The Aztecs

1325-1519

World History

Aztec History• 1325 – driven into the

swamps around Lake Texcoco, where they saw the eagle from legend.

• Tenochtitlan (“place of the prickly pear cactus”) built.

Early society and interactions• Aztec built temples, public

buildings, and houses over the next 100 years.

• The Aztec allied themselves with groups at neighboring city-states Tetzcoco and Tlacopan, forming a triple alliance

• Predict what happens next

Monarch• Most famous monarch – Montezuma II

Commoners• How do you farm in a

swamp?

Culture• Aztec

architecture –massive pyramid dedicated to Huitzilopochtli in the center of Tenochtitlan

• At the top was a shrine to the gods and an altar for human sacrifices

Hernan Cortes’ Arrival• 1519 – Hernan Cortes arrives with 550 men and 16 horses

-> Made alliances with city-states that opposed the Aztecs

-> Arrived at Tenochtitlan and was welcomed by Montezuma II

• Aztecs were impressed by men on horseback, cannons, firearms, and steel swords

Tensions• Tensions rose, and the Spanish took Montezuma II

captive

• 1520 – the Aztecs revolted, killing many Spaniards

• With no natural immunity to disease, many Aztecs succumbed to smallpox

• Meanwhile, the Spaniards came back with new soldiers and their new allied Mesoamerican city states (50,000 from one city-state alone!)

• Cortes levelled buildings, temples and pyramids and used the stone to construct Spanish government buildings. Rivers and canals were filled in. Tenochtitlan disappeared