All about the ancient tribes
Both the Aztec and Mayan civilizations were destroyed as a direct result of environmental deterioration as well as Spanish colonialism and invasion (in the case of the Aztecs) (for the Mayans). Long before Cortez entered the territories of the Aztecs, the Mayan civilisation came to a catastrophic end owing to the combined effects of a number of factors.
In 1521, a group of foreign invaders headed by the Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés successfully destroyed the Aztec Empire and took control of Tenochtitlan, bringing an end to Mesoamerica’s last great indigenous civilisation.
During the time of the empire, the city was constructed on a man-made island that was elevated over Lake Texcoco.
The indigenous people were ravaged by a smallpox epidemic that greatly reduced their capacity for resistance against the Spanish. The epidemic decimated the Aztec people, causing a significant drop in their population and causing an estimated fifty percent of the people living in Tenochtitlan to perish.
Nahua is the name that has come to be used for the Aztecs’ descendants in modern times. More than one and a half million Nahua people make their life in tiny groups spread out throughout wide swaths of rural Mexico. These Nahua make their living mostly as farmers but also sometimes engage in the sale of handicrafts.
The fragile nature of the Aztec Empire, the strategic advantages offered by Spanish technology, and the presence of smallpox all contributed to Cortez and his expedition’s successful fall of the Aztec Empire.
In his pursuit of riches, glory, and deity, Cortes set his sights on the Aztec people. As a result of these factors, a significant number of individuals living in the Aztec Empire were miserable. A number of them provided assistance to the Spanish conquistadors during their conquest of the empire.
Their dominion based on tribute grew to encompass all of Mesoamerica. As early as 2600 BC, the Maya people established their culture in southern Mexico and northern Central America, a vast region that encompasses the whole Yucatán Peninsula. They called this region of the world home. Comparison chart.
Aztecs | Mayans | |
---|---|---|
Today part of | Mexico | Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. |
During the time that they were in power, the Aztecs farmed vast tracts of land. Corn, beans, and squash were the three most important foods in their diet. They added chiles and tomatoes to these ingredients. They also gathered a species of crayfish-like critter called an acocil, which is common in Lake Texcoco, as well as a type of algae called spirulina, which they baked into cakes.
The Mayan empire began in 2600 BC and spread all over a vast territory in northern Central America and southern Mexico. The Aztec civilization flourished in central Mexico from the 14th to the 16th century and spread throughout Mesoamerica. In contrast, the Mayan empire began in 2600 BC and spread all over a vast territory in northern Central America and southern Mexico.
After the fall of the Aztec empire, the beautiful art that had been kept in its temples was turned into currency and the buildings themselves were defiled or destroyed. The common people suffered from the illnesses brought by the Europeans, which killed out up to fifty percent of the population, and their new masters turned out to be no better than the Aztecs had been.
The Aztecs had lost faith in Montezuma, their food supply was running low, and an outbreak of smallpox had begun among them. More than three million Aztecs perished as a result of the smallpox epidemic; with such a severely depleted population, it was very simple for the Spanish to conquer Tenochtitlán.
The peoples who had been subjugated by the Aztecs disliked the Aztecs for demanding payment and victims for their religious sacrifices, but the Aztec military managed to keep any uprisings under control.
At that time, it is thought that the Spanish had accumulated somewhere in the neighborhood of eight thousand pounds of gold and silver, in addition to a substantial amount of feathers, cotton, gems, and other items.
Many people living within the Aztec Empire came to the conclusion that Cortés was actually the god Quetzalcoatl, who was destined to return and depose Tezcatlipoca, the god who required that humans be sacrificed to him.