Tenochtitlan

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]. This is when they found the cactus, on an island, in the middle of the lake. The Mexica’s quickly began building and soon would become what we now consider one of the grandest…

Massive amounts of native people swelled Cortes’s ranks in defiance of the Mexica tributary system. Up to 100,000 Tlaxcalans joined with Cortes when he marched on Tenochtitlan. Schwartz states that “such figures emphasizes the fact that in many ways the conquest of Tenochtitlan and the fall of the Mexica Empire was as much a struggle among indigenous peoples as it was a clash of the Old and New Worlds” (Schwartz 15). When the Spanish arrived, “the peoples of the Mexica did not form a single…

While the idea that the arrival of Europeans to “The New World” brought upon the indigenous cultures of America no small amount of strife and misery, as well as fame and fortune upon the Spanish is widely accepted as fact, there is limitless dissention among historians about the true history of the conquest of “New Spain”. One event that exemplifies this dissention is that of the Siege of Tenochtitlan. In the following analysis I will describe and discuss two conflicting accounts that document…

How would you feel if you had an empire and all of a sudden it falls because of some people that you thought were nice but they weren’t? The Aztec Empire started when a group of people saw an eagle with a snake on its mouth and on a cactus. They were happy and had millions of followers but that all changed when the spanish came to the area. The Aztecs thought they were there gods that came to visit and so they let them in. But they were there to steal the Aztecs gold and make them fall. There…

The Tenochtitlan was important to the Aztec because there was where the most important ritual and ceremonial activities in Aztec life was held and it was the capital of the Aztec empire. The form of Temple Mayor was that it was a structure that stood 90 feet high consisted of two pyramids side by side on a huge platform. It was like a temple. The pyramids symbolized two sacred mountains: the Hill of Sustenance, which represented Tonacatepetl, whose patron deity was Tlaloc (the ancient god of…

Battle of Tenochtitlán The Battle of Tenochtitlán took place in the city of Tenochtitlán from 26 May to 13 August 1521. It narrates how the Aztec Empire commanded by Moctezuma II fell to the Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés. Despite the numerous battles between the Spaniards and the Aztecs, the Aztecs were unable to defeat Hernán Cortés and his troops. The Spaniards weapon superiority, indigenous assistance and other key factors led to the downfall of the Aztec civilization. This episode…

Hernan Cortes and his conquistadors were able to conquer Tenochtitlan. This was due to having superior weaponry beyond known knowledge. The effects of the known epidemic small pox, which overawed the Aztec population . There was a severe shock to the Aztec leadership while leaving an untarnished leadership. This lead to a direct downfall of the Aztec civilisation. This was the end of the first stage of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. Hernan Cortes was building up both alliances and…

The historic city of Tenochtitlán, the heart of the Aztec Empire, is comparable to today’s New York City. It was the biggest city in all of Mesoamerica at its height in the 16th century boasting over 200,000 inhabitants. Yet in just a matter of years, the entire city as well as the whole Aztec Empire fell into ruin. How did such an impressive empire fall? The answer is a combination of factors. The Aztec Empire collapsed due to the lack of resources within the capital city of Tenochtitlán and…

1324 A.D., the Aztecs built Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan eventually held a quarter of a million people. They were able to expand their land to twenty-five hundred acres, by pounding stakes into the lake bed, lashing them with reeds, and pouring mud and rocks into the water. In 1500, Tenochtitlan held two hundred thousand people; twice the population of London or Rome. Building Tenochtitlan took thousands of craftsmen and was covered in intricate, crisscrossed canals. To decide precise days for…

together when the Mexica built their city Tenochtitlán. During the 12th and 13th century the Aztec people were looked down upon by surrounding people. They were poor and ragged; living off of vermin, snakes, and stolen food. By the 14th century Huitzilopochtli told Tenoch the Aztec leader to lead his people to a place of refuge. “When they reached their destination they were to look for an eagle perched on a cactus growing from a rock surrounded by water.” This is where they built their city…