Aztec civilization was at its peak when it was conquered and destroyed by Spaniards, this essay will seek out reasons as to why the Aztec civilization got destroyed. Aztec history lays out as civilization of rising innovation, religion, culture, and eventually downfall. The term Aztec refers to the civilization that was advanced, the people referred to themselves as Mexica. The Aztecs came to rise by conquering rival tribes which allowed them to create an empire that stretched between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Their empire of the Aztecs consisted of about 489 city states under the rule of Montezuma II from the capital Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs were an agricultural society that relied on the system of tributes from their city states because Tenochtitlan was not able to grow crops within the city. The society was based on a strict hierarchy that told people they were part of one of the five major social classes. Throughout the history of the Aztecs they innovated moving from basic tools and farming to more advanced inventions and techniques.
The Aztecs had to innovate because they did not have metal ploughs, or any metal tools used for digging or building. Aztecs used traditional digging sticks and domestic animals to help with labor and carry materials (Easton, 403). The people devised many innovations that helped structure their economy, politics, agricultures, architecture, and hierarchy of class. The Aztecs also developed the Aztec Calendar which one was the 260-day ritual cycle calendar that supervised sacrifices while the other was a 365-day stone secular calendar (Smith, 6). They kept track of most records such as techniques and trades within the Codex Mendoza, a collection of tributes to the empire and conquest of kings and tribes along with the cycle of birth and death. The science and technological innovations led to fields of obsidian tools, new agricultural methods, and building methods (Smith, 6). Tenochtitlan was an area that could not support such growth in the valley, so the Aztecs had to create new ways of growing crops while also relying on tributes. In order to help with this situation, the Aztecs invented the Chinampas a floating garden made in nearby rivers. To keep all this information saved the Aztecs created a writing system based off of pictographs (Smith, 1). With this writing system in place the Aztecs also invented the idea of mandatory education for everyone. The people that oversaw the pictographs also had power within their religion since they were part of a higher class.
The Aztecs religion was polytheistic and had its people believing that many gods lived among them and gave them life throughout their years. The gods in the Aztec culture are considered demanding and only pleased through bloody human sacrifices that came from the lower class or prisoners (Easton, 398). Some of the gods the Aztecs that were made offerings to were in charge of the sun, warfare, crops, rain fire, and the dead. Each direction around the capital had religious significance with its own rituals and colors. The temples these offerings were made at were decorated with colorful sculptures of feathered serpents such as Quetzalcoatl (Easton, 399). To be sacrificed was an honor because those who were sacrificed were guaranteed a place in heaven. The priests would go lengths of flying skin and wearing the victims skin as part of a ceremony or using obsidian tools to open the chest and take out the victim’s heart (Easton, 400). In some cases, there were mass sacrifices such as the people of Huastecs who tried revolting against the Aztec and therefore all sacrificed (Smith, 6). The religious sacrifices were meant to be a type of payment or appeasement in order for the gods to bestow gifts to the people of Tenochtitlan. However, the sacrifices were also used as a tool of fear to control the lower class of Aztecs or instill fear in its enemies (Smith, 6). The Aztecs used all types of tactics to make their enemies fear them and to control the lower classes, this was part of their culture.
Tenochtitlan the capital of the Aztec empire was created around 1325 on a marshy site surrounded by a lake (Smith, 1). The site of the capital was pointed out to the Aztecs by an eagle sitting on a cactus plant. The location of the capital allowed the Aztec culture to flourish in the highlands Mexico. The complex layout of their urban culture was adopted from their predecessors such as the Mayans. A broad view of the social organization of the Aztecs could be described as the commoners and the nobility, the higher ranked nobles were in charge of politics and resources (Smith, 2). A majority of the Aztec population was considered to be commoner while a small percentage were nobles. The economy of the civilization was based solely on agriculture crops included corn, beans, and squash (Smith, 3). The Aztecs produced artisans of luxury goods such as textiles produced by women. Clothing and textiles were also a source of paying tribute and payment in the markets (Smith, 3). In their society the typical Aztec family included the man, wife, chief, and children these relationships were determined by the prints studying the stars to determine compatibility. The Men were expected to be warriors and earn glory in combat while the women were meant to stay at home cook and make clothes while also tending to the children (Smith, 4). The discipline of the Aztecs was very important in creating a respectful society. Punishments could go anywhere from being speared with cactus spikes to being bound naked in the wild (Smith, 4). Although the Aztecs were extreme in their society they would have to be when they were met by the Spaniards.
The Aztec civilization was destroyed at its height in 1519 by Hernando Cortés and his Spanish conquerors. Towards the peak and end of the Aztecs civilization in the 15th century voyagers of exploration from Portugal and Spain sought new routes from Asia and Europe stumbling upon the Americas (Easton, 410). Cortés led an expedition into the Americas with a small army in order to colonize the Americas on behalf of Spain and Christianity. On the arrival the explorers they ran into a tribe of the Totonac people who hated the Aztecs and therefore supported Cortés in his conquest (Easton, 411). Originally Montezuma thought Cortés was sent by god and welcomed him, but realized he only wanted gold and treasure which lead down a spiral of distrust and hate (Easton, 412). This sparked a conflict and Cortés took Montezuma as a hostage and the conquistadors killed nobles which led to an uprising in the city. Forced to retreat Cortés left leaving behind his allies and some of his men to die, while Cortés escaped the Aztecs believed that the threat of the Spanish was gone (Easton, 412). However, that was not the case what came after the soldiers was worse and it was smallpox. The plague swept throughout the cities’ population killing a large portion of it(Hennessy, 17). Cortés returned to conquer the allies of the Aztecs with the help of his supporters. The siege of Tenochtitlan occurred when Cortés arrived with a large army of Spaniards and Tlaxcalans who attacked the city constantly so that it received no resources (Hennessy, 18). The reason the Spaniards were so successful was highly duo to local tribes’ support, but also the difference in technology and better weapons used by the Spaniards (Hennessy, 23).
Overall, The Aztec civilization went through a lot in its history which included conquering small tribes and turning into a powerful civilization. In addition, they were able to adapt to their environment and location through innovating. This meant that although their marsh was not ideal they used Chinampas in nearby lakes to solve their agriculture problem. The Aztecs also switched over from wood tools to obsidian and gold due to the abundance of minerals in their area. The Aztec 365-day calendar was created to keep track of the days and sacrifices that were needed for each God depending on day or night. In order to keep track of important information and tributes the Aztecs made it mandatory for everyone to have an education. They also used the Codex Mendoza to keep tabs on the nearby tribes and the amount of resources that were given to the Aztecs as tribute. Their culture revolved around religion and respect of others. The religion of the Aztecs involved sacrifices to their gods to earn favor and receive gifts. The religion was also used as a fear tactic to control the lower classes and the. The Aztecs used slaves and people captured in war as sacrifices which scared nearby tribes into submission and put them into a tributary system. Eventually, Cortés came around and wanted all the gold and treasures the Aztec civilization had to offer. Originally the king of the Aztecs thought that Cortés was sent by god and therefore welcomed him into his culture, but was betrayed. Cortés brought war to the Aztecs and smallpox which weakened the Aztecs and made it easy for Cortés and his army to defeat the Aztecs.