Thomas

Sorry, i only just reset the password because i forgot the original one. Ill try and get round to putting some stuff in here. :)

The Aztecs By Thomas A.

Time of the Aztecs Over 1500 years ago, an ethnic group formed in South-Western America and Northern Mexico. This group was, and still is called the Nahua People. Nahua means ‘Intelligent’ or ‘Intelligible’ and literally meant ‘The Intelligible People’ because their language, Nahuatl literally means ‘The Intelligible Language.’ The Nahua migrated to Central Mexico around 500 CE, and continued to enter Mexico in waves for years afterwards. During the 7th Century, the Nahua had become a powerful group rising to power in central Mexico and occupying lands previously owned by the Oto-Manguean, Totonacan and Huastec people. The Toltecs, an assumed group of Nahua Descendants, came to dominate much of Mexico during the 11th Century, ruling from their powerbase of Tollan. After the Toltecs fell, a large power vacuum was left in Mexico. This gave rise to the Aztecs; Aztec deriving from a mythical place in Nahua Culture called ‘Aztlan’ and they were so called: ‘People from Aztlan.’ The Aztecs came to control much of Mexico during the 1500’s.

Aztec Society The Aztecs had a very simple class structure which involved: The Nobility or ‘Pipiltin’ which was very different to European Nobility in the way that it wasn’t hereditary, anyone could become a Pipiltin if they were educated and somewhat wealthy (it was easier for sons of Pipiltin to become Pipiltin themselves because of the resources available), but later on it became half hereditary. The peasants or ‘Macehualtin’ were the standard citizen of the Aztec Empire and either lived in Urban or Rural areas. Around 20% of the standard citizen worked crops and supplied food to the larger population. The other 80% of citizens were Warriors, Arts and Craftsmen and Traders. The Slaves or ‘Tlacotin’ whilst being one of the lowliest people of the Aztec Social Structure, were also very important. The Tlacotin were not so much slaves but more ‘Independent Possessions’ allowed to own their own personal items and even other slaves. A slave would be freed if he/she was the hardest working when their master died, while the rest where passed on at inheritance. You could become a slave because you were captured, a criminal repaying his debt to society or someone who owes something to the would-be master. Aztec education was mainly performed by the parents until the age of 14. Aztec children were taught the basics along with old lessons in the form of ‘sayings.’ After the age of 14, an Aztec could do 2 types of classes: Telpochcalli: Military and Practical Studies. Calmecac: the Study of Language, Philosophy, Astronomy, Theology etc. The Aztecs were very fond of the Arts. Music and Poetry where highly regarded, with regular readings and performances during Festivals and Holidays. Poetry was divided into types of ‘Genres’ or Styles: Yaocuicatl – Devoted to Warfare and Gods of Warfare. Xochicuicatl – Devoted to Gods, the worship of Gods and Myths. Yaocuicatl – Devoted to Flowers, conveying the nature of poetry itself and the many forms it can take on. The Aztec Society was very simple and worked for the people it concerned, allowing the easy management of citizens and slaves.

Tenochtitlan, City of Mexico Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325 as a city state in pre-Colombian Mexico. By 1500, the city was the capital of the ever-growing Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan was estimated to be 8-13/5 square Kilometres large and rested on the swampy isle chain on the West Side of Lake Texcoco. The city was connected to the mainland by a large network of causeways and bridges. Tenochtitlan way riddled with canals so you could travel by canoe or by foot. Tenochtitlan was divided into four areas or ‘campans’ which made up the city. These campans were even further divided into 20 districts or ‘calpulli’ and each district was crossed by roads or ‘tlaxilcalli.’ The districts were divided by the canals, each with bridges that were removed during the night time. In every district there were ‘tiyanquiztli’ (marketplaces) and all the houses were normally made of wood with thatched roofs. In the centre of Tenochtitlan was the public area, filled with schools, palaces, gardens, community houses, small temple pyramids and of course the Templo Mayor. Almost everything was symmetrical because all buildings were approved by a ‘Board of Planning’ or //‘//calmimilocatl.’ Tenochtitlan was the cleanest city on Earth. Over 600 workers laboured day and night ridding the city of garbage and excrement. Many sweepers would work on the great streets every day, and because of that there was no dust, foliage or any sort of repugnant debris anywhere in public.

