Empires in the New World: Aztec and Inca

1) Explain and compare the conquest of the Inca and the Aztec empires.

The Aztec were the most powerful political force in Mesoamerica . The Aztec were forceful, strategic and powerful. They had many Native Americans that made up the Aztecs. The main two groups of people that comprised the Aztecs were the Mexica and the Nahuatl-speakers. Politically, socially and economically, the Aztecs were strong and prominent. This is what helped them stay in power for so long, but also eventually led to their ultimate demise. They took over much of central Mexico; conquering parts of Oaxaca, Guatemala and the Gulf Coast. They built temples, roads, worked on religious hierarchy and created a working society.

The Inca began their reign in 1438, in southwestern America after Prince Cusi Yupanqui forced his father to retire and renamed himself Pachacuti . The Inca’s capital was Cuzco. Because Pachacuti did not have a real history, he fathomed one and had it “predict” his arrival. He actually took the title of emperor from someone else upon forcing his father to retire. Unlike the Inca, the Aztecs had a rich history and structure.

The Aztecs began their reign in 1427 and their leader was Itzcoatl, who reigned until 1440. Of the two groups that made up the Aztecs, the Mexica were the most powerful and aggressive and are typically who are referenced when describing the Aztecs. From 1427 to 1440, the Mexica became allies with two surrounding city-states: Texcoco and Tlacopan, forming the Triple Alliance. The new alliance eventually conquered the city of Atzcapotzalco and gained control over much of central Mexico and their capital was Tenochtitlan. By the early sixteenth century, only a few unconquered people existed in various parts of central M...

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...he Portuguese Americas. They both chose to relocate the indigenous people. The Spanish Americas were more successful than the Portuguese because of the diseases inflicted upon the Native Americans by the Portuguese. Each power (Spanish and Portuguese) wanted to regulate the Native Americans. Again, the Spanish were more successful. Even with the Spanish being greedy and wanting to take advantage of the land and the fruits it had to offer, they first instilled structure by forming a type of government. The Portuguese allowed the power to lie in the hand of the group of people who had wealth and could buy their way into powerful positions.

Bibliography

Mark Burkholder and Lyman Johnson, Colonial Latin America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Matthew Restall and Kris Lane, Latin America in Colonial Times. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.