The MexicaWhat Should History
Say?
Latin American StudiesMs. Almaraz
Make a JUDGEMENTBloodthirsty Heathens!
Highly Intelligent & Organized!
Clever Politicians
Ruthless Warriors!
Let us take a closer look at this
civilization…
Mesoamerica in the 1400’s•Home to numerous different linguistic and political groups
•Most numerous were the Nahuas spoke Nauhuatl
•Shared cultural traits
•Communities usually headed by hereditary rulers
•Most of their food came from agriculture-maize, beans, squash,
and peppers
•Religion revolved around agricultural cycle, human
sacrifice and rituals to guarantee successful harvests
•Not viewed themselves as one people
•Warfare increased between city-states for territories
The Chichimeca Nomadic and
“uncivilized” people who lived “like dogs”
One such group was the Mexica
Today they are known as the Aztecs for their mythical homeland, AZTLAN <-- somewhere in the American Southwest
The Rise of the Mexica
Had no home in the Valley
Had to attach themselves to other city-states
Became well known for their mercenary skills for Culhuacan (descendants of Tolteca)
Finding a Home By early 1300’s they
settled on a small island in the middle of Lake Texcoco
Located in the heart of Mexico City (Today)
They made their island bigger by cleaning the soil from bottom of lake and using it to expand their island
Finding a Home Huitzilopochtli (Aztec
god) told them to leave their homeland
“Go where the cactus grows, on which the eagle sits happily…there you shall wait, there you shall meet a number of tribes and with your arrow or with your shield you shall conquer them.”
Named their home, TENOCHTITLAN, (place of the prickly pear cactus)
Chinampa Agriculture Land was not good for
farming, developed an ingenious method to plant and harvest crops: CHINAMPA AGRICULTURE
Chinampas - narrow strips of lan
The Aztec built these floating gardens around their central city
Used canals to travel (canoe) to Tenochtitlan and nearby islands
They built roads to the mainland , some over five miles long
Tenochtitlan
The Rise of the Mexica
They established the first dynasty in 1370
This dynasty endured until the arrival of the Spanish
First king was son of a woman from Culhuacan
His successors formed marriage alliances with other important powers in the valley
Mexica Rise to Power
By early 1400’s, Azcapotzalco surpassed Culhuacan as the dominant city-state in central Mexico
Mexica King, Ixcoatl formed an alliance (Triple Alliance) with 2 other states: Texcoco and Tlacopan
Together they defeated Azcapotzalco Tenochtitlan became dominant power within
the Triple Alliance, Texcoco 2nd , and Tlacopan 3rd
TEXCOCO
TLACOPAN
AZCAPOTZALCO
Rise of the Mexica King Moctezuma I from
Tenochtitlan and Nezahualcoyotl from Texcoco
Extended their reach well beyond valley of Mexico to Oaxaca in the South and to the Gulf Coast to the east
By 1500, Triple Alliance controlled an area roughly size of Italy
Tribute Subjugated territories
paid their new rulers quantities of goods in tribute
Cacao, gold dust, gemstones, cotton textiles, honey, featherwork, maize, rubber balls
Local leaders remained in peace as long as they paid their tribute on a regular basis and remained loyal
Tribute In theory, Tenochtitlan
and Texcoco were equal partners in ruling central Mexico
Each took 40% share of the tribute while Tlacopan took 20%
In practice, Tenochtitlan undermined Texcoco’s ruling class
El Mercado (The Market)
Most famous aspects of Tenochtitlan was their marketplace
Attracted 60,000 people, daily
Historians believe it was divided into7 sections
Section 1: gold, silver, precious stones, feathers
Section 2: chocolate and spices
Section 3: cloth and all types of clothing
Section 4: food-corn, beans, turkeys, quail, rabbits, deer meat, maguey honey,
Section 5: avocados, wild plums, frogs, bark paper, incense, rubber, gum, lime, obsidian blades, animal skins,
Section 6: Greens and tortillas
Section 7: tobacco, all types of pottery, pots, bowls, and tubs
Spanish Reaction to Tenochtitlan
There were over 30 public buildings:
Palaces of nobles, temples, schools and academies, and even a zoo
Because of its canals, Spaniards called it, “Venice of the Americas.”
At its height, more 250,000 lived in Tenochtitlan
“…and when we saw all those cities and villages built in water, and other towns on dry land, we were astounded. The great cities and buildings made of stone seemed like images 0r visions to us. Some of the soldiers asked whether it was not a all a dream. It was so wonderful that I do not know how to describe the first glimpse of things never heard or seen or dreamed before.
Religion Some of their gods,
Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent) and Tlaloc dated back to time of Teotihuacan
Huitzilopochtli was their most important god
Mexica wanted their conquered subjects to also worship Huitzilopochtli
Religion Religious ritual was
part of everyday life Mesoamerican
calendar divided he year into 18 months of 20 days each with a five day break at the end of the cycle
Each month had ceremonies closely related to the agricultural cycle
Sacrifice Almost all Aztec rites included a sacrifice to the gods
Creation story: World was created and destroyed 4 times
The 5th time, the gods sacrificed themselves in order for the world to not end, sun, humans, the universe
Quintosol (5th Sun): To repay their sacrifice, humans paid with their life
Afraid world would end if gods failed to receive their dues
Sacrifice Many civilizations in
Mesoamerica and other civilizations included human sacrifice
Historians believe rituals increased under Aztec domination
Human sacrifice pleased gods but it also caused many of Aztec allies, nobles, commoners, and enermies to be in awe of Aztecs
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