Aztec_Empire

| | |Aztecs | |The Rise and Fall of a Proud Empire | | | |Dennis Crum | |3121932 | |HIST 223 | |5/22/2011 | | | The Aztec history is one of the most famous, enigmatic and tragic histories in the world. The Aztecs Indians were a Mesoamerican people that lived in the area of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. The Aztecs were a warlike people who made many enemies among their neighbors. If we are taking a broader look, Aztec Indians can also include inhabitants of Tenochtitlan's two principal allied city-states, the Acolhuas of Texcoco and the Tepanecs of Tlacopan. These two cities together with Tenochtitlan formed an Aztec Triple Alliance. This Aztec Indian alliance was foundation for what is today known as Aztec Empire. Before we get to that point however, let’s take a look at how the Aztecs came to be. As stated earlier, Aztec Indians were not one ethnic group, but a collection of many ethnicities, all sharing a common cultural and historical background. According to Aztec history there were seven Aztec Tribes that lived under oppression in Aztlan. They all eventually fled from Aztlan to the south. In 1111, the Mexica left their native Aztlan to settle in Chicomoztoc (Seven Caves). [1] According to legend, they had offended their patron god Huitzilopochtli by cutting down a forbidden tree. As a result, the Mexica were condemned to leave Aztlan and forced to wander until they received a sign from their gods, directing them to settle down permanently. The Aztecs wandered many years before they settled in what was to be their homeland in the 1200’s. It is important to note, however, that the Aztlan migrations were not one simple movement of a single group of people. It is believed that the migrations southward probably took place over several generations. In A.D. 1325, the Aztecs, once again on the run, wandered through the wilderness of swamps that surrounded the salty lakes of the Valley of Mexico.[2] On a small island, the Aztecs finally found their promised omen when they saw a cactus growing out of a rock with an eagle perched atop the cactus. The high priests then proclaimed that they had reached their promised land. As it turns out, the site turned out to be a strategic location, with abundant food supplies and waterways for transportation. The Aztecs settled down in their new home, Tenochtitlán (Place of the Cactus Fruit) in what today is known as Mexico City. Here the Aztec Indian grew and flourished. At first Tenochtitlan was a crude village of reed and mud huts, but by the early 16th century the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan had become a magnificent city. The Aztecs became highly efficient in their ability to develop a system of dikes and canals to control the water levels and salinity of the lakes. Using canoes and boats, they were able to carry on commerce with other cities along the valley lakes. The limited access to the city provided protection against military attack. The three Triple Alliance states were originally conceived as equivalent powers, with the spoils of joint conquests to be divided evenly among them. However, Tenochtitlán steadily grew in power at the expense of Texcoco and particularly Tlacopan. [3] In time the conquests of the alliance began to take the shape of an empire, with the Triple Alliance levying tribute upon their subject towns. According to Aztec history, these three cities then went on to conquer the land to the south and to the east of Tenochtitlan while under the rule of Montezuma I. Montezuma I ruled from 1440 to 1469 and his successors continued to expand the empire. Montezuma II, who became ruler in 1502, was emperor of the Aztec empire during the height of its power. At this point, much of the Aztec economy was sustained through heavy taxes being levied on the people of the conquered countries. In addition, farming, which was largely dependent upon slavery, helped sustain the economy. The Aztecs became highly skilled as soldiers and diplomats in their dealing with neighbors. Aztec society was highly structured, based on agriculture, and guided by a religion that shaped every aspect of life. The Aztecs worshipped gods that represented natural forces that were vital to their agricultural economy. All of the Aztec cities were dominated by giant stone pyramids topped by temples where human sacrifices provided the gods with the human sustenance that the priests believed their supernatural deities required. [4] The function of Aztec priests was one of the most important in Aztec society. It was the priests who determined which days would be lucky for engaging in activities such as war and religious ceremonies. They were guided in their decisions by a religious calendar of 260 days that was combined with a solar calendar of 365 days. The meshing of the two calendars produced a 52-year cycle that played an integral role in Aztec society and religion.[5] The Aztec Empire of 1519 was the most powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time. The multi-ethnic, multi-lingual realm stretched for more than 80,000 square miles through many parts of what is now central and southern Mexico. [6] This enormous empire reached from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf coast and from central Mexico to the present-day Republic of Guatemala. Fifteen million people, living in thirty-eight provinces and residing in 489 communities, paid tribute to the Emperor Montezuma II in Tenochtitlán, the capital city of the great empire. [7] Rebellions were a common occurrence in the Aztec empire because of the indirect nature of imperial rule. The Aztecs had allowed local rulers to stay in place as long as they cooperated with the Triple Alliance and paid their tribute. When a provincial monarch decided to withhold tribute payments from the Triple Alliance, the Aztec forces would respond by dispatching an army to threaten that king. It was about this time when the Aztecs of Tenochtitlán began to suffer various disasters. While native peoples in several parts of the empire started to rebel against Aztecs, troubling omens took place which led the Aztecs to believe that their days were numbered. Seventeen years after Montezuma's rise to power, the Aztec Empire would be faced with its greatest challenge and a huge coalition of indigenous and foreign forces which would bring an end to the Triple Alliance. The first step towards the discovery and conquest of Mexico was made by Francisco Fernandez de Cordova, who, in 1517, explored the northern coast of Yucatan. [8] Instead of finding naked savages, as in former explorations, he was surprised to discover civilized people. The natives drove off the Spaniards, killing many of them, and mortally wounding Cordova. In the following year, Juan de Grijalva