...The conquest of the Aztec empire was a world-changing phenomenon that led to Spanish colonization and what know is known as modern day Mexico. Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez led the expedition in 1519 with his men in search for new territory to conquer. This event in history is significant because it brings history of past civilizations that went extinct after the terrorization of the Spanish conquest. To begin with, the Spanish had made several trips to Yucatan in 1517 with tales of gold and the Mayan civilization. These rumors gathered interest in the Spanish colonists, which made it all the way to Spanish governor of Cuba Diego de Velasquez. Diego de Velasquez provided Hernan Cortez with two or three ships and...
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...Ahmad Nourzaie Hist 2b Response #1 Aztec Awe The Aztec Empire is regarded as the greatest Mesoamerican empire of all time. Their Empire stretched for more than 80,000 square miles through what is now central and southern Mexico. Tenochtitlán was the capital city of this great Empire; and the location of the eventual fall of the Empire. Hernán Cortés was the Spanish conquistador that conquered the Aztecs during the period of 1519-1521. One of Cortés’ foot soldiers was a man by the name of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, who later wrote of his experience upon entering Tenochtitlán. Díaz wrote his account many years after the events he described; in order to create a much more honest description of the conquest in response to the contemporary reiteration of the historians of his day. In his account, Díaz seemed to be very taken aback by the Aztecs; in regards to their fighting, their city, and their rituals. Díaz who although was a very firm believer in Spain’s conquest of Aztecs; had a level of respect and admiration for the Aztec. Díaz was first and foremost a soldier; he never seemed to have any second thoughts in regards to his role as a soldier, he always fought, and believed he was fighting for the right cause. Throughout Díaz’s war account; he mentions God, which illuminates the fact that beyond the monetary goal of this conquest; there was a sense of doing God’s work. “In that small platform were many more diabolical objects, trumpets great and small...
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...Throughout the course of history, the main goal of many empires was to first survive in the harsh word, and then gain power in the world against fellow empires. For empires of the 15th and 16th century, that goal for survival and power was achieved, but not after a long and hard struggle, as neighboring empires where always a threat, and deadly outbreaks such as the Black Death decimated populations throughout Europe and surrounding areas. During this time, the Malian, French, and Aztec nation states used trade and conquest to survive, while establishing or reviving monarchal rule, with a degree of local government, to remain in political power. One of the nation-states that flourished into an empire long before the Atlantic trade world was...
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...February 16, 2014 Spanish Conquest The Aztec civilization during its peak was the strongest civilization in the western hemisphere. When the Spaniards first came to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, they could not believe that a civilization so undeveloped in their minds could have been so culturally developed and powerful. As said by the article (Clendinnen1991:79) “the city fell to the combined forces of Cortes and an assortment of Indian “allies”. Indians had tension with the Aztecs, which was learned by the Spaniards and was taken advantage of by full force provoking internal and already existing problems that existed within the two groups of. This exploration of understanding and examining people was what the Spaniards were best at. (Clendinnen1991:66) Those internal and existing are factors to blame for the downfall of the Aztec Empire. The exploration was focused on sources that came from the period such as that of Bernal Diaz Del Castillo and Bernardino de Sahagún, along with the most notable conquistador Cortes that also had a major role to the conquest of the Aztec empire. Although many believe that the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs due to their better weaponry or the epidemic of deadly diseases, there were a great amount of factors, primarily the alliance that Cortes made with the Tlaxcala, which the Spanish used to take advantage of the Aztec people. Many historians argue that the Tlaxcala were already on the verge of a war with the Aztec people and that the Spaniards...
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...significance of the leadership of Cortes for the conquest of Mexico and its immediate consequences’ Cortes is a man who historians have studied for a long time and there is a vast amount of evidence about him and the conquest that he led to Southern America. The evidence clearly indicates that Cortes was the driving force behind the conquest of Mexico. In 1519 Hernan Cortes and his men landed in Tenochtitlan in search of power and wealth. Word quickly spread to the king, Montezuma. He heard that men had arrived from a faraway land with ‘sticks that spit fire and deer as big as houses’ had landed on the coast. This panicked the Aztec people as they believed in a fatalistic religion that predicted that Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of war, would return in that exact year to punish them. This set up an instant tension between the two oppositions that meant Cortes would have to lead his men if they were going to conquer this land in the name of God. It’s obvious that Cortes was a very confident and cunning man, as he disobeyed the rulings of the Governor of Cuba and went unbeknownst to the current ruler of Spain, Charles V. This put a huge amount of pressure on Cortes because he either succeeded in his campaign for power or he would be sentenced to death. Leading a group of five hundred men into a strange and unknown land was never going to be a simple task but the characteristics of Cortes’ leadership were a driving force in the conquest of Mexico. This becomes evident from the examination...
