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Aztecs. Mexico. The Aztecs ruled much of Central America between the 14 th Century and the 16 th Century. Their capital city was called Tenochtitlan which is now Mexico city. This was around the same time as the plantations came to Ireland. Co-operation.
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Mexico • The Aztecs ruled much of Central America between the 14th Century and the 16th Century. Their capital city was called Tenochtitlan which is now Mexico city. This was around the same time as the plantations came to Ireland.
Co-operation • The Aztecs were actually a group of different tribes that worked together in Central America. • Things weren’t always peaceful between the tribes. • Agreements were made between tribes for trading reasons. Girls were used in arranged marriages to help with peace and trade.
Origins • Aztec legend states that their early people were nomadic. The people saw a vision of an eagle perched on a prickly cactus. This was a sign to settle by the swampy lake that later became the city Tenochtitlan.
Human Sacrifice Human sacrifices were often carried out to keep the gods happy for various reasons such as good harvests and keeping the sun moving. Sacrifices happened at the top of step pyramids.
Step Pyramids Step pyramids were a big part of Aztec culture. Temples were normally built at the top for worship.
Food • The Aztecs were a farming people with maize as one of their main crops. They used slaves (often captured form enemy tribes) to do the farming. • The Aztecs also ate and drank chocolate but this was saved for the rich in the Aztec society. • The Aztecs also drank alcohol. The drinks were made from plant extracts. This was also only for the rich. Any commoner caught drunk was put to death.
Pastimes • Aztecs played a sport that was a like a mixture of football and basketball. • The Aztecs also played a gambling game with pebbles and dried beans.
Fighting • The Aztecs had no actual army but boys were taught to fight in school. When a boy was born his umbilical cord was cut off and buried in the ground. This signified that he was destined for the battlefield one day. A boy became a man when he captured his first prisoner.
Eagle Warrior • Aztec warriors dressed in costumes to scare their enemies. Declarations of war were greeted with joy as they provided Aztec warriors with a chance to prove their bravery in battle.
Montezuma I • Montezuma I convinced the Aztec people that the Aztec Empire was always strong, getting people to forget about their small beginnings. • Montezuma also convinced the Aztec people that constant human sacrifices were needed to keep the sun moving.
Mother Earth God The Aztecs worshipped many gods including the sun and the earth.
Elders Elders in Aztec culture were treated with great respect. This old drawing is evidence of elders being given intoxicants.
Dress Aztec warriors often wore feathers to make themselves look more fierce in battle.
Conquistadors • During the 16th Century, Spain was one of the great powers in Europe. They had a strong navy and were set on conquering much of the ‘new world’ which had been found by Christopher Columbus. They sent conquistadors to *colonise America. • A lot of the evidence on the Aztecs come from Spanish conquistador diaries. *settle among and establish control over the indigenous people of an area
Conquistadors • Cortez landed on the coast of Mexico in 1521. He convinced the tribal enemies of the Aztecs to join him in conquering Tenochtitlan. • Montezuma II tried to befriend the Spanish and treated them like gods.
Signs • The Aztecs were very superstitious people. Several events happened just before the Spanish invasion such as a comet blazing across the sky, a temple burning down and a cry ghostly woman being heard. These events convinced the Aztecs that bad things were about to happen. • The ideas of doom were not helped by the fact that 1521 was a year in the Aztec calendar that meant rebirth, changes and dangerous events.
Nervous peace at first • Montezuma gave gifts of Aztec gold to Cortez and then invited him and his men to become guests in the palace in Tenochtitlan. Cortez later melted down the gold for material value.
The Aztec people became unhappy with the large Spanish army staying in Tenochtitlan so Montezuma asked Cortez for them to leave. • While much of the army was out of the city conquering more of central America the massacre at the temple happened.
Massacre at the temple • A fight broke out at a temple in Tenochtitlan where many Spanish were killed. The Spanish version of events is that they had interrupted a human sacrifice which upset the Aztecs. The Aztec version of events is that the Spanish were looking to take the gold from the temple.
Points of view • History has many examples of where you have to see both points of view to get the full version of the events. It is also said that history is only written by the winning side. What does this mean? Can you think of any examples in history where we are only getting one side of the story?
The fall of Tenochtitlan • Montezuma became a prisoner of his own palace under a type of house arrest. • Tensions were growing between the Spanish and Aztecs and soon open hostility began. • The Spanish escaped Tenochtitlan and went to the enemy tribes of the Aztecs for help.
The Spanish soon returned with their new reinforcements and destroyed Tenochtitlan as well as killing many and stealing much of the gold. Promises of power were made to the tribes that helped but soon broken. The locals were banned from any form of education. Why?
Mexican Food • Any tourist who suffers from diarrhoea while visiting Mexico is said to suffer from Montezuma’s revenge!
Aftermath • The conquest of the Aztec Empire encouraged Spain to look for more. The Incas in Peru were also conquered by the Spanish. European colonisation of the ‘new world’ was well underway.
