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Similarities between the cultures of inca and aztec
Similarities between the cultures of inca and aztec
Similarities between the cultures of inca and aztec
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During the early 1500s, the spanish armada sailed across the pacific and successfully conquered the civilizations of the Aztec and the Inca. The key to the conquests success was due to the technology and experience held by the Spanish. The Spanish held four aspects that set them apart from other fighting forces, being weapons, alliances, horses, and the spread of disease. The Spanish had access to guns which shocked the Aztecs. The Incas did not have access to the technology of gunpowder. The Spanish were even able to hold their own with simple weapons such as swords and crossbows. Secondly the Spanish had an array of alliances. On Cortes’ first conquest he battled the local indians which in tern became an allied force on his voyage of Mexico.
Before the 15th century, the Indians in the Americas were not connected with the world and would remain that way until Columbus's exploration. In the beginning of 15th century, the Aztecs were the dominant group in Mesoamerica leaded by Montezuma, the last leader, before the Spanish conquest. In 1519, Hernan Cortez led the Spanish mission to explore and conquer the New World. This paper will compare three primary sources about this event. First, an informing letter sent from Cortez to King Charles V, the king of Spain. Second, the Broken Spears which is an Indian recollection about the conquest of Mexico. Lastly, Bernal Diaz’s (one of Cortez’s men) account was written by him to share his experience with Aztec civilization. Moreover, this paper will show the credibility of Diaz’s account compared to the other sources because the objectivity of his tone, written after a while of the event, and the author’s great experience and his independent purpose of the source.
The Aztec and Mongol empires were large, expansive realms that shared many similarities in their rise to power, but also had some differences. The Aztec and Mongol Empire's rise to power were similar politically in that they both conquered neighboring nations, similar socially in that their social structures both emphasized warriors, but were different economically in that the Aztecs relied on tributes from conquered lands to fund their expansion whereas the Mongols destroyed lands they conquered to prevent challenges to their power.
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 sacrifice, which was seen by the Spanish as a disgusting act, this trigged Spanish hatred for the Aztecs. When the Spanish saw the resources that the Aztecs had, they quickly started taking advantage of the Aztecs weaknesses. The Spanish had more power; they were better equipped than the Aztecs and more advanced. The Aztecs’ leader Montecuhzoma was a weak leader, he was more of a coward, more concerned with his well being and safety than the safety of his people and kingdom so he quickly surrendered under pressure. The Spanish used surrounding enemy tribes to take over the Aztec lands, then began to massacre men, women and children. When the Aztec became angry and started to fight back, they were quickly wrecked by the diseases the Spanish ...
From 711-1492, Christian Spaniards lived under Moorish rule until eventually, the Christian Kingdoms took over during the Reconquista. The conflicts between the Muslims and Christians created a militaristic culture in Spain that surpassed that of any other European nation. Furthermore, being trained militarily was often exclusively attributed to the nobility however, in Spain, “many young men knew these skills and used them to their advantage.” Without a doubt, recently reconquering their homeland motivated the Spanish to a basis for expansion and conquest that most other European societies were lacking. In addition, the voyages of Christopher Columbus led to discovering the New World which undoubtedly contributed to added interest in conquest. Eventually, each conquest further raised Spanish hopes for fame and
Admittedly, these men are responsible for much of the exploration of the America’s, but to focus on so few of the explorers ignores how reactive their actions were, and the larger narrative of the world at that time (4). For example, Columbus is praised and idolized for discovering the America’s, however it was only by luck that he arrived on those shores. Moreover, there were many other explorers at the time who could have reached the America’s if Columbus had not done so first (9). Another man who is seen as the key figure in the actual Conquest is Cortes. Cortes’ campaign in the America’s is commonly viewed as the standard to strive for, yet it is also the exception to a typical conquest (19). He is viewed as some above-it-all conquistador idol, when in all actuality he merely followed the standard protocol of the Conquest (19). This does not mean that Cortes’ actions were any less inspirational, merely that they were not uncharacteristic acts that he created (19). Both Columbus and Cortes were merely following standard procedure of the time, yet they are written about as if they were heroes of their time, bravely going and doing what none had done before. And in some sense, they were the first to discover and conquer, but it is foolish to assume that just because they were the first to be in the America’s
Cortes was able to conquer the Aztecs for several very different reasons. In combination these reasons allowed him to have the upper hand in the conquest of Mexico. Arguably these reasons can be sorted into six different categories. The various causes for Cortes' success will be assessed in a climax pattern. To begin with the Aztecs had a harsh tribute system that was not popular among the people of Mexico. This cruel tribute system allowed Cortes to act as a liberator. Furthermore, with the Spanish brought several diseases into Mexico in witch they were immune to but the Aztecs were not. The spread of diseases such as small pox reduced the Aztec population and furthered Cortes' success unintentionally Also Marina was a tribal girl given as a gift to Cortes, she proved invaluable in translating local dialects in combination with Geronimo de Aguilar. Also an important aspect of his success was due to Montezuma's belief that Cortes was Quetzakoatl. A predominant reason for the Spanish success was due to their weaponry especially their armour and firepower. Perhaps the most important reason of all was that of Cortes' Indian allies such as the Tlaxcalans who made up the majority of his combined army. All these reasons worked together to allow Cortes, originally with 508 men to conquer the Aztec Empire of millions of people.
