Global expansion has been a large topic covered by historians for hundreds of years. The development of independent countries establishing trade, business, and military powers had led to the development and advancement of all the continents. The purpose of exploration, conquest and governmental power are common themes that are shared among the powers of 16th century Europe. With unexplored land and unknown inhabitants, the desire and race for expansion were a primary purpose of European nations. Inhabitants of these new lands had established cultures, religions, and social lives. Little documentation is to be found on native people of the North American continent, the majority had no written language or were completely illiterate. Any written records kept were kept in the writings of the victors. Understanding expansionism and conquest can be told differently by many different scholars. Their evaluations can be one-sided as there is no other story upon documentation that can be evaluated. Hernándo Cortes and the Conquest of the Aztec Empire was to be evaluated as the ruthless, war monger who sought power and control and treasure in the name of the King of Spain. Cortés would invade a new piece of land inhabited by cultures of Indians to seize fame and fortune. His military efforts along with the help of other native tribal allies destroyed an Empire of the largest capacity. Reasoning and purpose for the invasion can only be told as a conquistador laying claim on
The Aztecs were a remarkable civilization. Th is civilization were distrusted and disliked because they tended to push others out of their way. They ruled an empire in Tenochtitlan in the time of 1350 to 1519. They also were known for their agriculture and human sacrifices. Agriculture was a very important part of their h istory because without their farming method the Aztec couldn't have created such great civilization. According to Document A of the Aztec DBQ, states that the Aztec empire grew more than 200 miles west to east, and north to south. Th is means that with the growth of the empire the population also grew and more effective agriculture techniques were needed to feed the people. They created the method of ch inampas because they
The Aztecs had one of the most successful and advanced empires of all time. They had a dwelling culture The Aztec civilization was located directly in the middle of two mountain ranges in the central valley of Mexico ( Platt 10). Although the Aztec empire eventually came to an end they were able to do well as an empire. Contributing factors that led to the rise of the empire was their political structure, social components, and religious traditions which they preformed earnestly.
The reading “An Aztec account of the Spanish Conquest” is mainly about a story when Hernan Cortes came for the first time at Tenochtitlan (nowadays Mexico City). The Aztecs believes that when Hernan Cortes arrive they believe the he was Quetzalcoatl, the main god in the Aztec culture. Cortes were friendly invite to the Aztec city as the most important guest, the Aztec people made a big party to celebrate the return of their god, but the Aztec people did not know Cortes intentions of conquer the empire. Later the Aztecs were betrayed by Hernan Cortes. Cortes’s army began to attack the city and at the end they take over the city.
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. They were a civilization with a rich mythology and cultural heritage. Their capital was Tenochtitlan on the shore of Lake Texcoco. From their magnificent capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate religious.
During the 15th century, there were two leading empires of Mesoamerica. The Inca Empire, which was located in what is now Peru and the Aztecs, whose area was located in what is now Mexico. Both the Aztec and Inca empires were advanced civilizations with a good economy, agricultural developments, and religious practices that spread across the region of Mesoamerica.
After landing on the coast of Mexico in the early 1500’s in what is now Veracruz, Cortés caught word of the possibility of much wealthier land if he were only willing to travel more inland. The Aztec empire centered around it’s powerful capital city of Tenochtitlán, and Cortés wanted it for himself and Spain. After arriving in the great city he said to have gasped at the sight of the large buildings, beautiful design, and overall substance. While the accounts written by him and his men are the only known surviving writings of the late empire, we are able to get a pretty clear glimpse into its beauty by the way he spoke. Built on a sizeable lake, the Tenochtitlán was only assessable by four very large bridges. Cortés was quite impressed by the way in which 10 of his men could ride side by side while crossing. The actual size of the city was not what impressed him most, seeing as it was comparable to the city of Seville that he had seen at home, but instead he found it intriguing how the people had developed roads that worked around the grand body of water.
