Why might Cortes have wanted to conquer the Aztec? Cortes might have wanted to conquer the Aztec
because he wanted gold, silver, to convert them to Christianity, glory, and greed
. … The advantages that the Spanish had over the Aztec were 16 horses, guns, armor, formed alliances, and diseases, steel.
Why did the Spanish destroy Tenochtitlan?
Spanish conquistadores commanded by Hernán Cortés allied with local tribes to conquer the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán. Cortés’s army besieged Tenochtitlán for 93 days, and
a combination of superior weaponry and a devastating smallpox outbreak
enabled the Spanish to conquer the city.
What happened Tenochtitlan?
A great deal of Tenochtitlan was destroyed in the fighting,
or was looted, burned, or destroyed after the surrender
. The leader of the conquistadors, Hernan Cortés, began the construction of what is now known as Mexico City among the ruins.
What did the Spanish bring with them that caused the Aztec Empire to collapse?
Disease. When the Spanish arrived, they brought with them
smallpox
. … The disease devastated the Aztec people, greatly reducing their population and killing an estimated half of Tenochtitlán’s inhabitants. One of those who died was the Aztec emperor Cuitláhuac.
What happened after the Spanish conquered the Aztecs?
During the Spaniards’ retreat, they
defeated a large Aztec army at Otumba
and then rejoined their Tlaxcaltec allies. In May 1521, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlán, and after a three-month siege the city fell. This victory marked the fall of the Aztec empire.
Why did Aztecs fall?
Lacking food and ravaged by
smallpox disease
earlier introduced by one of the Spaniards, the Aztecs, now led by Cuauhtemoc, finally collapsed after 93 days of resistance on the fateful day of 13th of August, 1521 CE.
Why was Tenochtitlan important?
In less than 200 years, it evolved from a small settlement on an island in the western swamps of Lake Texcoco into the powerful political, economic, and religious center of the greatest empire of Precolumbian Mexico. Tenochtitlan was
a city of great wealth
, obtained through the spoils of tribute from conquered regions.
What invaders destroyed the Inca empire?
| Date 1532–1572 | Location Western South America |
|---|
What caused the destruction of the Inca and Aztec civilizations?
The Europeans brought with them diseases such as measles and smallpox against which the American tribes had no natural immunity. They
spread like wildfire
, killing rulers of both the Aztecs and Incas, along with millions of other people.
How were Aztec wiped out?
In 1521, Hernán Cortés, along with an allied army of other Native Americans, conquered
the Aztecs through germ warfare
(germ theory not being established until 1560 by earliest records, this was an unintentional result of Europeans coming to the New World), siege warfare, psychological warfare, and from direct combat.
Why did the Spanish hate the Aztecs?
They hated the Aztecs
because they had raided their cities for people to sacrifice to their gods
. Montezuma II tried to keep Cortés from getting all the way to Tenochtitlan, but Cortés continued his march. He destroyed the Aztec religious city of Cholula along the way.
Could the Aztecs have defeated the Spanish?
No
. It just means that later Spanish expeditions would’ve had the glory of subjugating Mexico. It might have taken a much larger force but it would’ve happened. Smallpox and other diseases from Europe would’ve decimated the Aztecs and made them much weaker than the society that Cortez faced.
What happened to Tenochtitlan lake?
The Lake was
primarily fed by snowmelt and rain runoff when the Mexico Valley had a temperate climate
. Between 11,000 and 6,000 years ago, the climate naturally warmed and snowfall in central Mexico became less prevalent. This caused the water level of the lake to drop over the next several millennia.
How many Aztecs were killed in the Spanish conquest?
They found that the city’s society had crumpled. The Aztecs no longer trusted Montezuma, they were short on food, and the smallpox epidemic was under way.
More than 3 million Aztecs died
from smallpox, and with such a severely weakened population, it was easy for the Spanish to take Tenochtitlán.
What virus killed the Aztecs?
Earlier, the successful conquest of Mexican Aztec and Peruvian Inca empires by a handful of Spanish conquistadors led by Hernando Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, respectively, resulted in large part from epidemics of
smallpox and measles virus infection
that decimated the native defenders.
What race are Aztecs?
The Aztecs were
the Native American people
who dominated northern Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century. A nomadic culture, the Aztecs eventually settled on several small islands in Lake Texcoco where, in 1325, they founded the town of Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City.
How did the Aztecs get to Tenochtitlan?
Early on in the history of the city the
Aztecs built causeways and canals for transportation to
and from the city. A causeway is a raised road that allowed the people to easily travel over the swampy and wet areas. There were three major causeways that led from the island city to the mainland.
What wiped the Incas?
Influenza and smallpox
were the main causes of death among the Inca population and it affected not only the working class but also the nobility.
How did Cortes describe Tenochtitlan?
Bernal Diaz del Castillo, one of Cortés’ men, describes Tenochtitlán:
When we saw all those cities and villages built on water; and the other great towns on dry land, and that straight and level causeway leading to Mexico, we were astounded
.
