Aztecs 2 Essay, Research Paper

The Aztecs were the most powerful imperium of in all of the New World. For 100s of old ages, their imperium dominated all other folks, giving themselves more and more power. It took a great sum of fortune and leading to get the better of the mighty Aztecs. Hernando Cortes, led by his desire for gold, took on the Aztecs and succeeded. Pride, diseases, arms, integrity, and hocus-pocus from the Spanish all helped to hold the Aztec s rapid growing and take them from power in Mexico.

The first of the Aztecs entered the Valley of Mexico, which held many advanced civilisations. Those civilisations had productive farms and elephantine rock metropoliss ( Marks 119 ) . The Aztecs foremost settled on the shores of lake Texcoco. They became soldier of fortunes, which directed them towards organizing a great and adept ground forces ( Stein 27 ) . They for good settled on an island that they built their capital metropolis on ; Tenochtitlan, Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus, became the start of a powerful imperium ( Faber 116 ) .

After get the better ofing neighbouring folks, the Aztecs developed agribusiness, technology, and authorities. Enormous growing from their triumphs led to elaborate transit systems and more than 40 temples and pyramids in the capital ( Stein 27 ) . The pyramids and temples were used as worship evidences for many of the different Gods. Rain Gods, fire Gods, and harvest Gods were merely a few of the Gods that they worshiped. They believed that every natural happening in their day-to-day life was due to a God. The Aztecs practiced human forfeit to delight a God, frequently killing many captives from old wars. They believed that the Gods would penalize them if they did non give them adequate bloody forfeits. For illustration, Huitzilopochtil, the hummingbird, was believed to take the strength of the Aztec soldiers and cause great impairment the imperium ( Stein 29 ) .

Hernando Cortes, the adult male who was to convey down the imperium, was born in Medellin, Spain in 1485 to Martin Cortes de Monroy, and Dona Catalina Pizarro Altamirano. He attended the University of Salamanca to analyze jurisprudence, but showed small involvement in books ( Faber 118 ) . He was a really funny and idle immature male child, and sailed to the New World in 1504. He was portion of the conquering of Cuba. His conquerings were driven by his desire for gold and wealth. Deeply in debt for his epicurean vesture and ships, he set canvas from Cuba on February 10, 1519, to Mexico ( Faber 119 ) .

When Cortes landed on Mexico the Aztec male monarch, Moctezuma, got word from one of his smugglers that a adult male with light tegument and advanced arms had arrived. He was certain that this was Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec God whom Tezcatlipoca had defeated and forced into expatriate. Quezalcoatl left Mexico stating that he would return subsequently.

Convinced that Cortes was Quetzalcoatl, the Aztecs showered the Spaniards with gold and other fabulous gifts. Cortezs and his work forces became more and more dying to see the capital. He wrecked all of the ships so that cipher could run away for safety. He was determined to suppress the Aztecs.

Cortezs started inward towards the capital metropolis, Tenochtitlan. He met an Indian adult female named Marina Dona who had learned Spanish and became a Christian. She became a transcriber who played a elephantine function in their conquering. As Cortes marched towards the capitol, Moctezuma sent couriers who gave them more gifts. They besides told Cortes Do non come to Tenochtitlan. Turn back. We will give you gold. Turn back. Cortes continued further ( Hakim 92 ) . He heard many narratives of the power that the Aztecs and Moctezuma had. Dona Marina said that these people were largely husbandmans and despised the Aztecs.

He eventually reached Tenochtitlan and gasped at the sheer beauty of the metropolis. It was a five-mile square on an island. Three Bridgess that could be raised for any incoming onslaughts directed out of the metropolis. Houses were a shadiness of calcareous white or earth-red. Over 350,000 people lived in the capital ( Hakim 93 ) . They were by and large craftsmans, priests, warriors, merchandisers and authorities functionaries. Farming was done on the outside environing lands.

