Download 16.3 – Aztecs Control Central Mexico

16.3 – Aztecs Control Central
Mexico
Valley of Mexico
• Mountainous basin high
above sea level
• Large shallow lakes &
the center
• Large quantities of
accessible resources
• Very fertile soil
• Attractive area for
people to develop a
civilization
“City of the Gods”
• 1st major civilization = citystate of Teotihuacán (~200k
people)
• Contained 20+ pyramids
dedicated to the gods
• Apartment-block housing for
the people
• Center of a trade for Central
America
– Obsidian = weapons
• Conquer & influence much of
Mesoamerica
• City mysteriously abandoned
in 750 A.D.
• ~900 A.D. – Toltecs rise to
power
• Rule from Tula (capital)
• Warlike people centered on
conquest = practice human
sacrifice
• After 1000: Topiltzin tries to
follow Quetzalcoatl
(Feathered Serpent)
– Warriors revolt & he is
exiled
• Toltecs decline afterwards &
lose power by early 1200s
Toltecs
Empire
• 1200: Aztecs enter valley
• Poor nomadic people
from Northern Mexico
– Adapt culture & work
as mercenaries
• Huitzilopochtli (God of
Sun) tells Aztecs to found
own city (p. 454)
• 1325: Found Tenochtitlán
on Lake Texcoco
• 1428: Form the Triple
Alliance w/ Texcoco &
Tlacopan
• Early 1500s: Empire
stretches 80k sq. miles &
contains 5-15m people
• Power based on military
conquest & tribute
– Gold, cotton, jade, etc.
• Often allowed local rulers
to maintain power
• Brutally put down
resistance – slaughter
villages
Aztec Power
Society
• Emperor = absolute
power
• Noble Class – military
leaders, government
officials, & priests
– Ruled as lords of estates
• Commoners –
merchants, artisans,
farmers, & soldiers
– Own land
– Merchants – elite, travel
as spies, gain wealth
• Enslaved Persons – low
• Early 1500s: 200-400k
people
• 3 causeways connected city
w/ mainland
• City connected by vast
network of roads
• Tlatelolco (market): traded
all goods of the empire
• Food supplied by chinampas
(raised land on marshes)
• Center: Palaces, temples, &
the Great Temple (Sun &
Rain Gods)
Tenochtitlán
Chinampas
Religion
• Religion ruled Aztec life
– Worshipped ~1,000 gods
• Adopt many gods from
other cultures (i.e.
Quetzalcoatl)
• Practiced elaborate
public ceremonies
– Win favor of the gods
• Offerings, dances, songs,
& plays made up
ceremonies
• Calendar include festivals
to honor specific gods
• Huitzilopochtli (Sun God) =
most important = most
important rituals
– Made the sun rise & had to
fight evil to do it each day
• Practiced human sacrifice to
give him strength to fight
• Belief: Sun would not rise
w/o offerings & plunge
world into darkness
• Victims: slaves, criminals,
tributes, & prisoners-of-war
(main source)
Sacrifice
• 1502: Montezuma II
crowned emperor
• Provinces rebel due to
greater demands of tribute
& sacrifice
• Reforms fail & bad omens
occur
– Ex. Lightning striking the
Great Temple
• Greatest Threat = The
Spanish:
– Bring disease, guns & horses
– The return of Quetzalcoatl
Problems
Conquest of Mexico