Units 9 and 10 Connections Across Land and Water The Battle for Tenochtitlán: An Aztec Perspective
Name: ________________________________________________________ Date: _________________ Period: ____________
You will need to use your assigned copy of The Human Record – Vol. I to complete the following:
Instructions: Start by reading the introduction to Chapter 13, Transoceanic Encounters 1500-1700; Europeans in the Americas (pp.
457 – 459), Then read the introduction to the following source document and the document itself: The Battle for Tenochtitlán: An
Aztec Perspective (pp. 460-465). DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME – YOU MUST FINISH THIS IN CLASS TODAY. Answer the following questions FULLY --- however, it is not required that you answer in complete sentences. Before answering questions about the source document itself, answer the following questions (info found in the introductions).
Intro:
1. According to the introduction, what became the single most important factor in the breakdown of regional isolation around the world and the creation of a true global community in the years after 1500?
Europe’s push across wide expanses of ocean
2. Where were Westerns Europeans “gaining ground” in the
River Basin (southeastern Canada)
9. According to the introduction, historians do not believe that the Europeans who traveled to the Americas had the intent of decimating the native population there – what reason(s) is given in support of this claim? world (1500-1700)? the Americas
3. Where were Western Europeans “losing ground” in the
It was inconsistent with the world view and aims of the
European colonizers who sought to convert these people to
Christianity.
10. Even if the Europeans did not intend to decimate the world (1500-1700)?
Ottoman (Turkish) controlled territory
East Asia
India
4. Who was the Western European’s strongest “threat” during this period (1500-1700)—and how much of a threat were they?
The Ottoman Turks – who had destroyed the Hungarian army (Hungary was Christian) and besieged Vienna,
Austria which did eventually fail.
5. Why was China considered a “threat” to the Western
Europeans bent on expanding their influence around the world? native American population– they did—explain how (general info will suffice—more specific info should be related for questions 11, 12).
They passed on diseases to them – smallpox, measles, diphtheria, chicken pox, whooping cough, influenza, malaria, yellow fever and in doing so, killed off millions of native Americans (due to their isolation in the Western
Hemisphere – the native Americans had not encountered these diseases before which made them more susceptible to them).
11. How were the Tainos affected by Columbus’s visit to their
China was expanding its own territory and had established friendly border relations with Russia.
6. What (vast) country began to be regarded along with many
Western Europeans as being intent on expanding its frontiers during this period?
Russia
7. When did various Western European nations begin to explore (and later exploit) the Americas?
15 th and 16 th centuries
8. What were the two major Western European countries that explored (and exploited) the Americas? -- and what particular areas did they come to control in the Americas?
Spain and Portugal -- Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and island?
Their population went from 1 million in 1492 to a few thousand by 1530.
12. How was Mexico affected by Cortés and other Spaniards?
Mexico pre-conquest: 21.5 million (1519)
Mexico post-conquest: 16 million (1532) AND 2.5 million after the epidemic of 1545-1548.
13. How were the Mississippians (mound builders) of North
America affected?
They seem to have disappeared by the mid-16 th century due to European diseases spread along the native trade
South America, and the southern portions of North
America
England, France, the Netherlands--northern portions of
North America’s Atlantic coast and the St. Lawrence routes (Europeans never had contact with these people).
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Units 9 and 10 Connections Across Land and Water The Battle for Tenochtitlán: An Aztec Perspective
Bernardino de Sahagún, General History of Things of New
Spain – pp. 460-465 and answer FULLY the following questions (be prepared to discuss them in class tomorrow).
14. What does the source reveal about the motives of the
Spaniards and their allies for their attack on the Aztecs?
21. How did the Aztec view of war differ from that of the
Spaniards? war was “defensive” for the Aztecs in this case --- war for the
Aztecs was almost a religious experience – the Aztec people seemed unified in their desire to protect their nation from the
15. What was Moctezuma’s strategy to deal with the
Spanish war for the Spanish was “offensive” -- a way of obtaining their goals – acquiring riches and converting people to
Spaniards, and why did it fail? to welcome them and offer them riches them in hopes of keeping them friendly
Christianity
22. What does the source reveal about Aztec religious beliefs, values, and practices? they also hoped to create conditions whereby the
Spaniards would return from where they came
(rainmakers – witches – priests….. to cast spells on them to they implored the gods to assist them – believed that they prevent them from attacking them as they had done the other Indian tribes).
The strategy failed because the Spaniards were intent on conquering the Aztecs. would decide their fate—they tried to appease their gods and to act in their behalf
23. Who was Bernardino de Sahagún , and why was his writings about Mexican culture confiscated by royal decree in
16. What impression did Spanish firearms and cannons have on the Aztecs? they didn’t seem to be terribly impressed or frightened by them
17. What evidence is there that the Aztecs adjusted their strategy to counter the Spanish weapons? they quickly learned to adapt -they “bunched” together after having been outfitted with shields and arrows (barbed darts, spears, and tridents)— also, they used their knowledge of the canals in the city to
1578?
A member of the Franciscan Order – “priest”/missionary who arrived in Mexico in 1529 who developed a keen interest in the culture of the Mexican native – he wrote about their culture to preserve memory of it. Spanish rulers opposed his work because it threatened their policy of exploiting and Christianizing the natives.
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out-smart the Spaniards
18. Aside from their firearms, what other military advantages did the Spaniards have over their opponents? metal shields, swords, horses, and disease (smallpox)
ALSO, the fact that they had allied themselves with some of the Aztecs’ enemies
19. How decisive do these other advantages (q. 5) seem to have been? disease and the alliances with the Aztec enemies
20. On several occasions, the Aztecs routed the Spaniards.
What explains these Aztec victories? the element of surprise – perhaps inexperience of the
Spanish commander (when Cortes was away), and – the
Aztecs had a larger army and …. luck
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