Victors and Vanquished Essay

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

Conquistador: Hernán Cortés, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs written by Buddy Levy tells the story of a conquistador named Hernán Cortés who sailed to an unknown land and in less than two years, conquered the entire Aztec empire. Levy addresses many issues but is mainly concerned about the differences between the two cultures, which causes an issue between both the Spaniards and the Aztecs, and argues that people cannot take over an empire without clashing cultures. Religion and culture have been an issue then and now and although people are free to practice their own religion and culture, it is inappropriate for the Spaniards to impose their religion and culture to the Aztecs as this could also cause tension between ethnic groups.

The Aztec were a powerful group but did not have an imperialistic worldview like the Spanish. The Spanish expanded their empire and travelled across to the America’s. Here they explored and conquered many groups of people. As they fought the Spanish army grew with more slaves being taken in. This was very different from the Aztec people who fought only for control. They were not focused on expanding their religion and allowed conquered areas to keep their religion and way of life. They did not take slaves and used the captured men for human sacrifice. The Aztec thought that sacrifice would keep their gods happy and increased the amount of before they were conquered. Thus the Aztec worldview was based on religion and the gods. The Aztec and Spanish worldviews were different. The Aztec respected their gods and only conquered land to not be destroyed while the Spanish conquered land to expand their empire. These factors helped contribute to the fall of the powerful Aztec

The book focuses on how the Spanish slowly exploited the Aztec resources to the point where they started killing people for no reason but to exterminate them. One of the turning events during the Spanish conquest is the massacre in the main temple during the fiesta Toxcatl. The Aztecs begged their king to hold festivities in honor of the god Huitzilopochtli. After they got permission, they very carefully prepared for festivities and sworn to do their best dancing at the festivities to show the Spanish the beauty of their rituals. The Spanish showed that they are interested to learn more about the festivities, but they were planning to murder all the celebrants. When the celebrations began, the

     The Aztecs were an American Indian people who ruled a mighty empire in Mexico from the 1400's to the 1500's. The Aztecs had one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas and built cities as large as any in Europe at that time. They also practiced a remarkable religion that affected every part of their lives and featured human sacrifice. The Aztecs built towering temples, created huge sculptures, and held impressive ceremonies all for the purpose of worshipping their gods. The Spaniards destroyed their magnificent empire in the year 1521, but the Aztecs left a lasting mark on Mexican life and culture .

Miguel Leon-Portilla author of Broken Spears- The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, tells the story of the Spanish conquest over the Aztecs from the Aztec point of view. It is more familiar in history that the Spanish led by Hernan Cortez defeated the Aztecs with a powerful army and established an easy victory all while having intentions to gain power and greed. However, Leon-Portilla focuses on the Aztec Empire and their story. Leon-Portilla does a great job giving readers the real occurrences and events from Aztec members. This paper argues that history must be told from all sides. It is more common to hear about the Spanish conquest

money. Cortez along with the Spaniards ultimately destroys the Aztecs in their quest for fortune

The Spanish Conquest impacted the Aztec society’s beliefs and way of life. The Aztec empire was a wealthy and a well-organized society. It was an empire that people from Europe had never seen before. There are many mixed feelings about the impact of the Spaniards in the new world. Some experts view it as negative and others believed there were many positive results of this conquest. Regardless if we agree whether the conquest was positive or negative, there is no doubt that the Spanish conquest was the beginning of the end for the Aztec empire. An empire that had their own set of beliefs filled with exotic mythology and legends.

Spainish took over the Aztec community, which was easy because the Aztecs were unaware this was the reason for their coming. Aztecs people gifted the Spanish because they felt they were worthy or gods. The other communities around Aztec helped the Spanish further their take over due to constant confrintation. The Spanish came to take over everything and get rich basically. The Aztecs were not equipped enough to fight off the Spanish whom had far more advanced weapons then a the Aztecs who had bow and arrows. With the Spanish and the surrounding community coming together Aztec Empire were out numbered which soon lead to their complete take over. Diseases were also a factor in why the Aztec Empire was not able to survive members of their army and leaders were killed by the diseases. Although this played a major part in the decrease of their population it was not the only reason. As part of their belifs Aztec Empire sacarficed their own kind.