The Mongols and Aztec empires rose in the post- classical period, between 600 and 1450 CE. While each empire was distinct, they had economic, political, and social similarities. For example, the Mongols and Aztecs both had a militaristic society, courage in battle meant a higher status. One difference in these empires is that, while the Aztecs had a rigid social hierarchy, the Mongols had a more fluid one. The economy of the Mongols and Aztecs were also distinct from each other, with differing trade and production.
resided. The Aztecs had significant wealth from trading and heavy payments of tribute from the conquered natives. From the years 1200-1520, the Aztecs prospered and expanded their empire immensely. However, all of this was going to change when the Spanish landed on the Yucatan Peninsula in 1519. Following Christopher Columbus' foundation of permanent settlement in the Caribbean, the Spanish were seeking conquest, expedition and colonization of new territory. Although there were multiple factors that contributed to the remarkable victory by the Spanish in the sixteenth century such as religion; it was the indigenous alliances, technological superiority, and disease that was most impactful.
Representation” by Michael Schreffler argues that “ . . . early modern rhetoric and iconography . . . constructed a distorted view of painting in Aztec Mexico and entangled it in the conventions of colonial historiography” (407). This essay is effective because of its thorough examination of the accounts that explain a painting made by the Aztec’s at San Juan de Ulúa on Easter Sunday of 1519.
The Aztec-Spanish War was more than a war leading to the demise of the Aztec empire; rather it was one of the most remarkable and significant wars of European history, beginning the colonization of Mesoamerica. The Spaniards who came to the New World were known as conquistadors, Spanish for “conquerors”. Hernando Cortez, one of the most ambitious Spanish conquistadors, left Cuba in 1519 with 500 men, 11 ships, horses, and countless other provisions. The exploratory mission, supported by the governor of Cuba: Diego de Velásquez, soon turned into one of conquest. Driven by the pursuit of gold, glory and god, Cortez was determined to use any means necessary in his desire to conquer one of ancient history’s most prominent civilizations: The Aztecs.
The events that occurred between the Aztecs and Spanish Conquistadors have many sides and opportunities for debate. One of the most debated topics being; Who was more savage and who was more Civil? Both the Aztecs and Spanish had powerful and thriving empires. These empires displayed their dominance through their advanced technology and flourishing military. Though it may seem that the Spanish were more advanced than the Aztecs, the Aztecs and Spanish were actually quite close to being equal in technological advancements.
One example of how the Europeans shaped life in the Americas is by conquering the Aztec Empire. In 1519, Spaniard Hernando Cortés landed on the coast of Mexico along with 508 conquistadors and dreams of riches. Cortés knew that it would be fairly easy to conquer the Aztecs since the empire consisted of several hundred groups that had been forced to follow the Aztec rule and despised their conquerors. As the conquistadors continued to the capital, they made alliances with these groups of unhappy natives. Out of fear that Cortés was an Aztec god, sent to take over his position, Montezuma II, the Aztec emperor, sent the conquistadors valuable gifts to persuade him to leave but only managed to increase their cravings for riches. Within months,
The Aztecs were created in the 1400s and early 1500s. No one really liked the Aztecs because of their wars and how they killed. They lived in modern-day of Mesoamerica. Their agriculture method is an artificial island named chinampas which really helped them and with the chinampas they grew crops and more."Next, it is their agricultural method that made the Aztecs to expand their empire. The more their empire expanded the more food they will have to make. In Document A, it shows that the Aztec empire grew so much that it was more than 200 miles east to west, and north to south. The Aztecs were polytheistic meaning they believe in different gods. Most of their gods were nature-based which is that the gods had to do something with nature. Without
The Aztec civilization during its peak was the strongest civilization in the western hemisphere. When the Spaniards first set foot in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, they could not believe that a civilization so primitive in their minds could have been so culturally developed and powerful. However, before making it to Tenochtitlan, they had discovered that all was not well in the Aztec empire. From many native Indians that had tension with the Aztecs, they learned of internal and pre-existing problems that existed. This investigation examines to what extent where those internal and pre-existing factors to blame for the downfall of the Aztec Empire. The investigation was undertaken using some of the only primary
To begin, the video I watched was titled The Fall of the Aztecs. An interesting fact that I know of the Aztec culture was that schooling was of grave importance to the future. Thus, a scholastic education system was mandatory. Oddly enough, gender separations dictated the type of education received. Despite this schooling, the Aztecs were eventually conquered by the Spaniards due to being outwitted by Cortez.