explored a portion of the southern coast of Mexico, and obtained treasure by traffic with the inhabitants. Velasquez, governor of Cuba, who had helped fund this expedition, now determined to attempt the conquest of the wealthy country that had been discovered, and prepared an expedition of ten vessels, manned already by six hundred and seventeen men, which he placed under the command of Hernando Cortes, an adventurous cavalier who had shown much military ability. [9] He landed in Mexico on March 4, 1519, where his ships, his horses, and his artillery left the natives in awe and caused them to regard the Spaniards as divine beings. In addition to his own troops, Cortes was joined by a multitude of Indians who had been conquered by the Aztecs. Resentful of the taxes they were being forced to pay, they were willing to fight side-by-side with Cortes. Ultimately, this was how Cortes conquered the Aztecs. After several victories over the natives, Cortes founded the city of Vera Cruz, burned his vessels to cut off all thought of retreat from the minds of his soldiers, and commenced his march towards the Mexican capital. He was opposed by the people of Tlaxcala, enemies of the Aztecs, but he conquered and converted them into useful allies. In the city of Cholula, much was the same as he slaughtered his enemies. He finally reached the city of Mexico and took Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, prisoner, and converted one of his palaces into a fortress. Velasquez, fearing Cortes was gaining too much power, sent an expedition under Narvaez to deprive Cortes of his command. These men however faced the same fate as their Native American counterparts and were forced to fight with Cortes under his rule or die. While preoccupied fighting the forces Velasquez had sent over, the Aztecs attacked the Spanish forces that were left without its ruler. Their attacks were continued after the return of Cortes with such fury that their own leader, Montezuma, was mortally wounded, and many of the Spaniards were also slain. So persistent and threatening became the Aztec assaults that the invaders found themselves faced with the reality of being entirely destroyed, and their leader was forced to order a retreat. [10] The story of the conquest of Mexico may be briefly concluded. However, Cortes, in his retreat, found himself opposed by a vastly outnumbering army, filling a valley through which he was forced to pass. The night was cloudy, and a drizzling rain, which fell without intermission, added to the obscurity. The great square before the palace was deserted, as it had been since the fall of Montezuma. The city was eerily silent and they were only reminded of the past by the occasional presence of some solitary corpse, or a gathering of the slain. All seemed quiet, but the Aztecs were not going to let them escape without a battle. As the Spaniards drew near the spot where they were preparing to lay the portable bridge across the uncovered breach they encountered several Indian sentinels. The Spaniards saw that no time was to be lost. The bridge was brought forward and fitted quickly. However, before the Spaniards had time to cross the narrow passage, the Aztecs attacked. The Spaniards were first faced with a few stones and arrows striking at random among the hurrying troops. This was short lived however as arrows began to fall faster and more furious. A desperate conflict ensued, in which the Spaniards were in imminent danger of annihilation. Cortes, followed by his bravest men, advanced to the point where the great Aztec flag rose in the center of the army, cut down the general, and seized the imperial banner. On seeing their flag fall, the Aztec army at once broke into a panic and fled in all directions, leaving free passage to the remnant of the Spanish force. [11] After the Aztec retreat, Cortes reorganized his army. He returned to conquer the city in 1521, and launched a bloody attack against Tenochtitlan. It was defended with desperate determination, and yielded only after a siege of several months. The Aztecs were finally weakened due to a multiple of factors to include the advanced weapons of the Spaniards, famine and epidemics. The submission of the city was that of the empire, and the Aztecs experienced the fate which had been visited upon the natives in the other Spanish colonies. Tragic came the end of a great empire. An empire that was conquered much the same way they conquered their Native American counterparts as they laid siege to what is today Mexico City. In their time of great conquest, while enjoying the benefits of being one of the most powerful alliances of all time, the Aztecs never could have imagined that the tribes they bestowed their will upon would one day team up with a foreign army to destroy them. One could only imagine what may have been if the Native Americans in this region could have joined forces to battle their foreign counterparts. I, for one, believe our History books would be much different. Works Cited Gruzinski, Serge. The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire. New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1992. Bierhorst, John. History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1998. Draper, Robert. 2010. Unburying the Aztec. National Geographic, November 1, 110-135. http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/ (accessed May 7, 2011). Jennings, Gary. Aztec. Hartford: Forge Books, 2007. Leon-Portilla, Miguel. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico. Boston: Beacon Press, 2006. |Umberger, E.. 2007. The Metaphorical Underpinnings of Aztec History: The case of the 1473 civil war. Ancient | |Mesoamerica 18, no. 1, (March 1): 29.  http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/ (accessed May 8, 2011). | |Calloway, Colin G. First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History, 3rd. ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. | ----------------------- [1] Serge Gruzinski, The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire (New York: Harry N Abrams, 1992), 34. [2] John Bierhorst. History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1998), 79. [3] Robert Draper. “Unburying the Aztec,” National Geographic, May 2000, 114. [4] Gary, Jennings. Aztec (Hartford: Forge Books, 2007), 113. [5] Jennings, Aztec, 179. [6] Bierhorst, History and Mythology of the Aztecs, 72. [7] Gruzinski, The Aztecs, 1992, 91. [8] Miguel Leon-Portilla. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Boston: Beacon Press, 2006), 13. [9] Leon-Portilla, The Broken Spears, 2006, 33. [10] Colin Calloway, First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History, 3rd. ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008), 84. [11] Leon-Portilla, The Broken Spears, 2006, 115.