Transcript Columbian Native American group found in Modern

The Aztec &
Inca Empires
The Aztecs were an ancient pre- Columbian
Native American group found in Modern Day
central Mexico. At the height of their power they
were the most powerful empire in Mexico at the
time of European Exploration.
The capital of the
empire was the
city of
Tenochtitlan
The Legend of the Aztecs
The Aztecs were nomadic people. They believed
that their Gods would give them a sign when they
arrived at the place they needed to settle. The
wandered into the Valley of Mexico in 1278 and
came to the marshy shores of Lake Texcoco in
present day Mexico City. At this spot they saw an
eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake. The
Aztecs believed this to be a sign from their Gods
On this spot their built the great city of
Tenochtitlan.
We can still see this Aztec legend depicted what
the Mexico national….
The Aztecs were a very
powerful group.
They had a very strict class
system that included warriors
and chiefs.
The Aztec’s practiced a polytheistic
religion ( the belief in many Gods).
They worshiped hundreds of Gods
and Goddesses. They believed that
animal and human hearts and
blood gave the gods strength and
appeased them when they were
angry. When the Aztecs conquered
other tribes they required them to
pay large taxes and provide people
( often times war prisoners or
slaves) to sacrifice. This practice
made the Aztecs very unpopular
with surrounding native groups.
Aztec’s Major Contributions
• Offered free and Mandatory Education for girls and
boys.
• Created very complex alphabets with Hieroglyphics• First society to use irrigation techniques and created
“floating gardens” called Chinampas to grow crops.
• Studies astronomy and created a calendar called the
Sunstone that revolved around the sun’s orbit.
• First civilization to use the Cocoa (chocolate) plant in
cooking
• Art- Sculptures & Mask
The Aztecs
meet Cortez
In 1519, the Spanish arrived in
Mexico. By 1521 the Aztec Empire
ended when it was conquered by the
Spanish.
In 1518, the Spanish conquistador(
conqueror), Hernan Cortes, was
ordered by the King of Spain to leave
Cuba ( a new Spanish Colony) and
open up new territory to Spanish
settlement in Mexico. He arrived in
April 1519 with eleven ships, 500
soldiers, and 100 sailors. To make
sure no one went back to Cuba he
burned the ships.
When the Spanish arrived from the
East, the Aztec leader Montezuma
believed that Quetzalcoatl ( an ancient
God) had kept his promise and had
returned. The Aztec people welcomed
the Spanish into the city with gold and
gifts. The gold excited the Spanish but
the human sacrifices made in their
honor horrified the Catholic soldiers.
• After being in the city several months,
Cortes and his men captured Montezuma
and took control of the Aztec people. Guns,
horses, and alliances with neighboring tribes
kept the Aztec people from fighting back
against the smaller numbered Spanish Army.
• In late 1520 a fight broke out between the
Aztec and Spanish armies. Montezuma was
killed during the battle.
In 1521 ( less than two years after
Cortes landed in Mexico) the Aztec
Empire collapsed
• The Spanish’s modern weapons( guns)
quickly defeated the primitive spears
and arrows of the Aztecs.
• The Spanish brought horses and dogs,
which made them faster in warfare
and capture.
• European diseases like measles and
smallpox wiped out ¾ of the Aztec
population.
Lasting consequences of the Spanish
Invasion
1. Spain gained control of Mexico fro the next 300
years. Tenochtitlan name was changed to Mexico
City.
2. The Aztec tribe never recovered and today there
are only few who are direct descendants.
3. Native Languages were outlawed. The Spanish
language became to official language of the country.
4. Opened up further exploration by European
countries in the New World.
5. Christianity was introduced to the New World for
the first time.
The Incas were an ancient pre- Columbian
Native Americans that lived along the
western coast of South America in the Andes
Mountains of modern day Ecuador, Peru, &
Chile.
Incas
The Incas were a small tribe that settled into the
Andes Mountain region. The Empire only lasted
roughly 100 years. The Inca’s worshipped nature
believing their Gods appeared in rainbows, the
moon, trees, etc.. They called themselves “children
of the Sun”. Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas only
sacrificed animals to their Gods.
The Incas were the first group to
run a structured government and
economy. All citizens paid taxes to
government. They did not pay in
currency but in labor. The citizens
work a certain amount each year to
build bridges, palaces, roads, etc…
for the empire
The Inca government in return
provided food, homes and clothing.
The empire prided itself on it’s
healthy workers.
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Major Contributions By the Incas
a. Built 10,000 roads and bridges in the
Andes Mountains
b. Art- mask, pottery, sculptures
c. The great city of Machu Picchu in
Peru.
d. Agricultural- the Incas invented
terraces and irrigation canals to get the
water to their crops on the mountain
sides.
Manchu Picchu
The ancient Inca city
located in Peru. It was
built during the height
of the Inca empire and
was complete
abandoned by the time
of the Spanish Invasion
100 years later. Called
the “Lost City” or “City
in the Clouds”
The Incas meet Pizarro
• In 1526 Spanish Conquistador Francisco
Pizarro was working in the Spanish colony
in Panama. He learned about a rich country
to the south. This empire was the Inca
empire in Peru.
• Pizarro traveled to Spain and received royal
approval by the Queen of Spain to conquer
the region and be its viceroy (governor).
The monarchy also gave him three ships,
200 men, and three dozen horse to help him
conquer the empire.
• Atahualpa was the leader of the Inca
Empire. He was young and engaged
in a civil war with his brother for
control of the larger Inca tribes. He
was considered to be a “Sapa Inca”
or living descendent of the Inca sun
god.
• The meeting between Atahualpa and
Pizarro happened in 1532 near
present-day Guayaquil, Ecuador, on
the Pacific Coast.
• Pizarro and some of his men, met with the Inca,
who had brought only a small group of warriors.
Pizarro demanded that Atahualpa and his empire
accept the King Charles I of Spain and convert to
Christianity.
• Because of the language barrier, Atahualpa did not
fully understand the envoy's intentions. After
Atahualpa attempted further enquiry into the
doctrines of the Christian faith the Spanish
attacked the Inca's, surprising them with their
cannons and gund, and captured Atahualpa.
• Atahualpa offered the Spaniards
enough gold to fill the room he
was imprisoned in, and twice that
amount of silver. The Inca
fulfilled this ransom, but Pizarro
deceived them, refusing to
release the Inca afterwards. The
Spaniards put Atahualpa on trial
for treason to the Spainsh crown
and executed him in 1533. His
death ended the Inca Empire.
Lasting consequences of the Spanish
Invasion of the Inca Empire
• The Incas were imprisoned and forced to work in silver and gold
mines for the Spanish crown.
• Pizarro became very wealthy and founded the city of Lima, Peru. He
was later killed by his own men who were jealous of his vast riches.
• Spanish became the official language of most South American
countries and ruled the area for over 300 years.
• European disease like smallpox, measles, and typhoid claimed an
estimated 60-94% of the Inca population.
• The surviving Inca tribes isolated themselves deep in the Andes
Mountains were they still live today.