Everybody has a dark side, and a bright side. This was definitely true for the Aztec's. Through Aztec culture two main things were emphasized; agriculture and human sacrifice, but which should historians emphasize more? Historians learn many things about Aztec culture through studying their agriculture. The Aztec's were Native American people who, around the times 1350-1519, dominated most of the region of what is today's modern day Mexico City (Background Essay). Agriculture was a very important part of the everyday lives and culture of the Aztec's, as well as human sacrifice. Although human sacrifice was important, their success in agriculture had more of a positive impact on their society and what has evolved into our society today. The Aztec's had conquered vast regions of land entailing many people to feed (Document A). Historians should emphasize the Aztec's agriculture because of its importance to society and everyday life, their intelligence and advanced farming techniques, and the importance of religion to their culture.

Cortez and his force arrived in Tenochtitlan on November 8th, 1519. Tenochtitlan was the capital of what we know today as Mexico. Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the world at that time. Tenochtitlan was run by the Aztecs. Cortes then met Montezuma, the Aztecs’s emperor. Montezuma and the Aztecs thought Hernan Cortes was a god. They thought he was Quetzalcoatl. Cortez was there at the right time because the god was supposed to arrive the same year Cortes was there. Since they thought he was a god they would do anything for his command. Later on Montezuma suspected Cortez not to be the god. He gave him gold and jewels to try and get him to leave. It had the opposite affect and increased the Spaniards greed. Cortez then captured Montezuma as hostage to prevent the Aztecs attacking.

In order to gain control of the whole of New Spain, Cortés must manipulate the hierarchal traditions of the Aztec people as well. As in wealth, Castillo makes no lapse of detail here as well. He documents the way Montezuma his treated and revered by those who are under him. "Not one of these chieftains dared even to think of looking him in the face, but kept their eyes lowered with great reverence…" (World History: Castillo, 247). Montezuma

In usual Mexican combat, both sides had the same weapons and tactics, and it was often the larger side that won. However, with the introduction of Spanish technology and troops to the battleground, Cortes was able to dominate the dumbfounded Aztecs, even with lesser numbers. With the addition of the native allies to the army Cortes was able to “use the surviving 250 Spaniards with their weapons as shock troops to punch through enemy lines, enabling Tlaxcaltec troops to pour through and attack their vulnerable flanks”. The Spanish strategy of using shock troops was so effective that they would actually have to disguise themselves for the Aztecs to commit to an attack before pulling out their weapons because the presence of Spanish troops would make the Aztecs avoid the formation. The fighting style of the Europeans also gave them a tactical advantage because, unlike the Aztecs, they fought to kill. The Aztecs would attempt to injure the foe so that he may be taken captive. After which, they were then taken to a sacrificial ground to be slain. Therefore, Aztec combat methods were less mortal, making the Spanish way of fighting much more effective and costly to the Aztec population. The introduction of European strategy secured the victory for Cortes and his men all the way to Tenochtitlan because it truly

One common reason people associate with Spain being able to conquer the Aztecs is simply the fact that they were more technologically advanced. While this is one reason that Spain was able to conquer the Aztecs it is not the sole reason. There were conquistadors before Cortes that had access to the same technology and yet failed to conquer the Aztec Empire. Hugh thomas wrote “Like Hernandez de Corboda, he had arquebusiers. Like Grijalva, he had artillery.” (Hugh Thomas,

About 5 hundred spaniards left cuba and arrived on the coast of mexico with the command of Hernan Cortes. He then defined orders to leave the spanish camp to invade Veracruz. Cortez's plan was to claim land for the spanish, he wanting the Gold and riches that were there talked about by rumors. Cortez then made an alliance with those who use to be enemies of the spanish the Tlaxcalteca , native people there were amazed by the spaniards shining metal armor and