The Aztecs: The Most Powerful Indian Empire Of Central America

Improved Essays
Life dating up to the mid fourteenth century, was a frightening time for all regions in the mesoamerican area. Records tell a story of wide-spanned, unruled territory of anarchy and chaos, lasting centuries. Many districts being overthrown, such as, the Toltecs, Tula, and the Chichén Itzá all lost their empire to the repulsiveness of unjust combat. After some time about 1325 through 1345 regions started to settle; around the area we know today as Mexico city. This settlement, known as the Aztec empire ended up being the most powerful Indian empire of central America. Instilling fear in all the regions around; truly upholding the reputation of being a dangerous cult waging war against any, and everyone.

As the Aztecs settled in, a vast appearance

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Aztecs Book Review

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Aztecs: A Very Short Introduction by David Carrasco is a succinct but comprehensive history of the, in many ways infamous, ancient Latin American civilization known as the Aztecs. His book goes through an overview of the foundation and creation of the Aztec culture and way of life, their expansion, their taboo rituals of sacrifice and reputation as a violent and warlike group, and eventually the fall of the civilization as a whole. The book as a whole speaks volumes in its simplicity; it gives readers an excellent sense of what this strange and once very powerful culture once was in, as the title suggests, a very short amount of pages. The book begins with the description of the massive and intimidating wonder that was the city of Tenochtitlan.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Aztec DBQ

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Aztec Empire was a powerful early American civilization based on a polytheistic religion. After centuries of building and maintaining a strong empire, Spanish invaders led by Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec. The Spaniards’ reason for conquest was mainly greed and religious disparity and had thought their own actions as justified. The reasons for conquest were justifiable and benefited the Spanish as well as all neighboring civilizations.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I strongly disagree that if the Spanish hadn’t conquered the Americas the Aztecs would be the most advanced civilization to date. If the Aztecs were still thriving today I think they would be advanced but not as advanced as the first world countries, they may be as advanced as either the third or second world countries. I also think that the weaponry that the Aztecs had would’ve evolved along time after everyone else evolved their weapons so that would make them vulnerable to attacks from foreigners. The Aztecs were too focused on their religion which would also distract them from improving their way of living. But before they got to the state of being advanced I think that when they conquered the Americas and sacrificed all of their enemies they would start to sacrifice themselves.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Broken Spears Essay

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There were many factors involved in the defeat of the Aztec empire and these accounts offer new interpretations of how factors such as greed, fear, and power played important roles in the ultimate defeat. The book offers a more complex view of the advantages and disadvantages the Aztec and Spaniards had over one another. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie remarked, “power is the ability not just to tell a story about another person but to make it the definitive story.” This book emphasizes the significance of different sides to historical narratives in having a more balanced definitive…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early sixteenth century has been recounted by two primary documents. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain and The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico both share some similarities and differences pertaining to the author's perspective on what truly happened such as the way the Spaniards were welcomed, outlook on culture, and interpretation of the war. This paper will compare both accounts of the encounters between the Spanish and the Aztecs from different points of view. Although the events in both sources took place during a similar time period, the differences vary in the author's tone of voice, the purpose, and the circumstances from where it was told. Based on the collected findings, The True History…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Aztec Trade Quotes

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Take Notes on Important or Interesting ideas from the text. European traders started to enslaved africans in the early 1500s The portuguese established trade colonies in the indian cost in 1505 and had routes that led to china Amerigo Vespucci travelled deep into the coastlines of south america, shedding light on future explorers.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Spanish conquerors did what they set out to do. They conquered the entire Aztec empire and left them broken, and shattered into small pieces. They thought they made progress, when in turn they left an entire group of people in the dust. They robbed the Aztec people of their culture. The way in which they did…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Due to this they then constrained subjugation on Indians to take a shot at gold and silver mines. Hernando Cortez, after vanquishing the Aztecs, blockaded their capital city and "stole" their gold and different valuable…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Aztec and Inca empires grew rapidly during the fifteenth century and were far superior than the other Indigenous groups in their land. While these two empires expanded differently they both prove to be the most power empires to have existed in Mesoamerica. The Mexica, who were the Aztecs, and Incas became powerful through their military successes, and reformed religious ideologies. While both of these empires proved to be successful in growing their empires where they both experienced power struggles before the Spanish conquest. Civil wars and over ambitus expansionism lead to the empires power to be in jeopardy however, the empires would eventually fall due to the Spaniards conquering the land.…

    • 1692 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Aztec And Inca Empires

    • 1094 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Pre-Columbian America is perhaps the most exotic period of American history for a number of reasons. The diversity of the region is unparalleled, furthered by the rapid succession of empires with great focus on culture. Great mysteries also come from this period. The sudden decline of powerful empires like the Maya and Moche puzzle scholars to this day. Human sacrifice also played a major role in religion throughout parts of this region.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Aztec Culture Essay

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Spanish soldiers were ready to repel against Cortes because of the promise of riches (most had been shipped back to Spain). Cortes agreed that the soldiers deserved their pay and asked Spain to give it up. Cortes goal was to colonize Mexico into a powerful Spanish empire. The Aztecs were a group of Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. Aztec culture had complex mythological and religious traditions.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Mesoamerican region is the cradle of civilization of the Americas, it has given rise to some of the most successful empires in history, starting from 1200 BC until the Spanish conquest of the area in 1525 AD. Two of the very prominent reigning civilizations within the region during the Classic Period (200 - 800 AD) include the Mayan and Teotihuacan civilizations which was home to hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Although they have many similarities between them since they existed at the same time within the same region, they also each have distinctive features which differentiates their cultures from one another. The major cities of the Mayan Classic period are within present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize and…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Broken Spears Summary

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fall of Aztec Empire For many years now, historians have pondered upon the many reasons for the fall of the Aztec Empire. There have been many factors that played into the fall of the Empire, such as the diseases plaguing the population, the Spaniard’s technological advantages, religious rivalries, alliances, and the list goes on. But to focus on two of the major contributors, this essay will focus on the effects of European diseases on Mexico, and the impact alliances between the Spaniards and the Tlaxcala people had on Tenochtitlan. To begin our observations, we will delve into the life of a man named “Hernan Cortés”. Hernan Cortés was a Spanish Conquistador, and one of the driving forces in the fall of the Aztec Empire through the capture of Tenochtitlan and of the then leader Motecuhzoma II.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Spanish Conquest Essay

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In 1519, Spanish explorers, under the leadership of Hernán Cortés, set foot on what is now modern-day Mexico in search of gold and land in the Aztec Empire. Although the Spanish initially had no intentions (or orders from Cuban governor Diego Velásquez for whom they made the voyage) to colonize the Aztec Empire, they sought to communicate with the inhabitants and spread their Christian faith. However, the end of 1521 saw the mighty Aztec Empire practically cease to exist, its emperor Montezuma II join the many victims of the conquest, and the survivors put under the rule of the Spanish. A variety of factors came into play regarding the Spanish’s ability to conquer this mighty empire, including the ability to communicate verbally, the religious beliefs of both peoples, and the devastating effect of disease on the Aztec empire.…

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays