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What were the political, economic and cultural changes in Aztec society after contact with the Spanish? In the 15th century, a lot happened that changed the course of Central American History. Hernan Cortes, Spanish explorer, voyaged out to the new world of America. He found the great Aztec city, Tenochtitlan, and with help from allies he acquired along the way. The Spanish coming in contact with the Aztecs changed their life, in political, economic, and cultural changes. When the Spanish conquistadors discovered and conquered Tenochtitlan, there was an enormous amount of political change. Politics relates to deciding who should govern a specific part of land, in this case, Tenochtitlan, the great Aztec city. Moctezuma II was the ruler of this Economic in the Aztecs’ time were comparable and arguably better than that of the romans. With plumbing, garbage collection, postal service, and a sophisticated law and order system, the Aztecs were truly the pioneers of their time. However when the Spanish came along and decided they wanted to have Tenochtitlan, they decided to change most of this. As well as slaughtering most of the Aztecs so half of these services stopped, the conquistadors also took anything that was of value in Tenochtitlan. In a society that is currency based, taking away money meant that there was no way for society to function. The conquistadors had stopped everything that the Aztecs use in everyday life, they even destroyed the bridges that connected Tenochtitlan to the mainland so no one could escape. The Aztecs’ meeting with the Spanish changed their economics and stopped society from functioning as it used The Aztec religion was an odd one to say the least, and at first, the Spanish were frightened of it, and “they found it barbaric.” They pleaded with Cortes to leave, as the catholic religion is against that of the human sacrificial Aztec religion. Cortes took advantage of his power over the Aztecs and changed the religion. The religion of Mexico was then changed to Christianity, another important change that took place because of the Spanish. The Aztecs’ religion told them that a bearded God was to appear and reclaim the land, much like Cortes. The fact that the Aztec’s though the Spanish leader was a god, immortal and un-killable was a great tactical adavantage. The Aztecs’ culture had just led itself to its own doom. Many other things had changed, along with the mass extinction, the Aztec religion was lost, as well as many other records. The only documents the Aztecs kept were Codices, almost undecipherable drawings. When the Spanish defeated the Aztec empire, the Aztec culture was eviscerated, and we may never know more about it. In 1519, the Spaniards conquered the great Aztec city Tenochtitlan, which resulted in changes and alterations that affected the Aztecs drastically. These changes, such as a new hierarchy, terror and plunder, and a new culture and religion left a mark on Mesoamerican history. If the Spanish conquistadors did not decide to conquer
"The Broken Spears" by Miguel Leon-Portilla gives a different perspective on the defeat of the Aztecs. Through reasons such as religion and culture beliefs, the Spanish technological advancement, and their strategy of gaining alliances in the new land contributed to the defeat of the Aztecs. The two factors that played the biggest roles were the poor leadership of Motechuhzoma and the timing of the plague. Those two factors were indeed what brought down this great Empire.
Throughout history many people write what actually happened but from their point of view. One of them that really common is Eurocentric perspective since they have travelled to new places and wrote down what they saw when they were there. A lot of that has happened with Mesoamerica because they have been taken over by the Spaniards and they wrote what they thought has happened. They thought they were god like compared to them. The Americas wouldn’t be what it is because of them. Also they thought that the Aztecs were more savage like people who like to sacrifice people. All of this was from their point of view and not the Aztecs who are the ones who know better than them.
Spain, as one of the most powerful nations in the old world, had a great influence on many events in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Spanish also had an influence on many other empires/nations' fate. One of the empires that suffered a grave fate at the hands of the Spanish was the Aztec empire. The Aztec empire was not the oldest Mesoamerican empire and it was formed from an agreement between three city-states. The Aztec's class system had the emperor on top, then the priests, and everyone else below them. The priests were responsible for keeping the gods happy. The sacrifice of goods and people was a commonplace in the Aztec culture, and it was often the goods/people of other nations that were taken for sacrifices. As one can imagine,
Aztecs were tribe. In Chronicler’s Account talked about Spaniards with Aztecs from 1519 to 1521.When the Spaniards arrived in Tenochtitlan, and they bought horses, guns and also smallpox that killed a lot of people there. A Text from the Chronicler’s Account saids “ at about the time that the Spaniards had fled from Mexico….there came a great sickness, a pestilence, the smallpox. It …. spread over the people with great destruction of men.” The Aztec chronicler was trying to be objective in what happened at that time. Aztec Chronicler wrote about struggled in
August 13th, 1521 marked the end of a diabolical, yet genius group of leaders. They were referred to as the Aztecs. They were an extremely advanced ancient civilization. The Aztec’s were overthrown by the Spanish, yet we still haven’t forgotten the Aztecs. But since their culture was so complex it’s hard to know what is the most necessary thing to study when it comes to them, especially when their were so many things that defined their culture. The Aztecs were highly religious and believed in human sacrifice. They also had a complex method of farming called chinampas. This grew an extremely large amount of food per year by using canals. This was extremely successful because of how complex it was. When asked if historians should emphasize agriculture
Thus, historians ought to emphasize the significance of human sacrifice, and not their agriculture, when discussing the Aztecs. Religion is clearly a vital part of the Aztec culture. They had at least 128 gods, including but not limited to the divine beings of “rain, fire, water, corn, the sky, and the sun.” They were honored in numerous ways: ceremonies and festivals, dances and feasts, and by having humans sacrificed to them. Background Essay:
The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire. While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script, a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines that come together to make the event happen. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec is no different. Three major themes are seen in this struggle. One of them is the incredible advantage that the Spaniards technology gave them over the Aztecs. A second major theme is the greed that fueled the conquests in the New World. The last major theme was the effect of the political divisions and rivalries within Montezuma’s Central American Kingdom. As this historical event progressed each one of these themes began to intertwine until they became an almost unstoppable force.
