Differences And Similarities Between The Spanish And Aztec

The Mongols and Aztecs lived on completely different sides of the world. Although they had extreme differentials on Longitude and Latitude, the similarities between the two societies are compelling. The Mongols and the Aztecs were similar politically and socially. Politically, their Militaries were large and powerful; socially, women also had more rights and power. However, they were not the same in every category. Religiously, they were very different. Along with that, the foundation of their societies are very different as well, one being nomadic and one being agricultural based society.

The Aztec and Inca Empires arose 1000 to 1500 century C.E. in Mesoamerica and South America. The Aztecs arrived in central Mexico approximately the fifteenth century. The Incas settled in the region around Lake Titicaca about mid-thirteenth century and by the late fifteenth century, the Incas had built an enormous empire stretching more the 4,000 kilometers. Both empires were enormous, the Incan Empire ended up being the largest state in South America. Neither empire had developed a written language, but they did come up with a way to remember things and keep records.

The Aztec and Spanish were both some of the strongest nations in the place they inhabited. The Spanish went to war to collect territory for their homeland in Spain. The Aztec went to war to please their gods and collect prisoners to sacrifice. The Spanish war strategies were for taking over the land they desired without war, but if it came to it they would fight. The weapons that both nations used were very dangerous, but were well suited for what they nation needed them for. The Aztec weapons were mostly for capturing prisoners. The Spanish weapons were used mostly for killing and were very durable. The Aztec and Spanish both had different reasons for going to war and the types of tactics they use

The Aztecs and Mayans were similar in location. Both, civilizations were located in the modern day country of Mexico. Also, from the civilizations closest locations the two civilizations were less than fifty miles apart. Both, civilizations also bordered the Gulf of Mexico. The two civilizations were similar in religion. The Aztecs and Mayan religions were both polytheistic. Both, religions also had a supreme deity along with less important gods. They both also had cities with temples as shrines to their gods. The Mayan and Aztecs both also participated in human sacrifice in order to please their gods. The Aztecs and Mayans both believe in an afterlife, heaven or hell. The civilizations were also similar in their writing system. The Aztecs and Mayans both wrote in glyphs. Glyphs are picture that represent letters or words. Also, almost all written documents from both civilizations did not survive. Both civilizations also had a complex calendar. The two civilizations had the

The Tlaxcaltecs were a very important tool for the Spaniards, giving them the proper navigation and short paths to get to Tenochtitlan along with food and shelter. The Spanish did carried many advantages over the Aztecs throughout their conquest; the use of cannons and artillery, an ally who new the Aztec ways very well, and the simple fact that the Aztecs at first thought the Spaniards were `gods'. Would you really want to fight your God and not be intimidated? The use of cannons and gunfire was foreign to the Aztecs; they fought with stones, bows and arrows and had never before seen or heard of such a weapon. "Then the captain gave orders, and the messengers were chained by the feet and by the neck. When this had been done the great cannon was fired off. The messengers lost their senses and fainted away (26)."

Throughout the book, writers mention that Aztec governments did everything that they could to give the Spanish everything that they needed, and that the Spanish took advantage of them. “…he took the Spaniards to be gods; he believed in them and worshiped them as deities.” The people of Mexico were loyal to those that they believed to be gods and “when they conquered the Mexica and all belonging to them, we never abandoned them or left them behind in it.” Under Spanish rule many men, women and children were exploited, tortured and murdered. The Broken Spears captured this in great detail while Traditions and Encounters skims over a lot of these details. This seems to create a gap between the two texts, making the differences between the authors more apparent.

The author argues that the Spanish were completely at fault for the total destruction of the Aztec Empire. In Broken spears, the author explains how many factors other than Spanish power contributed to the downfall of the Aztecs. Not only did the Spanish have many advantages over the Aztecs, but also they also exploited them and took advantage of the cultural difference. The main key aspects to the Spanish victory, is that the Spanish were viewed as gods at first because of their appearance, the Aztecs welcomed the Spanish with gifts and festivities, which showed the Spanish had total control of people. The Aztecs also held a ritual ceremony for the arrival of the “god” that included a human

The Aztecs were the Native American people who dominated northern México at the time of the Spanish conquest led by Hernan CORTES in the early 16th century. According to their own legends, they originated from a place called Aztlan, somewhere in north or northwest Mexico. At that time the Aztecs (who referred to themselves as the Mexica or Tenochca) were a small, nomadic, Nahuatl-speaking aggregation

The Aztec was a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. They called themselves Mexica. The Republic of Mexico and its capital, Mexico City wanted to be called “Mexica”. I chose this culture because The Aztec nation is one of the largest and most advanced Indian nations to have ever existed on earth. Nearly every part of the

The Aztec people felt very strong about their beliefs in gods and superstitions. Montecuhzoma the independent ruler of the Aztec empire swayed his people to believe in the power of gods and idols and live a spiritual life. This ultimately was a turning point for the Aztecs and is where the Spanish once again gained advantage over the Aztecs. While the Aztecs were faithful to their beliefs it made them powerless an easy take down. Superstitions played a huge factor in the Aztecs first encounter with the Spanish people. In 1519 when the Aztec people saw sight of something coming from a distance in the water, they believed it was Quetzalcoatl (Leon-Portilla, 18). Quetzalcoatl was a legend to them that promised to come back. Montecuhzoma misread the situation and sent messages and gifts in hopes that it sent a gesture to welcome the gods onto their land. This was a big mistake that Motecuhzoma made by opening his arms to the Spanish people upon their first encounter together (Leon-Portilla, 63). This is just one case where the Aztec people poorly used their judgement. However, Motecuhzoma did come to realize the behavior of the Spaniards or “Gods”. When the Spaniards held the gold given by the Aztecs their greed became noticed in the eyes of the Aztecs. The Natives described them as monkeys. They soon caught on that the Spaniards were not gods and heroes and more so barbarians

Another difference between the two lies in the economic climate of the two civilizations; the Aztec were conquers that took prisoners of war and collected tribute from the peoples they conquered, which gave them access to more resources and presumably wealth than trade alone; the

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 Mesoamerica and the Andean regions would not have been the same without the Aztecs and the Incan influence. Although they have some similarities, they differ in religious rituals, political standings, and cultural backgrounds. The

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.

The Aztecs were warrior people who lived in the Valley of Mexico, with the capital at Tenochtitlan, during the 1400s. Under their authoritarian state, the Aztecs worshipped their patron god, Huitzilopochtli, among other deities. Despite their warrior tactics and developed belief system, the Spaniards conquered them in 1519. The Incas (or Inkas) were the people who lived throughout the Andes Mountains from southern Peru to central Chile. With a society based on agriculture, the Incas farmed the terrain of the Andes Mountains west of their capital at Cuzco. The Incas suffered a fall to the Spaniards in 1532. The Aztecs from the Valley of Mexico in the 1400s and the Incas from throughout the Andes Mountains during the 1400s are similar and different because of their ideological and intellectual values, their rise and fall by conquest of their empires, and the way they applied the characteristics of their economies to their lifestyles.