The Aztec’s and the Inca’s have many similarities such as religious beliefs, and views about gods. Inca’s views about training for war are different, and the Aztec’s artifacts are somewhat different to. The farm land compared to the Inca’s is differs also, because where the Aztec’s lived the land was elevated about ten thousand feet.
The following Essay must be a minimum of 5 paragraphs of 10-12 sentences each (a sentence is 10 words or more) .
Spanish armies had a taste for conquest. ”It has been argued that after 750 years of fighting against the "infidel," the Spanish were psychologically committed to "conquest" but needed new territories. Christopher Columbus, who set sail in 1492, who may have witnessed the Fall of Granada, may have thought that in the East (which he thought he would reach by sailing West which of course he would have done if he had not stopped on the way) he would find the legendary Prester John, and persuade him to attack the Muslim world from the East while European Christians did so from the West.[9] Instead leading the Spanish to the Americas, Columbus set in motion the Spanish conquest of what they called the New World. There, fresh from defeating the Muslims as crusaders for Christ, with "sword in one hand and Bible in the other" they "arrived like thunderbolts among the unsuspecting native population." What followed has been described as cultural genocide, "the Spanish robbed the Indians of their language, their culture and their dignity."[10] 1492 changed the history of the world.”750 years of war would leave a desire for conquest in your mouth so it is easy to see why the Spanish would want to conquer more. Spanish conquest of the new world can be seen as good and bad, depending on who you are it can be because what they did was basically genocide, it could also be classified as good because they
One of the clearest examples of a conquest culture is Latin American Catholicism, which originated in the Aztec civilization before the Spanish conquest. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire began in 1519 and lasted for two years. The In order to achieve such a swift victory over a massive empire, the Spanish allied itself with the numerous rival tribes of the Aztecs in addition to its own men. Throughout the Spanish conqu...
The Spanish conquest of the Inca in the 1500s A.D. was an event that significantly changed the peoples of South America by leading to the decline of the Inca Empire. This essay discusses why in the last millennium the Europeans were the people who were able to conquer so many of the world’s great civilizations and control so much of the world. While there were other Europeans that conquered other groups of people, this essay focuses on the Spanish and the Incas. Motivation to conquer and ability to do so (such as steel and immunity to diseases) are the key aspects in Europeans gaining power of much of the world that this essay discusses.
... (Schweikart 5-6). The Aztecs’ greed for sacrificial hostages turned these Indian neighbors against them (Kingfisher 196-197). The Aztecs were defeated, partially because they had been weakened by smallpox, but also because the Spanish fought together as a single force, while Aztecs fought as individuals (Schweikart 6-7).
In the early 1500 the Spanish empire and its rulers kept spending money that they did not have, and as time went on and each leader came and went they kept losing more and more power. The time period that I focused on was the age of exploration and the reasons why the empire of Spain fell. Carlos the first was ruled from 1516-1556. During his rule they conquered the Inca and the Aztec empires and established and empire that had two administrative divisions. The first was the Vice royalty of New Spain that was located in North America in 1521 and the Vice royalty of Peru which was located in South America and was established in 1542. The Aztec and Inca empire were easily conquered by the Spanish because their administrative structures were the
The Incan and Aztec Empire were two of the largest Mesoamerican empires to be created. Religion was one of the most important aspects in these two civilizations. The two religions had similarities and differences.
In 1519 Hernán Cortés led a couple hundred other Spaniards inland to the impressive Empire of the Mexica ruled by the Great Montezuma. Many historians today tell how quickly and almost effortlessly these Spaniards conquered the Empire. They paint an image of ignorant, helpless Indians practically giving up their land out of fear of this group because certainly the Spaniards must be gods since they have powerful weapons and strange animals. We know neither Cortés nor any of his men were gods, of course, but what was it that allowed Cortés to prevail over the inhabitants of the land?