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Miss Cummings Global History & Geography 9 Hernando Cortes and the Fall of the Aztec Empire AIM: To what extent did the culture and religion of the Aztecs contribute to the fall of the empire? Hernando Cortes Letter to Charles V They have a custom, horrible, and abominable, and deserving punishment…Whenever they ask anything of their gods, in order for their request to be fulfilled, they take many boys, girls, men, and women, and in the presence of the statues of their gods they cut open their chests. While they are still alive they take out their hearts and entrails. Then they burn the organs, offering the smoke as a sacrifice to their gods…No year passes in which they do not kill and sacrifice 50 souls at each temple in their kingdom… I did everything I could to steer them away from their false gods and to draw them to our Lord God. Montezuma agreed that I probably knew best…He said that as long as I taught the Aztecs our religion they would follow my directions. Therefore, I removed the statues of the false gods, cleaned the temples, and taught the people our religion. The rest of the Aztecs did not accept the new religion that I was giving them. They did make sure, though, that they did not sacrifice any more humans while I was in the city… 1. Why does Cortes oppose the religious beliefs of the native people? 2. Why do you think the Aztecs would not change their religious beliefs? REMEMBER YOUR Geography Located in modern day Mexico, and Tenochtitlan was the capital city and is located in what is now present day Mexico City. • Five square miles approximately 3200 acres • Population 200,000 Geography • Mountain basin 7,500 feet above sea level, large lakes, fertile soil. Teotihuacán and Toltec settle in valley, and develop civilizations An Early City-State • Teotihuacán city-state rises in first century A.D. • At peak, in 500s, city has up to 200,000 people • Serves as center of trade, especially of obsidian— volcanic glass • City quickly declines; by 750 it is abandoned Geography Toltecs Take Over • About 900, Toltecs rise to power; rule for about 300 years • A warlike people, they rule by conquest • They worship fierce war god and offer human sacrifices • Toltec ruler Topiltzin tries to change religion, end human sacrifice • Encourages worship of Quetzalcoatl—“Feathered Serpent”—a new god • He is exiled to Yucatán Peninsula; by early 1200s, Toltec rule ends Warrior in armor. Geography Arrival of the Aztecs • Aztecs (or Mexica) arrive around 1200, begin working as soldiers • By own legend, a god leads them to found city of Tenochtitlán Tenochtitlan Religion Birthplace of Quetzalcoatl Temple of Quetzalcoatl with magnificent heads of plumed serpents built into the walls were built for religious purposes. Religion Teotihuacan’s city state in 600-500 BCE • From Pyramid of the Sun – 5 Gods, the 5th God came down and built the Earth, he took on an Earthly Form and was named Quetzalcoatl “Plumed Serpent” • A calendar established based on the movement of Venus. Created a “Venus War Cult ”—to go to war to appease “Quetzalcoatl” • Blood Sacrifice of Warriors as part of war. • If no blood is offered to the gods, the world will end. Religion Main deity in the Aztec religion was Huitzilopochtli and was known as both the sun god and war god. • Human sacrifice was practiced heavily in the Aztec religion. • Believed that these sacrifices gave power to the gods which in turn would insure the survival of the Aztec civilization. • War captives were used in the sacrifices • In times of peace the Aztec would have to resort to ritualistic warfare. • In the year 1487 the Aztecs reported killing 84,400 war prisoners in four days at the great pyramid of Tenochitlan. • After a town was conquered the inhabitants where no longer eligible of sacrifice and became Aztec citizens Achievements • Built Infrastructure • Built causeways (raised roads) across water or wet ground, so people could access the city. • Built stone canals to bring water to the city and floating gardens to raise food and flowers. • Astronomy • Calendar like the Mayans, but they also tracked the movements of some planets and predict elipses • Chinampas (Floating Gardens) • Used to make up for lack of farmland; could harvest 2-3 crops per year Achievements • Written Record—Kept by the Priests • Glyphs- symbols that represented both objects and sounds. • Mathematics/Counting System • Kept track of tax record and business details. • Schooling • Boys: studies religion or military skills • Girls: learned cloth spinning and cooking • Medicine • Doctors create 1000s of medicines from plants Political The Aztec empire was made up of a series of city-states known as altepetl. Each