The Collapse Of The Aztec Civilization

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.

Mesoamerica was once a place filled with expanding, ruthless empires and civilizations, although none was like the Aztecs and their empire. Although they started off with a humble beginning, they quickly grew into a great civilization that dominated present day Central Mexico. They conquered and expanded into an empire stronger than the other neighboring empires. The heart of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, was a grand capital filled with many people and astounding temples. The Aztecs were also ahead of their time with fully-functional government and irrigation systems. They continue to astound many historians with their diverse way of life. They impacted the way of life for many people today with their customs and ways of life. Throughout the years, the Aztecs were able to grow and prosper with their sufficient supply of agriculture and blessed fertile lands of the Mexican Valley, and demonstrated to be an important part of Mexican heritage. The Aztec civilization was truly one of Mesoamerica’s most influential empires because of their history, vibrant culture, and unique architecture.

The great Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlán was overpowered and taken by Hernán Cortés. When the empire fell, many Aztecs were infected with a disease from Europe, smallpox. It was their first exposure to the disease and they had no immunity. Over a course of months, the culture and civilization of the fallen empire have changed.Numerous people wonder about the Aztecs who have survived and still remain in Tenochtitlán. On a trip to the city, we stopped an Aztec resident on the street to answer a few questions. The resident requested to remain anonymous for safety reasons.

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 Spanish colonisation of the Aztecs brought pain, death and devastation to their civilisation. It destroyed their way of life and

The first source is a website created by Khan Academy. The main idea of this source is that disease can overcome the mightiest of civilizations. This main idea is supported by the quote “At the beginning of the sixteenth century, it was one of the largest cities in the world.” This quote shows just how big and powerful the city was at this time, and the quote “as well as the Spaniards' superior weaponry, their unfamiliar battle tactics and the devastation of the Mexica population by European disease. Mexico remained under Spanish rule until gaining independence in 1821 C.E.” it shows how many diseases really affected the civilization. My second source is a website created by Websters. The main idea of this source is that Aztec innovations affected

One of things that was brought to Mexico during the Colombian Exchange, although unintentonally, was disease. The Spanish brought diseases such as smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, and mumps. These were diseases that the natives had not been exposed to, so they had no immunity to them. Even though the Spanish did have much more advanced weaponry than the natives, it was the diseases that wiped out most of the native population. It is believed that within a century of the arrival of the Spanish, the population of the Aztecs decreased by 80-95%, going from 12.5M to roughly about 1.5M in population (History of Disease). The Spanish shared the same fate, but not as severe, many died from syphillis. A disease that was much more dangerous during that time than it is today. (Columbian Exchange)

This was made clear in document 5 when “The sick were so helpless that they could only lie on their beds like corpses, unable to move their limbs or even their heads…a great many died from this plague, and many others died of hunger.”( Bernardino, 1545). This evidence shows how the smallpox affected the Aztecs. It affected them by not being able to move so this means they couldn’t get up to find food or fight. Many died because of the disease and others by hunger. This is important to our understanding of how tenochtitlan fell because the Aztecs were weak and they could not train to fight. They couldn’t even get up their bed because they were so sick and they could not move. A lot of them died because no one could take care of them. Since they were not able to fight Cortes had a chance of going again and destroying them with not problem. This was also made clear in in document 6 when “200,000 died of the disease, and twice that number were seriously sickened.…..It also robbed the Aztecs of the will (determination) to fight because they were convinced the disease was the wrath of the white man’s god or a form of witchcraft.”(Weir, 2009). This evidence shows how many people died and how many people got sick. It also says that they were weak to fight. The disease killed many people. This is important to our understanding of how Tenochtitlan fell because they were not able to fight. Also 200,000 die and 400,000 got sick which meant there will be less people in the empire. In summary disease led to the fall of Tenochtitlan because the Aztecs were weak and couldn’t train. With the death of all those people the empire turn smaller. Therefore the Spanish got the chance to

From 250 A.D. to the late 1500’s A.D., three civilizations, the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Incas controlled Central and South America. Their decline happened for many different reasons. The Spanish conquistadors was one of the most common and deadliest, due to their advanced weapons and diseases they brought. It seems that wherever the Spanish went, bad things always happened. Innocent people were killed for no reason, cities were massacred and civilizations were destroyed.

In the article The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest by Miguel Leon-Portilla, he stated “A great many died from this plague and many others died of hunger. They could not get to search for food and everyone else was too sick to care for them, so they starved to death in their own beds.” The European explorers brought many diseases such as

The first major disease to find the New World was probably smallpox which broke out on Hispanola in 1518. As the Spaniards moved toward the mainland from the islands their diseases often proceeded them. One reason for this was a messenger bearing the news of the invasion to his people could carry the diseases as well as his message. With the arrival of Cortes in 1520 the smallpox virus was brought to Mexico and the Aztec nation. It has been thought that if the virus had not come when it did the Spanish invasion would not have been successful (Lunenfeld, 314). The Aztec leader of the assault against the Spanish invasion, as well as many of his followers, died after ordering the Spaniards out of Tenochtitlan. If the people would have continued with what they had started, they would not have been conquered for before August 21, 1521, the Spaniards were almost defeated. However in a siege that lasted seventy-five days the dead Aztecs from combat, starvation, and disease numbered into the 1000's (Crosby, 1972). The massive numbers of dead stunned the people so much that they were unable to react. The natives were not the only ones affected by the dead, however, for the

Until Spanish interactions however, Smallpox had never been introduced in Mexico. The Smallpox epidemic was contracted by Mexica and Spaniard allies alike. As told by the people of Tlatelolco “[The disease] brought great desolation; a great many died of it. They could no longer walk about, but lay in their dwellings and sleeping places” (Sahagun 2000, 190). The Spaniards began to use Smallpox to their advantage greatly weakening the Mexica forces. Smallpox’s exact death toll is uncertain but there are rough estimations that “range from a low of 10 million to a high of 100 million” (Hansen, Curtis 2013, 343). The use of biochemical agents in battle goes to prove the Spaniards military cunning over the

Have you thought how the Inca and the Aztec empire fell? These empires collapsed for many reasons. What’s the most important reason? Many people may contend that the downfall of these empires was caused because of fear, Spanish or the civil wars. The smallpox was what caused the downfall of the Inca and the Aztec’s empire because they weakened the population so much that they weren’t ready for any attack and didn’t have enough people to defend themselves so if they were attacked they would be easily defeated.

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