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Chapter 1: When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe: Conquest. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations. The Aztecs. Lands of the Aztecs. Ruins of the City Center, Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the Americas. Aztec Chinampa or Floating Garden: 15ft. to 30ft. wide.
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Chapter 1: When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe: Conquest
Aztec Writing Aztec Math
Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca(11,000 ft. above sea level)
Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes Cultivated by the Incans
Incan Ceramic Jars Peanut Potato Squash Cacao God Cacao Pod
Pictures of the day Demotivators from despair.com
The Age of Early European Explorations & Conquests
The First Spanish Conquests:The Aztecs vs. Fernando Cortez Montezuma II
The Aztecs • 5,000,000-10,000,000 people • 500 cities • Capital city of Tenochtitolan (200,000-300,000 people) • Citizens paid taxes, had police force, education system • Advanced system of irrigation • Human sacrifices
Conquest of the Aztecs • Cortes arrives in Mexico in February, 1519 • He immediately allied with the Tlaxcalan tribe- main rivals of the Aztecs • By November of 1519, Cortes had reached Tenochtitlan where he was welcomed by Moctezuma and even allowed to stay with him at the palace • At this point Moctezuma is taken prisoner by the Spaniards and held for a huge ransom in gold • Cortes then has to go fight another Spanish sent to arrest him for treason- when he returns he finds the Aztecs in full revolt • Cortes orders Moctezuma to speak to Aztecs who proceed to throw stones at him
The Death of Montezuma II- 1520 Accounts vary as to how
Conquest of the Aztecs • Moctezuma dies from his injuries (supposedly) • Spanish are forced to flee at this point but they grab all the gold they can carry • Over 600 Spaniards and thousands of Indian allies are killed in the escape- weighed down by gold • Early 1521, Cortes returns and surrounds Tenochtitlan and lays siege for 8 months. • Smallpox rages through the city as well (at least 1/3 of the population died in 6 months) • August, 1521- the Aztecs surrender
The First Spanish Conquests:The Incas vs. Francisco Pizarro Atahualpa
The First Spanish Conquests:The Incas • Pizarro landed with 180 men in January 1531 with the goal of conquering the Inca Empire • First met Atahualpa and demanded that he convert to Christianity or be considered an enemy of the Church and of Spain- Atahualpa refused • Atahualpa was then captured and held ransom, put on trial and found guilty of revolting against Spain- sentenced to be burned • He converted to Catholicism and was “only” strangled instead • In subsequent battles, Spanish cannons and cavalry proved far superior to Incan strategies and defeat came quickly