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...emperor. 3. Cannibal Law 1503- In 1503 Queen Isabella of Spain, created a law that prohibited the arrest or capture of her new children stating further that, no harm or evil was permitted against their person or possessions. 4. Royal Fifth- An old royal tax that reserves to monarch for metals acquired by subjects as treasure or extracted mining, instituted in Muslim states. III. Specific Identifications: 1. Hernan Cortes- Spanish conquistador, who defeated the Aztecs and conquered Mexico, led an expedition and brought large portions of mainland Mexico. 2. Hernando De Soto- Spanish explorer and conquistador while leading the first European expedition into territory of the modern-day United State. 3. Montezuma II- Last Aztec emperor in Mexico and was overthrown and killed by Hernando Cortés. 4. Francisco Pizarro- who conquered the Inca Empire or what is now called Peru or founded the city of Lima. 5. Ferdinand & Isabel- Known for funding conquistadors to expand their empire overseas or uniting disparate kingdoms into what eventually became modern Spain. They were a religious couple in a since it took them 10 years to conquered the last Muslim stronghold to convert their land under...
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...people who have heard about the Aztecs and their empire, but are they aware what truly brought the Aztec civilization to a screeching halt? Among other things the Conquistadors had the largest influence in the downfall of the Aztec Empire. According to a well-known historical anthropologist by the name of Ross Hassig the conquest to Mexico (which was where the Aztecs lived) has captured historians' interest for centuries and the expedition has undergone relentless investigation. The conquistadors took over the Aztec Empire which became known as Mexico, and later became under Spain's control. Since the Conquistadors were from a different civilized part of the world, they had advanced weaponry to aid them in the great feat. Not only did the Spanish, or better known as conquistadors, bring unknown weapons they also brought unknown diseases which was a detriment to the fall of the Aztec Empire. Spain sent conquistadors to Mexico to expand their empire and Herman Cortes was ultimately considered the Gran Conquistador since it was his expedition that led to the conquest of Mexico and the fall of the Aztecs (Levy, 332). Cortes arrived on the shores of Mexico with an army of conquistadors with the intent to expand the Spanish empire. On his journey he schemed to covert the native inhabitants to Catholicism and carry of a fortune of gold, of course the only thing that stood in his way were the Aztecs. Tenochtitlan, the city in which the Aztecs resided, was where Cortes met his...
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...The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (begun February 1519) was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The conquest must be understood within the context of Spanish patterns on the Iberian Peninsula during the Reconquista by Christians, defeating the Muslims, who had ruled the peninsula since 711. These patterns extended to the Caribbean following Christopher Columbus' establishment of permanent European settlement in the Caribbean. The Spanish authorized expeditions or entradas for the discovery, conquest, and colonization of new territory, using existing Spanish settlements as a base. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before. In fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a whole generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme (Central America), learning strategy and tactics of successful enterprises. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices.[2] The Spanish campaign began in February 1519, and was declared victorious on August 13, 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Hernán Cortés and Xicotencatl the Younger captured the emperor Cuauhtemoc and Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. During the campaign, Cortés was given support from a number of tributaries and rivals of the Aztecs, including the Totonacs, and the Tlaxcaltecas, Texcocans...
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...European conquest had various forms of economic and social organization. Some had developed urban societies and other practiced only simple farming, or some were hunters and gatherers. The characteristics between the populations were the belief in gods, agriculture, architecture that was huge, mathematics, astronomy regarding calendars, the use of their environments and the conquest of populations. The Aztecs and Incas differ in many respects, both cultural and social as religious and economic. “The Aztecs were a people Nahuatl origin that happened and beat other people of the same origin; they dominated almost the entire territory of Mexico ”. One of the important features that should be mentioned is the religion; “The Aztecs were polytheistic, rendered cult the sun and the other stars the sun being the most important. The sacrifices, human and animal, were an integral part of Aztec religion. For warriors the highest honor was to fall in battle or to volunteer for sacrifice in important ceremonies. They were convinced that they should feed their gods with human blood so they performed human sacrifices ”. In the economic side, agriculture was the basis of life of the Aztecs, “the number of cultivated species was abundant. In the other hand, Livestock was very poor, since the number of domesticated animals was very low: the most important were the turkey and several species of dogs, one of which was to consume meat” . One of the techniques developed by the Aztecs were...
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...Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador that caused the fall of the Aztec empire in the 16th century with intentions of seeking land for the Spanish. It’s evident that 3 factors worked to his advantage against the Aztec as he conquered them and there king Montezuma with relative ease in the years of 1519-1521. These are the occupant of indigenous interpreter and allies, the Spanish advanced weapons and armour and the foreign diseases. Those elements assisted Cortes conquer the Aztecs and making major historical events that changed the world. One of the biggest things that assisted Cortes conquer Tenochtitlan would be his occupant of indigenous interpreters and allies. Cortes arrived in Mexico in 1519 without any sort of knowledge of their...
