine too). They also were very superstitious .The Aztecs may have won the battle against the Spaniards if they too had advanced weaponry and battle tactics. The Aztecs and the Spaniards were vastly different people, however they had similarities. They both killed in the name of religion, and both growing empires willing to do anything to gain more power.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the historical Battle of Tenochtitlan and apply critical reasoning and battle analysis techniques to assess the utilization of intelligence assets and provide alternate outcomes. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in 1519, the mighty Aztec Empire was at the height of its power. From their capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztec controlled much of what is now known as Mexico and Central America, ruling an estimated 15 million people. The Aztec palaces were as vast and sophisticated as any of those in Europe and their temples rivaled the Egyptian pyramids. The Aztecs acquired many enemies from their brutal rule over neighboring tribes and city-states.