altepetl was ruled by a supreme leader (tlatoani) and a supreme judge and administrator (cihuacoatl). Political • Aztecs Grow Stronger • Triple Alliance—1428 agreement of Aztec and two other city-states • By early 1500s, Aztecs have large empire and rule • 5–15 million people • Power comes from tribute resulting from conquests Political • The Aztecs were ruled by an emperor, who lived in the palace in the capital city. • The emperor placed one noble in charge of each city. The nobles were supposed run their city as the emperor directed, but in truth, most nobles ran their cities any way they wanted. • The laws of the Aztec people were for ALL people, in ALL cities. • These laws were written down. • If you broke the law, your punishment was listed, along with the law. • One Time Forgiveness Law* Political • The Aztec government was well organized, but both the emperor and the nobles had their hands full with the problems of a growing population. • They needed to grow more food, • They needed to build more schools, • They needed to fill more storehouses. • They needed to create more temples. • They also needed more captives, people they could sacrifice to feed their hungry gods. • Around 1400 CE, the Aztecs answer was war. • demanded tribute from conquered tribes. • Tribute was paid in the form of food, clothing, building supplies, captives, and whatever else of worth the conquered tribe might owe. Either the conquered tribe paid the tribute, or they would be sacrificed. Political Montezuma • Leader of the Aztec in 1502 • Fears Quetzalcoatl—Aztec serpent God expected to return to take his throne • Calls for more tribute Economics • Agriculture • Mainly Maize! • * Tribute from conquered peoples • Built Chinampas • Pochteca—Special merchant class which specialized in long distance trade • Cacao beans and Gold dust were often used as currency; bartering was common Aztecs had a huge supply of gold in their empire. Social Social Classes KING PRIESTS & WARRIORS WARRIORS, MERCHANTS, ARTISANS & FARMERS SLAVES & PRISONERS OF WAR Emperor—power is absolute, lives in palace, is revered Noble Class military leaders, officials, and priests • Nobles Rule Aztec Society • Nobles own vast estates, live life of wealth and luxury Commoners: • Warriors—could become nobles by capturing and killing enemies • Merchants—often acted as spies for the empire • Artisans—passed skills to their children • Farmers—made up most of the population Lowest Class— enslaved people Though people were born into a certain class it was possible to move up the ranks within a life time. Hernando Cortes 1511-1540 Hernando Cortes • Cortes has heard rumors about cities of gold in North America • Governor wants Cortes to claim land and look for gold in Mexico • Cortes leaves for “gold” land to the West Arrival of the Spanish Hernando Cortes —the Spanish conquistador (conqueror), landed on the shores of central Mexico in April 1519, seeking the 3 “G”s; Glory, God & Gold. • With him were over 550 men, 16 horses, 14 cannons, and a few dogs. Conclusion 1. What contributed to the fall of the Aztec Empire? A. Too many Enemies 1) Aztecs used brutal force towards its neighboring tribes and city-states and forced them to pay high tributes and hand over people for human sacrifices. B. Lack of Leadership 1) Montezuma believed that Cortez was the God from the prophecy; The bearded god that would conquer his people and bring peace. He didn’t know how to confront him and he was eventually captured and killed. Conclusion 2. How did religion contribute to violence in the Aztec culture? A. Religion contributed due to the human sacrifices and wars waged in need to satisfy their Gods. 3. Why were the Spanish able to easily beat the Aztecs? A. Superior weapons, Guns, trained horses and dogs, and fully loaded warships 4. How did smallpox affect the Aztec civilization? A. It decimated the Aztec population and killed over 100,000 people Conclusion To what extent did the culture and religion of the Aztecs contribute to the fall of their empire? Resources Hernando Cortes Founds Veracruz (city) • Claims Mexico for Spain • Burns his ships • Prevents his men from retreating At first Montezuma’s messengers present Cortes with gifts when he lands • Cortes is not pleased • “Is this all?” • Captures messengers and fires cannons to scare them • Cortes tells them that he has a disease which can only be cured by gold Arrival of the Spanish Pale skinned arriving from the East • Hears of pale skinned people on the coast • Thinks it Quetzalcoatl & Invites them to Tenochtitlan Cortez Conquers the Aztecs Moctezuma welcomed the Spanish into Tenochtitlan (the Aztec capital) saying, "It appears that our Lord has returned to his country. Go and receive him worthily."