Cortezs decided that his work forces entirely could non get the better of the Aztecs, so he captured Moctezuma and forced him to seek and quiet down the rebellion. Moctezuma was stoned to decease, and Cuauhtemoc, Moctezuma s neph

electronic warfare, chased out the Spanish military personnels in a miracle that the Spanish refered to as el noch triste, or the sad dark ( Faber 125 ) . Cortes escaped to Tlaxcala, where he recruited other folks that hated the Aztecs to contend with them to triumph ( Stein 73 ) . He set out with a fresh ground forces for Tenochtitlan. Unknown to Cortes, spread variola sources had spread throughout the capital and wiped out many of the Aztecs. The Spaniards surrounded the metropolis and left the Aztecs to hunger indoors ( Dineen 57 ) . They refused to discontinue and take to decease contending in vain and pride ( Stein 78 ) . With the combination of the Spaniards superior arms, and the variola, the Aztec imperium crumbled.

The Aztecs fell to the Spanish because of a few different grounds. First, they had mistaken Cortes for their God Quetzalcoatl, who was expected to return in that twelvemonth. Their munificent gifts made him even more determined to suppress them. Cortes knew that the capital must hold been filled with gold and gems.

The Spanish had brought over the fatal disease, little syphilis. This fought like another ground forces against the Aztecs. It killed 1000s of people and the disease continued to distribute throughout the imperium. The Aztecs had no signifier of defence to halt or bring around this foreign disease.

The Spanish had superior arms. One pull of a trigger was much faster than the bows and arrows that the Aztecs had. One who was shot with the European guns would certainly decease. The cannons knocked down walls and plowed the manner through.

The Aztecs had no outside aid. The angry adjacent folks refused to assist them when they were contending because of hapless intervention ( Shepherd 51 ) . They found it as a good opportunity for payback after the Aztecs captured them for labour and forfeit.

Last, the Aztecs refused to discontinue. They were stubborn and would non discontinue even if their full capitol was destroyed. Towards the terminal of the conflict, the Aztecs were isolated from nutrient and H2O. They did non discontinue, and died with the civilisation ( Stein 80 ) . If they had realized their licking earlier, their civilization would likely still exist strongly in Mexico today.

Cortezs renamed the capital Mexico City and proclaimed himself governor. In order to maintain the staying Aztecs under control, he used the encomienda system and were all converted to Christianity ( Dineen 58 ) . Cortes built a Catholic cathedral over the remains of an Aztec temple, and packed their lake with Earth ( Hakim 95 ) . He sent great amounts of the Mexican riches back to Spain.

Immediately after the conquering of the Aztecs, Spain became the major power in Europe and the New World. They became rich from all of the gold, Ag, and other wealths. Cortes went on to populate a peaceable and comfy life in his sign of the zodiac in Mexico, everlastingly remembered as a great Spanish conquistador ( Faber 128 ) .

If non for the Spanish conquering, future adventurers would hold been discouraged from sailing to Mexico. The Aztecs, being a warlike imperium, would easy capture them and set them up for forfeit before the Spanish could even establish an onslaught. They would non be tricked once more. The Aztecs would besides be more prepared for the reaching of the Europeans. Once one of the Aztec smugglers spotted a ship, the message would be relayed, and they would wholly be set to make conflict. The Spanish had to do an all or nil onslaught on the Aztecs or acquire crushed by the expecting Aztec ground forces.

The Aztecs had a great sum of influence on the other folk. If the Spanish had lost, forfeits may still be present today. Cipher would dispute the Aztecs once more, so their civilization would go on to turn quickly. The universe today might non hold as advanced mechanical engineering. Giant industrial metropoliss would non be in America. Make into one paragraph. Religion would besides be wholly different. Multiple Gods would be worshiped alternatively of merely one God. Thingss in America and Mexico likely would non be as they do if non for Cortes s conquering.

The conquering of the Aztecs proved to be an astonishing effort of the Spanish. It moved Spain a elephantine measure towards complete control of the New World. Culture and land became dominated by Spain. The Spaniards triumph over the Aztecs left a new criterion of entire devastation for future conquistadors and adventurers seeking celebrity and luck.