Aztec Empire Essay Research Paper The Aztec free essay sample

Aztec Empire Essay, Research Paper The Aztec people ruled much of what is now Mexico from about 1427 until 1521, which was when the Spaniards conquered the imperium. The imperium was at its highest point since it had begun more than a century earlier. At the tallness of their power, the Aztec s controlled a part stretching from cardinal Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico and besides in parts of Guatemala. The Aztec s built great metropoliss and developed a complex societal, political, and spiritual construction. Their capital, Tenochtitlan, was located near contemporary Mexico City. Tenochtitlan was perchance the largest metropolis in the universe at the clip of the Spanish conquering. It featured a immense temple, a royal castle, and many canals. Aztec society was extremely structured, based on agribusiness, and guided by a faith that pervaded every facet of life. The Aztec worshipped Gods that represented natural forces that were critical to their agricultural economic system. Aztec metropoliss were dominated by elephantine rock pyramids that had temples at the top where human forfeits were done in award of the God s Aztec art was chiefly an done to stand for faith, and even warfare.The art increased the imperium s wealth and power. The basic portion of Aztec society was the calpulli. The calpulli idea of as a kin, or group of households who descended from a common ascendant. Each calpulli dealt with their ain personal affairs, electing a council and officers to maintain order, lead in war, enforce justness, and maintain records. Calpulli ran schools in which male childs were taught citizenship, warfare, history, trades, and faith. Each calpulli besides had a temple, an armoury to keep arms, and a house for goods that were distributed among the household members. Within each calpulli, land was divided among the caputs of households harmonizing to their demands. Each household had a right to utilize the land but owned merely the goods that it produced. In Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, calpulli did the same things but finally changed. As the metropolis grew big and, the calpulli were no longer based on household relationships, but political divisions. Each calpulli still had its ain government council, school, temple, and land, but its members were non related. There were 15 calpulli in Tenochtitlan when the metropolis was founded in 1325. In the16th century there were every bit many as 80. A category of priests, warriors, and decision makers supported the swayer. Below these Lords were the common people, including merchandisers, creative persons, soldiers, peasant husbandmans, and labourers. Aztec merchandisers formed a category called pochteca. They lived in particular subdivisions in the metropoliss, formed organisations, and had many privileges. Aztec swayers and Lords owned land on private estates. Most land for common mans was owned by a calpulli, which assigned its members plots to utilize. Landowners paid testimonial to the imperium in agricultural merchandises, which were used to supply money for public usage. All work forces owed military service to the imperium. Citizens could besides be drafted to work on public lands or construct temples, sewer systems, and roads. Even though Aztec society had rigorous categories, a individual s position could alter based on his or her gift to society. Common people could better their rank, particularly by executing good in conflict, and become comfortable landholders. Young people of some categories could analyze to go priests or warriors. Warriors who captured many captives gained acknowledgment and wealth and might be admitted into one of several military orders. A individual who committed a offense or did non pay his debts became a slave ; nevertheless, such slaves could finally recover their freedom, and their kids were born free. Farming was the centre of the Aztec economic system. The land around the lakes was fertile but non big plenty to bring forth nutrient for the population. To do more land better for farming, the Aztec developed irrigation systems, and used fertiliser to enrich the dirt. Their most of import agricultural technique was to rec laim swampy land around the lakes by making unreal islands. On these fertile islands they grew maize, squash, veggies, and flowers. In the Aztec imperium, some goods were produced for the swayer or sold in the local markets. These included clayware, tools, jewellery, statuettes, baskets, and fabric. Other goods, particularly luxury points such as lake salt, gold decorations, and rich vesture, were carried by going bargainers to distant peoples along the Gulf seashore and south toward Guatemala. There they were exchanged for luxury points native to those parts, such as tropical-bird plumes, panther teguments, cotton, gum elastic, and beans for cocoa. The Aztec had no metal coins. They used beans, cotton fabric, and salt as a signifier of money. As an agricultural people, the Aztec depended to a great extent on forces of nature and worshiped them as Gods. Most of import was their most of import God, the Sun God, Huitzilopochtli, who was besides considered to be the God of war. Other of import Gods were Tlaloc ( the God of rain ) and Quetzalcoatl, the plumy snake ( the God of air current and acquisition ) . The Aztec believed that the sort Gods must be kept strong to forestall the evil Gods from destructing the universe. For this intent they had human forfeits. Peoples most normally sacrificed were captives of war, although Aztec warriors would sometimes volunteer for the more of import sacrificial rites. The god Tlaloc was believed to prefer kids as a forfeit. In 1519 Spanish adventurer Hernan Cortes and more than 500 Spaniards landed in eastern Mexico in hunt of land and gold. his Native American kept woman suggested that he organize an confederation with one of the challengers of the Aztec, the Tlaxcalans.He did merely that and set out for Tenochtitlan. After make up ones minding how to react to Cortes, Aztec swayer Montezuma II allowed Cortes to come in the metropolis in order to larn more about him and his purposes. Finding big sums of gold and other hoarded wealth, and fearful that the Aztec s would assail his immensely outnumbered Spanish force, Cortes seized Montezuma as a surety. The Spaniards melted the gold decorations of the Aztec for cargo to Spain and forced Montezuma to curse trueness to the male monarch of Spain. The Spaniards stayed in the metropolis without ill will until about six months subsequently, when, in Cortes s absence, Spanish officer Pedro de Alvarado massacred 200 Aztec Lords who had gathered for a spiritual ceremonial. After Cortes returned, the Aztec rebelled, contending to drive the Spaniards out of Tenochtitlan. The Aztec warriors tore up the metropolis s Bridgess and chased the Spaniards into the canals, where three-quarterss of them, weighted down with stolen gold, rapidly drowned. Montezuma was killed during the rebellion. Montezuma s replacement, Cuitlahuac, ruled merely a few months before deceasing of disease. Montezuma s nephew Cuauhtemoc, who had helped take the rebellion against the Spaniards, became the following Aztec swayer. Cortezs retreated to Tlaxcala and gathered more Native American Alliess for a besieging of Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs petroleum arms were no lucifer for the Fe, steel, and gunpowder of the Spaniards, who besides had the advantage of a big figure of native Alliess. After five months of despairing and bloody combat, Cuauhtemoc surrendered in 1521. Cortes tortured and hanged him while on an expedition to Honduras in 1525. The Spaniards conquered the staying Aztec peoples and took over their lands, coercing them to work in gilded mines and on Spanish land. The autumn of Tenochtitlan marked the terminal of the Native American civilisations that had existed in Mesoamerica since the first human colony of the part. On the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the Spaniards built Mexico City. The metropolis s contemporary cathedral rises over the ruins of an Aztec temple, and the castle of the Mexican president stands on the site of the castle of Montezuma. Today there are merely a few echt full-blooded Aztec people, nevertheless their art and civilization still remains throughout Central America.