Back in the time of the Aztec their culture was very different but also similar from our now. For instence they belived in human sacrifice and also there was only a few different jobs that you could make a living through. . There are four major jobs in their society,which are being a priest,tradesmen,warrior or in your a women you would more often then not work hard in the houses learning how to weave and make clothes.
His main accomplishment was the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. With about 600 men and 16 horses, Hernan Cortes landed on the Mexican coast in search of gold. From local inhabitants, he heard of a great and he had heard of a great and wealthy civilization farther inland. This civilization is what we call now the Aztec empire. He and his troops marched onward towards Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.
The Aztecs were isolated from the world until they fell to the Spanish which highlights that they didn’t have any of the inventions and innovations that the rest of the world experienced
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people that lived in the area of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. It is said that Aztecs came from a place called Aztlan. Aztlan was the Aztec's homeland, nobody knows exactly where it was, but it is believed that Aztlan lies somewhere to the north of Mexico. Some experts claim that Aztlan is a mythical place. According to Aztec legends Huitzilopochtli, their god of war and of the sun, told them to leave Aztlan and to wander until they saw an eagle on a cactus budding out of a rock and eating a snake. The Aztecs traveled many years to find the legend that Huitzilopochtli had told. They left Aztlan in the 12th century. They built their settlements in the Valley of Mexico by Lake Texcoco. There were other Indian tribes living in the area when the Aztecs arrived. The Aztecs called their settlement Tenochtitlan. By the time they settled after two centuries of voyage they called themselves by a different name, the Mexica, but the term Aztec has been used as a ...
The Spanish defeat of the Aztecs has been extensively criticized for many years. Religion was a motive for discovery, enabled the Spanish to enter the heart of the empire, and was used as justification for torture of the natives. The centrality of religion as a force in Spanish conquest is undeniable. Virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed and the Spanish victory has had lasting effects for both natives and Europeans up to and including the present-day.
Both the Aztec and Incan civilizations used trade, tribute, redistribution of goods, and agriculture to balance out their economy. However, the Aztecs had a more mixed organization, the use of more than one functions, used trade markets, and had a merchant class, unlike the opposing Incan economy. The Aztecs were more engaged with trade than the Incans, shown with the trade markets at Tlatelolco. Tlatelolco was a trade market controlled by the merchant class, or Pochteca and the development of currency was put in place using beans and or gold dust. On the other hand, the Incans did not have trade markets due to their trade being more informal, along with no merchant class or currency. To help specifically long distance trade, advanced road systems were put in place as way stations. Both civilizations used tribute and was an important aspect to the economic organization, but the Aztecs collected goods and the Incans collected labor, mita. ...
This historical study will define the important role of Hernan Cortes in the colonization of Mexico in the age of the Spanish conquistador. Cortes was an important figure in Mexican history because of his discovery of Mexico at the Yucatan peninsula in 1519. During this time, Cortes became a historical figure that represented the “conquistador” system of conquest throughout the Mayan and Aztec Empires during the early part of the 15th century. The fall of these indigenous civilizations marked the beginning of Spanish colonization of Central America. Cortes was a significant figure because of the primarily military style of coercion and conquest that sought to annihilate the indigenous peoples of Mexico, and to claim Spanish territory. These conquests contributed significantly to the blend of indigenous and Spanish traditions of Mexico’s national history. Cortes represents the first phase of colonization for the Spanish empire in terms of the violent and aggressive nature of the Spanish Conquistador in the discovery of Mexico. The image of the Spanish conquistador as an often violent and ruthless colonizer is defined the invasion and destruction of the Aztec empire in Mexican history. In essence, a
Without expansion they could no longer give human sacrifices in the same amount in which they use too. Upon the arrival of the Spanish the Aztec government was falling apart, and "Moctezuma II programs of internal military consolidation and administrative and social stabilization had failed" (Conrad & Demmest). When the Aztec’s first met the Spanish they were amazed by them. The Spanish used the Aztec’s own legends to take advantage of them and gain the upper hand. Other disadvantages that the Aztecs had was the need to take prisoner to sacrifice, they were not untied with other tribes (Spanish were able to unite with other tribes to help fight the Aztecs), had primitive weapons, and couldn’t stay on the battle field for long, because they ran out of supplies quickly (Age of Reconnaissance 167).