The Aztec Faith The Aztecs believed that once there was nothing but the Void, and in it their deities. First, the dual god, Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl formed itself. The Aztecs believed that the opposites of the world were somehow united during the beginning. Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl was Good and Evil, Order and Chaos and Male and Female. Because it was male and female, it had children, and these children grew to create the world. There were 4 children: Huizilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Xipe Totec. These children made the sea, other gods, the wind, the sky and a great sea monster called Cipactli. After they had finished, they realised, to their dismay that the other gods fell into the sea and were eaten by Cipactli. So, the 4 attacked the monster, pulling it in four directions. Cipactli fought back, but eventually was killed and became the Universe. The Thirteen Heavens reached from its head, its tail stretched down to the underworld and the Earth sat in the middle. When it came time to create the Sun, the Universe’s power source, the gods gathered to bring it into being. The proud god Tecuciztecatl offered himself, but the other gods preferred the humble Nanahuatzin. A great fire was built, but Tecuciztecatl ran up to it, but was too afraid at the last minute to jump in. Nanahuatzin ran straight past him and jumped. Filled with jealousy and shame, Tecuciztecatl jumped after, followed by an Eagle and a Jaguar. Both Suns rose into the sky. It was too bright - the gods threw a rabbit into the Tecuciztecatl Sun to dim the light, and he became the Great Moon.As soon as Nanahuatzin started to move across the sky, he stoped because he was weak. The Sun was motionless, so the gods on the ground gave their blood through ritual sacrifice to give him the power to move through the sky. The Aztecs believed that if the Sun stoped, then the World would be devoured by earthquakes, this along with Mayan, Incan, Christian, Roman, Greek and other Cultural doomsday stories are believed to be predictions of Armageddon. That is the Aztec creation story, and why they sacrifice people to the sun. Running an Empire The Aztec Empire was not so much an Empire, but more of a system of tribal tribute. When the Aztecs would attack another tribe and win, instead of doing the European custom of ruling over the claimed land directly, the Aztecs left the land with the tribe, but expected tribute to the Main Aztec Tribe every few weeks. The conquered tribe/city-state would continue life without Aztec interference as long as tribute was paid. Tribute would include Food, Slaves, Warriors, Animals, Building materials and much more, but mainly Slaves to sacrifice on Aztec Temples. When the Spanish arrived, the Aztec ‘King’, Montezuma II (sometimes known as Moctezuma, Moteuczoma and Motecuhzoma) believed that the Conquistadores were another Nahua tribe or that they were gods. This struck great fear into the Aztec leaders, compelling them into giving gifts to the Spanish in hopes that they would go away. Because the Aztecs thought that the Conquistadores were just another tribe, they tried to ‘conquer’ them and get tribute from the invaders. This lead to the fall of the Aztecs. The Fall When the Spanish came in search of riches, Montrzuma II had been ‘King’ for seventeen years. At first, the Aztecs tried to appease them with simple gifts, but this made the Spanish more curious. Even though they had a few skirmishes before hand, the Spanish allied themselves with the Aztecs long time enemy, the Tlaxcala Tribe. Together, they journeyed to Tenochtitlan and were at the city entrance only a few months after arrival. For a year, the allies were severely disliked guests in the city, and soon, fights broke out, one such being the Massacre during the Festival of Toxcatl. After this, the Aztecs rose up with great anger, and as the Spanish account tells us: they stoned and eventually killed their own ruler during the rage. This theory is not widely rejected by the Historical community in favour of the Aztec version: Montezuma was made by the Spanish to try and pacify his furious people, but, when this failed, the Spanish saw Montezuma as ‘outlived his usefulness’ so they killed him before fleeing the city. The Spanish and Tlaxcala warriors fled Tenochtitlan on the 1st of July, only to return a year later to lay siege to the city. After the Destruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Regime went through many rulers, until Andrés Motelchiuhtzin became ruler of what was left of Tenochtitlan in 1525. The Aztecs saw their Empire’s destruction not as a defeat by a group of foreigners from far over the sea, but as a tribe winning the war against another tribe, thinking all they’d have to do is pay tribute. The Aztec people suffered from a wide variety of European Diseases including Smallpox, Typhoid Fever and Typhus etc. With these diseases eating away at the population of Mexico, in 60 years, 80% of the indigenous people had died as a result of European interference.