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...Aztec Questions and Statements - 1 Statements 1) Positive – Statement - SS 2) Positive – Statement - SS The Aztecs ruled over 500 small states and their population was over 5 to 6 million people. They expanded by conquest or commerce. Conquest is when you take over people by force. Commerce is when you take over people by negotiation/deals. The city of Tenochtitlan at its peak had over 140 000 people and the city was the most populated city in Mesoamerica. The Aztecs, the Texcobans and the Tacubans formed an alliance to conquer the Tepanecs’ city, Azcapotzalco. Tepanec is later then taken over by the Spanish to form their new colony of Cuba. 3) Positive – Statement - SS The Aztecs had a legend. The Aztecs believed that Huitzilopochtli,...
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...the development and the nature of the Byzantine institutions (church and state), social and urban life, and cultural achievements? Answer: Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire from about the 5th century until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. (The Roman Empire during this period is conventionally known as the Byzantine Empire.) The term can also be used for the art of states which were contemporary with the Byzantine Empire and shared a common culture with it, without actually being part of it, such as Bulgaria, Serbia or Russia, and also Venice, which had close ties to the Byzantine Empire despite being in other respects part of western European culture. It can also be used for the art of peoples of the former Byzantine Empire under the rule of the Ottoman Empire after 1453. In some respects the Byzantine artistic tradition has continued in Greece, Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the present day. The finest work, the most elegant, and the most accomplished technically, was, naturally enough, associated with the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, which was the very hub of the civilized world from the foundation of the city as capital around 330 till its conquest by the Turks in 1453. But there were other great centers too. In Rome, Milan, Ravenna, and elsewhere in the West works of the greatest importance that were in no way provincial were executed in the early years of Christendom, though little...
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...introduced to an indigenous belief system and the traditions of the two systems intertwined and the new heterogeneous religion depicts characteristics of the component conglomerate of religious believes. Religious conversion refers to a continuous and consistent process of change in the religious believers’ practices. This is often realized through adoption of new systems and practice by abandoning some of their practices which may be considered as archaic (Hassing 247-248). Integration of the two ideologies explains certain religious factors which appear to be integrated between several bodies of religious belief systems. In movie The Other Conquest, the producer displays out two different belief systems adopted by the Spanish and the natives of the Aztec empire found in Mexico. The opening scene shows Topiltizn, the illegitimate son of Aztec Emperor named Moctezuma, thrashs about to move out from under a corpse. He survived the massacre at their place of worship had been raided by Cotes, he gradually puts himself together and finally manages to free himself but bumps into his mother’s lifeless body covered in mud. The entire scene depicts a transformation process that signify a change to an order which more human comprehension to the whole dynamic of religion and sacrifices (Domingo, La otra conquista).Therefore, this symbolizes...
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...130 Individual Research Paper The Aztecs and the role of Human Sacrifice The Aztec was a culture that dominated the Valley of Mexico in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. All the Nahua-speaking peoples in the Valley of Mexico were Aztecs, while the culture that dominated the area was Tenochca. At the time of the European conquest, they called themselves either "Tenochca" or "Toltec," which was the name assumed by the bearers of the Classic Mesoamerican culture, stated in Manuel Aguilar-Moreno’s book, Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Sadly, many of the Aztec didn't survive after the arrival of the Europeans. But during the earlier years, the Aztec became one of the most advanced civilizations because of their religion, war, and agriculture. The Aztecs gained an infamous reputation for their bloodthirsty human sacrifices with explicit tales of the beating heart being ripped from the still-conscious victims, decapitation, skinning and dismemberment. All of these things did happen but it is important to remember that for the Aztecs the act of sacrifice was a strictly ritualized process that gave the highest possible honor to the gods and was regarded as a necessity to ensure mankind’s continued prosperity. The Aztecs were not the first civilization in Mesoamerica to practice human sacrifice; human sacrifice was practiced to some extent by many peoples in Mesoamerica and around the world for many centuries. But it was the Aztec empire that really took the ritual to new...
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...Jose Beltan Beltran 1 Dr. Karanovich History 100 August 2007 Mesoamerica: The land that witnessed it all, the peoples, the culture, and the conquest. The land referred to as Mesoamerica runs west from a point on the Gulf coast of Mexico above what today is the port of Tampico, then expands south to the central desert of highland Mexico, meeting the Pacific coast. On the southeast, the land extends from northwestern Honduras on the Caribbean across to the Pacific shore in El Salvador. About half of Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador are included in Meso-America. This land has great history to it, it is the land that fostered great civilizations and cultures, it is the land where great artifacts were built, where agriculture flourished to support thousands of civilians, and where a brutal and macabre conquest took place. This land witnessed it all. It is important that we understand the history of this land, because if we do, we can understand who founded its cities, who dominated this region, and what Gods influenced its peoples, and who explored it, invaded and colonized this land. It is very uncertain when we speak about the Mexica (people of Mesoamerica) people, because we know very little about them. Much of the information that has been gathered about them comes from large scale excavations, and archeological endeavors that have found ancient ruins, sculptures, temples and the like. But, the things that we...
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