Is Tenochtitlan still there?
Today,
the ruins of Tenochtitlan are in the historic center of the Mexican capital
. The World Heritage Site of Xochimilco contains what remains of the geography (water, boats, floating gardens) of the Mexica capital. … The city is located in modern-day Mexico City.
How did the Spanish defeat the Inca?
On November 16, 1532, Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and conquistador,
springs a trap on the Incan emperor
, Atahualpa. … Pizarro’s men massacre the Incans and capture Atahualpa, forcing him to convert to Christianity before eventually killing him.
Why were the Spanish interested in conquering the Inca?
The Spanish
recognized the wealth and abundance that could be had in this territory
; at this point the Inca Empire was at its largest, measuring around 690,000 square miles. In 1528 Pizarro went back to Spain to ask for the official blessing of the Spanish crown to the conquer the area and become governor.
What caused the Incas downfall?
Disease. Disease was a very important factor that led to the collapse of the Inca Empire.
Smallpox
, which was a very dangerous disease back then, arrived way before the arrival of the Spanish. … This disease killed over 200,000 Incas and weakened most of the population.
What was one cause of the decline of the Inca empire?
The Inca empire’s decline started when
diseases such as smallpox, measles, chickenpox, and influenza
spread throughout the empire killing between 50% and 90% of the population (The…show more content… …
Are Aztecs still alive today?
Today the descendants of the Aztecs are referred to as
the Nahua
. More than one-and-a-half million Nahua live in small communities dotted across large areas of rural Mexico, earning a living as farmers and sometimes selling craft work.
Did any Aztecs survive?
By the 1500s,
they had not only survived, but managed to prevail
, and they were taking no chances of being forced to go backwards. They used their brains and their brawn to defeat their neighbors — first the other ethnic groups in the central basic of Mexico, and then much farther afield.
What happened to the Aztecs gold?
As Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced last week, the precious metal was
probably dropped in a canal by Spanish invaders as they retreated from the Aztec capital
of Tenochtitlán on June 30, 1520, the Noche Triste, or “Night of Sadness.”
How did the Aztecs bring freshwater to Tenochtitlán?
The Aztecs primarily relied on
using aqueducts
that transported spring water from the nearby hills into the city.
What happened to the Spanish when they tried to leave Tenochtitlan?
Cortés led his army out of Tenochtitlan to meet them, leaving behind a garrison of 80 Spaniards and a few hundred Tlaxcaltecs
to govern the city
. … In May 1521, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan, and after a three-month siege the city fell. This victory marked the fall of the Aztec empire.
Are Mayans still alive?
Do The Maya Still Exist? Descendants of the Maya still live in
Central America in modern-day Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and parts of Mexico
. The majority of them live in Guatemala, which is home to Tikal National Park, the site of the ruins of the ancient city of Tikal.
Where are the ruins of Tenochtitlán?
Tenochtitlán, ancient capital of the Aztec empire. Located at
the site of modern Mexico City
, it was founded c. 1325 in the marshes of Lake Texcoco.
Why did the Aztecs have no chance against the Spanish conquerors?
This made it easier to conquer the remaining Aztecs. The Spaniards’ victory is attributed to their technological advances and the Aztec empire’s
vulnerability due to the smallpox spread
. As a result, the Aztec’s tactics countering the Spaniard’s advanced technology is understated.
Why couldn’t the Aztecs stop the Spanish?
The Spaniards could never have conquered the empire alone. In the end they all amalgamated together and formed the modern day Mexico and the Mexican nation. This was because
the spanish were aligned with native american tribes who were hostile and enemies of the aztecs
and were oppressed by the aztec empire.
Could the Inca have beaten the Spanish?
The only way the Incas would have somehow defeated the Spanish expedition
was to murder the Pizarro brothers
in the initial stages before the Spanish had settled in Peru and then hope it wuld cause unstability amongst the Spanish.
How did the Spanish defeat the Aztecs so easily?
There were many different reasons why the Spanish were able to take over the Aztec Empire. … First,
their weapons and armor were better than the Aztecs
‘. Aztec warriors had only cotton armour and shields made of wood or reeds to protect them. The Spanish had metal armor and shields.
What would happen if Spain never colonized Mexico?
Mexico is the
independent state of New Spain
, a Spanish colony. Without Spain there is no Mexico. Mexico did not exist before Spain, Spain didn’t colonise their country, it is the illusion of some modern people that countries always existed. Mexico is the independent state of New Spain, a Spanish colony.
How did the Aztecs eat?
While the Aztecs ruled, they farmed large areas of land. Staples of their diet were
maize, beans and squash
. To these, they added chilies and tomatoes. … Meat was eaten sparsely; the Aztec diet was primarily vegetarian with the exception of grasshoppers, maguey worms, ants and other larvae.
What did the Aztecs think of the Spanish?
The Aztecs first thought the Spanish were
gods due to their light skin and dark hair
. The Aztecs would pay the Spanish gold and other gifts to celebrate them.
