Aztecs

The Spanish Troops Leave Spain

Apr 10, 1519

Hernan Cortes, the leader of the Spanish troops. His quest is to conquer the Aztecs aand gain wealth for himself as well as for Spain which was becoming broke. He wanted the glory of gaining Spains wealth. as well as fame and glory in Spain. He would also spreading the Christian faith around Mexico, after the Aztec's were conquered.

The Spanish(Cortez) Arrive in Mexico

Apr 11, 1519

The Spanish arrive in Mexico, and they meet the Aztec's and Moctezuma in Tenochtitlan. Moctezuma was the Aztec's emperor. He has been emperor since 1502. Moctezuma and the Aztec's welcomed them into Tenochtitlan. The Spanish were amazed by all of the treasure laying around. The Spanish came with horses and much more powerful weapons than the Aztec's.

The Weapons Aztec vs Spanish

Apr 12, 1519

The Spanish had much more powerful, and accurate. The Aztec's weapons were all hand made and most of them were wooden, while the Spanish's were made from different types of metals. Alot of the Spanish's weapons were unknown to the Aztec's. The Spanish had a huge advantage over weapons since the Aztec`s didn`t know the power of them.

The Advantage with Horses

Apr 13, 1519

The Spanish used horses to fight in a battle. The Aztec`s had no idea what horses were, they were just an animal with four legs. The Aztec`s didn`t know what horses were used for, just that they were sitting on the backs of them. They didn`t know how fast they were either. So the Spanish also had an advantage with the horses. The Aztec`s were unknown to a lot of things because they didn`t travel, only the merchants traveled.

Dieseases

Apr 14, 1519

The Aztec`s were very certain that a Spanish soldier brought the diesease smallpox over to Mexico. Smallpox broke out in Tenochtitlan and was getting a lot of the Aztec population sick. The Aztec`s had no knowledge of dieseases or cures. The Spansih had a lot more knowledge of dieseases and cures. The Spanish used this to their advantage. A lot of the Aztec population was dying off due to the diesease that the Aztec`s didn`t know about that

Human Sacrifice (Aztec`s)

Apr 15, 1519

The Aztec`s practiced human sacrifice. They sacrificed humans because they believed that human blood nourished the Aztec gods. The emperor decides which gos that will be sacrificed to. The Aztec's believed that the gods controlled every aspect of their lives, so they sacrificed to each god depending on what they needed. All of their needs were for the good of their society not the good of the individual.

Aztec and Spanish Economy

Apr 16, 1519

The Aztec's economy consisted of a barter system. A barter system is trading a good for a good. It's like a trade deal. The Aztec's traded cocoa beans, it was one of the things that they traded most. The Spanish's economy consisted of a capitalist system. So their economy was based on money and coins. The system we have today. The Aztec's didn't know the value of metals such as gold and silver, so the Spanish were shocked at the uses of the metals and how much was lying around

Aztec Education

Apr 17, 1519

The Aztec education system consisted of 2 schools. The Calmecac and Telpochcalli. The Telpochcalli school was for the commoners and their lessons were taught orally. The Calmecac school was for the higher class of nobles. The nobles did learn to read and write so they learned through codices. The Aztec women did get an education, unlike many other groups that didn't allow women to be educated. The women were taught about how to have children and their duties around the home.

Temples

Apr 18, 1519

The Aztec`s worshipped temples, it was there connection to the spiritual world. The height of the temple brought them closer to god. Sometimes the Aztec`s built their temples on mountains to increase the height of the temple. The Calmecac school was often connected to the school. The temples were created to resemble the mountains.

Chinampa

Apr 19, 1519

The chinampa were the Aztec`s fields, they were used to grow their crops to support their community. The chinampa are referred to as ``Floating Islands``. They are called floating islands because they were built in the water. After the construction of the chinampas the Aztecs could then plant their crop. It supported their community, but they still couldn't grow some of the tropical fruits that they liked. That was why they traded items in the barter system.

The Conquering of the Aztecs

Apr 20, 1519

The Spanish didn't have a lot to kill, because they were dying off because of the smallpox epidemic that was going around and the Spanish had a better advantage over weapons and the speed of the horse. The Spanish killed Moctezuma, the emperor, and then many of the Aztec's died.