The True History of the Conquest of New Spain (Content Paper) Bernal Díaz del Castillo a Spanish conqueror and chronicler in the Indies, travelled with Cortés expedition party. Bernal Díaz del Castillo was interested in getting his version of the expedition out to the world. Even though it was years before he was able to accomplish this he believed it was important to explain the “rank and file” of the expeditioners and the Aztecs. The excerpt describes the expeditions walk into the great city of Mexico or as it was known at the time, Tenochtitlan.…
Between 300 and 1500 CE, three extremely advanced civilizations developed in Central and South America; the advancements developed by the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incans established them as advanced societies in their time. The Mayans showed exceptional architecture skills and advanced communication with a writing system, the Aztecs built well organized cities and marketplaces, and the Incans built a large road system, robust houses, and an irrigation system. First and foremost, it is no doubt that the Mayans were way ahead of their time with their architecture skills. They were hands down one of the most skilled architects ever, they built great cities of stone that remained over hundreds of years after their civilization fell into decline. The…
Summary In Miguel Leon-Portilla’s The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, the author shares the Aztec account of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1519. Throughout the book, Portilla discusses the significant events that occurred in the Aztec society. The indigenous groups in Mexico such as the Mexica (Aztec) had a thriving culture and advanced society in ancient Mesoamerica. The people of the Aztec society were educated, studied many subjects of interest such as astrology, and built great architectural pyramids that were breathtaking and beautiful.…
When the Aztecs settled in Mexico, they placed their capital, Tenochtitlan, in a swampy area that was very overrun with water. They used this water to their advantage while farming. Document 8 shows a picture of what the Aztecs would have looked like while working in the fields. The caption reads, “Depiction of the floating gardens, or chinampas, of…
During the rule over the Aztecs their rule expanded across the continent. During this expansion they also began building over the Aztec empire creating the brand new city Mexico City by building directly over the ruins of the Aztecs old empire. Even during the expansion of new spain their production was slowed by resistance from the indigenous people and resistance from the land. But even with these obstacles the spaniards “New Spain” was still the richest and most popular of all the spanish colonies. Spaniards began flooding into Mexico because of the stories of gold riches and lands but as more spaniards came the more people began to start families with the indigenous peoples ending up creating a new culture, with new music,dances, food,…
The Taino people of the Caribbean Islands were a simple people with simple needs. “Their houses are all built in the shape of tents, with very high chimneys. None of the villages which I saw contained more than twelve or fifteen of them” (Columbus, Journal, par 18). The island natives lived more off the land and were not as grand as those of the Aztecs. Cortes believed that the housing, temples and a palace of the Aztecs was so grand that he could not justifiably describe it all with a human tongue because he was so in awe of what he saw.…
Teotihuacan was an important pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city located near modern-day Mexico City. It was one of the largest urban centers of its time, growing between the 1st and 7th centuries AD. Teotihuacan is known for its monumental architectures, including the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Its influence extended throughout Mesoamerica, impacting following civilizations such as the Aztecs and the Maya. The Maya civilization was a highly advanced Mesoamerican civilization known for its accomplishments in architecture, mathematics, astronomy, and hieroglyphic writing.…
However, after allying up with Indians, the Spaniards were able to conquer the capital Tenochtitlan in 1521. All of Tenochtitlan’s beautiful architecture was destroyed, and has been replaced with what we now know as Mexico City (Corrigan, Corrigan and Corrigan). Artifact 10 shows how cruel the Spaniards were to the Aztecs…
It connected the highlands of Guatemala to Mexico and Belize. This connection changed the way the Americas would interact for the rest of history. The Aztec civilization left the largest ruins from all of these civilizations, considering they were the largest empire at the time. Tenochtitlan was a large and prosperous Aztec city. Tenochtitlan became Mexico City which is now the center of Mexico with a population of almost 9 million people.…
The capitol of the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan, was in existence from the year 1325 until 1521 when it was taken over by Hernan Cortez and his men. Tenochtitlan was located in the Valley of Mexico on an island in Lake Texcoco. It was estimated that the size of this city-state was 8 – 13.5 km2. Tenochtitlan wasn’t the only city-state on this island, Tlatelolco was also located here, Tenochtitlan’s sister city. Legend says that this site was chosen because Huitzlopochtli, the god of war, ordered them to look for “the prickly pear cactus and build a temple in his honor” [3].…
These letters written by Hernan Cortes who was a Spaniard conquistador who first conquest of Cuba and thereafter turn his head to the Mexico to conquest as well. In 1519 he sorted out attack of Mexico. Thereafter, he arrived in Mexico on April 22, 1519. By 1521, he had taken all the control of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan ( Mexico City ).After his conquest of Mexico , Spanish chroniclers offered him to write what he saw in Mexico, thereafter he had to write these letters to show what he see in Mexico.…
Centro Cultural Aztlan’s Cultural Encounters Series provides opportunities for public engagement with Chicano/Latino arts and artists in order to strengthen and empower our community and maintain, preserve and promote our rich cultural heritage. The 2016-2017 Cultural Encounters Series will include: Super Heroes In the Schools Exhibit: 25 schools and over 300 students ages 6 to 19 will be challenged to create representations of real "super heroes" they know and admire.…
Tenochtitlan host some of the most impressive architecture. After the Spanish Conquest lead by Cortés, the city was looted, torn down, and its materials were used to build present day Mexico. The capital city is a true testament to Aztec ingenuity, worldviews, and architecture. Although the capital city was impressive, there were other cities that displayed Aztec architecture, daily life, and ritual.…
Lastly Mexico City is near two volcanoes. Mexico City have lots of past history. In the past, there was a native group called Aztecs. The group went different places to find an area to settle down. They finally settle down near the lake and they called the city Tenochtitlan.…
The aqueducts were made in 1428 after the Aztecs fought for the right to the fresh water springs. They were from cement in the shape of a cylinder for the water to pass through. These were introduced to provide a fresh, clean, healthy source of water for the community to drink, bathe and grow produce with. This helped the city of Tenochtitlan thrive and grow into a city of great mass and population. Tenochtitlan would not have been nearly as big as it ended up being before the conquistadors came.…