Preview

Aztec Empire Research Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
397 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Aztec Empire Research Paper
Why the Aztec Empire was defeated
Isolation, limited technology, disease, beliefs/religion, and allies were all contributing factors which led to Aztec destruction.
Isolation, due to the fact that the Aztecs thought they were the only people alive apart from the other Indian/Mexican tribes, the Aztecs stayed in their city unaware with the world around them. While the Aztecs were staying in their island, the Spanish were exploring and trading which allowed them to develop better technology such as gunpowder. Futhermore, the Aztecs had no immunity to foreign diseases like smallpox, which killed many of them.
The Aztecs had primitive technology and weapons whereas, the Spanish had an updated technology status and superior weaponry. Therefore,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The plaza at the center of the city cover the site of an ancient Aztec temple…

    • 105 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cortes’ ardent determination to bring back wealth, gold, and conquer the Aztecs’ most sacred land, Tenochtitlan, wasn’t enough to defeat them in a hard fought battle. Determination was just one of the many factors that helped the Spaniards defeat the pious Aztecs. The main five factors consist of the, Spanish Worldview, Aztec Worldview, Military Technology, Military Strategy, Spread of Disease. However, out of all of these factors, the most important would be Military Technology due to all the advantages it gave the Spaniards and Cortes. Just some few examples can explain the incredible benefits they gained.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Spanish 2.02 workfile

    • 2178 Words
    • 9 Pages

    What were some of the biggest advantages the Spanish had over the Aztecs? They had strong immune systems and weren’t affected by disease. Weapons.…

    • 2178 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disease also played a huge part in the defeat of the Aztecs. The Spanish brought ailments that the Aztecs had no immunities for. Three-fourths died from either violence or diseases such as small-pox and the measles in just the first century of the conquests. The Aztecs’ tactics of war were quite different from those of the Spaniards, and this was also a point in the Spaniards’ favor. The Spaniards fought…

    • 218 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Broken Spears is written by Miguel Leon-Portilla, he gives the accounts of which the Aztec Empire falls to the Spanish in the 16th century. The book, Broken Spears, shows the view of the Aztecs more over than the Spanish, Miguel Leon-Portilla describes the many reasons as to why the Spanish were successful in the victory against the Aztec empire. The Spanish had technology advantages over the Aztecs, and they also had the poor leadership of Motecuhzoma. One of the most notable factors that caused the fall of the Aztecs was the plague, this factor was very effective and an advantage that helped the Spaniards succeeded over the Aztec Empire. The Spanish had many advantages over the Aztecs which is why they had such a strong victory, such as, religion, leadership, and technology.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aztec DBQ

    • 591 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Aztec empire thrived in central Mexico from the 13th to the 16th centuries. In the early 16th century, the Spanish conquistadors overtook the Aztecs as part of the "Age of Exploration." Since then, historians have struggled to define how history should remember the Aztecs. Although the Aztecs were supporters of human sacrifice, they should be remembered as a sophisticated civilization because of their elaborate flourishing economy, social customs, and their advances in society.…

    • 591 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Aztec Civilization was very intricate and advanced. Their economy was made up of trading various items such as tools, pottery, baskets, cloth, jewelry, and figurines. They made these and traded them in the lowlands by the Gulf Coast. In return for their items they would receive valued items like jaguar skins, tropical-bird feathers, rubber, cotton, chocolate and cacao beans. Since the Aztecs did not have animals or wheeled vehicles, they transported good using canoes. However, if they needed to go through a dangerous terrain, goods would be carried on the backs of porters in long caravans.…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Aztecs saw the Spanish as gods and showered them with gifts and sacrifices. Him and his people were seen as gods, which was one advantage that Cortés knew he had control over. He knew that if he can control the Aztecs that he would be able to take over their land. The Spanish saw the kind of resources and how rich their land was of gold and started to take full advantage of the Aztecs. They didn’t like some of the things that the Aztecs did so feelings of hate began to arise within the Spanish. The hate that the Spanish had they got other enemy tribes to go against them and help take over the rest of the land.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The land of Tenochtitlan, which is currently owned by the Spanish, known as Mexico City, was not always under the same empire. This land used to belong to the Aztecs but was taken over when the battle between the Spanish and Aztecs occurred. Though some would think that this conflict was avoidable, I believe otherwise. In my opinion, I believe that the conflict of the Aztecs was inevitable, because of the differing religions, the Aztec's resources, Spanish’s excellent technology, and the Aztec's population size.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Many times throughout history, a nation may reap the rewards of another’s destruction. This was especially evident during the Age of Exploration, in which the Spanish Empire began to expand their territory in the the New World. Powered by the Italian Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution, new inventions and ideas about the world enabled people to travel greater distances than before, allowing for the European discovery of the Americas, and consequently the civilizations present. The civilizations of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans were thriving and developed, but were still no match for the Spanish forces. While there, the Spanish Empire attempted to influence…

    • 2349 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Aztec Geography

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Aztec geography was very different than other cultures. The Aztecs settled in a central Mexican valley, almost everything that they did was related to their environment. Before the Aztecs settled on the Mexican valley, they were nomads. They traveled from place to place never settling until they found their capital, Tenochtitlan, which is now modern day Mexico city.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aztecs Victory

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Although Cortés had the weaponry and tactics, he did not have the manpower to fight against the Aztecs at the time. If the Aztecs and the other tribes like the Tlaxcalans would have joined forces history would off have had a different outcome. Spain instituted a lot of their traditions into Mexico once conquered. Mexico lost many of their costumes and traditions due to the Spanish ruling in their territory. Possibly the main language in Mexico would have been the native language instead of…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Burying the White Gods

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Another point of confusion for the Aztecs was that their god, , Quetzalcoatl, went away and was to return from the east. The Spaniards, sailing in from the east, had vast variety of technological advantages. The Aztecs confused Cortes and his crew as elites because they were in a way better equipped in all ways. This still should not knock the intellect of the Aztecs. The extremely accurate calendars and agricultural genius are just two examples of the actual intellect of the Aztecs. The Spaniards did not outsmart the Aztecs; they, per say, were outsmarted by coincidence and their own intellect.…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Incas used a form of agriculture called terrace agriculture were they would build flat layers into the slope of a mountain out of specific materials so they could grow food on mountain sides. That was another technique they formed because of where they lived. Another difference between the two civilizations was the size. The Inca civilization covered over 50% of the East coast of South America and had a population of about 20 million people. The Aztec civilization only controlled Central Mexico and only had a population of 15 million people. Because the Inca civilization was so big, they needed a way to get messages around. They developed a large messaging system with messengers called chasquis that used a way to get messages around called quipu. The Aztecs did not have anything like this. Inca was so large because it conquered many other civilizations that had their own languages. This made it difficult for some people to understand each other. That’s why they developed a unified language called Quechua that everyone had to learn. The Aztec civilization was more like the Persian Empire and allowed anywhere they conquered to stay the same and keep their language as long as…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The conquest of Spanish conquistadors was greatly influenced by the negative effects of the diseases they brought from Europe. The major diseases brought by the Spanish included the common Flu, smallpox and Typhus. These diseases wreaked havoc on the Aztec societies, and decimated the population by approximately 70 percent. This was incredibly important to the Spanish as It weakened the Aztecs to a point where trying to amass an army of sick and dying people would have been pointless. Making it easier for the well-armed and healthy Spanish to crush the Aztec’s resistance. At first the Spanish were unaware of the damage the diseases would cause, armed with the knowledge that the previously un-exposed Aztecs were highly susceptible to becoming…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays