Transcript Origins of the Aztec..

Aztecs
Origins
Nomads
 Originally the Aztecs were a small group that had been
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displaced after their soil was depleted.
Moved from their territory in NW Mexico.
Around 1240 CE they began to settle down in the Valley of
Mexico and assimilate with the people already their.
The Aztecs served as mercenaries and developed a reputation
as warriors.
In 1323, a local king agreed to allow his daughter to marry the
Aztec chief.
 They responded by sacrificing her.
After this the Aztec had to keep moving south.
 Finally settled in southern Mexico
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On an island in Lake Mexico.
 Was isolated and had good resources
First Settlement
 The location on Lake Mexico was initially not
the best.
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Over time the marshes were filled in.
Man made islands were created
Nutrient rich soil was dredged from the lake to
help grow crops.
 By 1500, the settlement, called Tenochtitlan,
spread over 5 hectares
Social development
 The Aztecs continued to offer themselves as
mercenaries.
 Gradually they began to see themselves as warriors
of the sun.
 Developed an alliance with a city state to the west.
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Gave them technology and income
Was given territory on the mainland
 The Aztecs lost their system of tribal chiefs and
evolved into a hereditary monarchy
 In 1428, they turned on their ally and conquered
them.
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They had an instant empire.
They didn’t look back from there
Expansion
 The conquest of their ally led to a building spree
 Tenochtitlan was redeveloped with larger temples and
government buildings
 In 1450 was a period of sever drought
 The Aztecs believed that the gods were angry and
needed to be assuaged with blood
 Began a series of wars with their neighbors
 Called the Flowery Wars
 Fought over the right to seize captives and sacrifice
them, not for territory
 .Embarked on a century long expansionist drive
 By 1500 they controlled most of central Mexico.
 In 1520, the Spanish Conquistador Cortez arrives
 Repressed natives help the Spaniards topple the
Aztecs.