ALL ABOUT AZTECS
Your goal today is to be able to define:
Aztecs, Tenochtitlan, Hernan Cortes,
and Montezuma. You should also be
able to describe the encounter and
consequences of the conflict between
the Spanish and the Aztecs. Finally, you
will be required to describe the Aztec
culture and tell how Cortes and
Montezuma affected the Aztecs.
WELCOME TO THE AZTECS
THEIR LOCATION
The Aztecs were a great nation of
nomadic warriors who traveled Mexico
about 700 years ago in search of a land to
call their own.
THE EAGLE AND THE SNAKE
The Aztec chief had a dream in which
their God appeared to him and
declared that the Aztecs would build a
great nation where the Eagle with a
snake in its talons lands on a cactus.
THE ISLAND IN THE LAKE
The warriors searched for many days and
came upon a lake. They were tired and
hungry. They gazed out upon the lake and
guess what they saw. Exactly!! A huge
eagle swooped down and grabbed a snake
in its talons and landed on a cactus that
was on an island in the middle of the lake.
GREAT BUILDERS
The Aztecs began to build a great nation in
the middle of a huge lake. They named
their city, Tenochtitlan. It has been likened
to Venice because of its great gardens and
streams. They traveled by boat much like
in Venice. It was a city built of gold.
THE AZTEC EDUCATION
The Aztecs were very
educated. They were the
first to create an advanced
calendar that is more
accurate than our own. They
performed brain surgery.
They were great in
mathematics, architecture,
building, astronomy,
medicine, surgery, and
farming.
THE AZTEC RELIGION
The Aztecs were very
religious people. They
worshipped many gods.
They had a god for
almost everything. The
Aztecs believed that
the moon and the sun
were gods. They
thought that the moon
and the sun did battle
every night and day.
THE AZTECS GODS
The Aztecs believed
that in order to give
the Sun power to
defeat the moon and
rise each morning,
the Sun must have a
blood sacrifice. They
believed they must
sacrifice a beating
heart everyday.
THE AZTEC SACRIFICES
The Aztecs were forced to be at constant war
to obtain prisoners to sacrifice. They
captured them and held them for daily
sacrifice. They were placed on a bench and
their heart was cut out and placed in a stone
statue of Chac-mool.
THE AZTEC WARFARE
The Aztecs were
feared and hated
by all of the
other Indian
tribes of Mexico.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE SPANISH
A man by the name of
Hernán Cortez had
heard of the infamous
Aztecs. The Spanish
were experiencing
gold fever and
Hernán Cortez agreed
to come to the
Americas and conquer
the Aztecs and steal
their gold.
THE CONQUEST OF THE AZTECS
The Spanish conquistadors landed in
Mexico with approximately 300 men
and 40 horses. They traveled Mexico
and met with the Indians. Upon
hearing how fierce the Aztecs were,
Cortez’ men became scared and wished
to return to Spain. Cortez became more
greedy and burned his ships. This
forced his men to fight or die.
THE AZTEC TRAITOR
Another Indian tribe
gave Cortez a woman
slave by the name of
Malinche. She had
been captured as a
child by the Mayas.
She was an Aztec and
spoke many different
languages because
she had been traded
by many different
Indian tribes.
THE COMING OF THE AZTEC GOD
Malinche became
infatuated with
Cortez because he
was the first person
to treat her nicely in
many years. She told
Cortez that the
Aztecs were awaiting
their god,
Quetzalcoatl, to
return this year.
THE MEETING
According to Aztec
legend, a tall white man
had appeared and ruled
and left the Aztecs after
promising to return in
100 years to rule them
again. Hernán Cortez
was Spanish. He was a
tall white man and he
came to Tenochtitlan
that exact year.
MONTEZUMA
Hernán Cortez
presented
himself to the
Aztec leader,
Montezuma, and
claimed to be
their returning
God.
THE END OF THE AZTECS
Montezuma gave the
Spaniards gifts of
gold and welcomed
them to his city. The
Aztecs had never
before seen horses
and guns and wept
with fear. They
believed Hernán
Cortez to be their
long lost god.
HERNAN CORTEZ
Hernan Cortez and his men killed
Montezuma. The Aztecs were horrified.
They had given an enemy a key to the
city. As they debated on whether
Hernan was actually a god, disease
spread throughout Tenochtitlan. One
third of the Indians were stricken and
died of small pox. The great Indian
nation was weakened by disease and
without a leader.
THE GREAT BATTLE
The Aztecs decided to kill the Spaniards;
however, they were sick with disease
and without a leader. Still the Spaniards
were out numbered one thousand to
one. The Spanish then sent out
messages to the other Indian tribes who
hated the Aztecs, telling them that they
had conquered the city and killed the
leader. The other Indian tribes saw this
as an opportunity to be rid of the Aztecs
and came to help.
WHAT TO DO WITH THE GOLD?
The Aztecs quickly realized that they had
no leadership. They were becoming sick
with small pox and more and more
other Indian tribes were coming to help
the Spanish. While some were fighting
the Spaniards, the Aztec people, men,
women, and children worked and
gathered up the gold throughout the
city and piled it into boats. One by one
they sunk those boats into the lake.
MEXICO CITY
The bulk of the Aztec gold was lost to the
world. The great Aztec Empire fell.
Mexico then built a great city on the site
which used to be Tenochtitlan. Mexico
City stands where the great Aztec city
once lay. The gold is underneath Mexico
City, which is currently the largest city in
the world. The Aztec symbol is proudly
flown on the Mexican flag and today the
Mexican people view the Aztecs and not
Cortez as national heroes.
CLOSING ACTIVITY

Throughout today’s lesson you learned of
the origin and the destruction of the Aztec
people. How do you feel after listening to
the story of how the Aztecs were
conquered? How do you feel about the
methods used by Cortes’ and his
followers? Explain your answer.
All About the Incas
Your goal today is to be able to define
the following key concepts: Incas,
Francisco Pizzaro, and Atahualpa. You
should be able to describe the
encounter and consequences of the
conflict between the Spanish and the
Incas.
Who were the Inca?
The Inca built their empire
in South America.
 They started out as a small
clan that conquered nearby peoples.
 Cuzco became their capital city
around the year 1200 CE.
 After a series of emperors, the Inca
expanded throughout the Andes Mountain region.
 They had an empire of over 12 million people living in present
day Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina.
 The Inca originally did not have written records. Their history
was passed down orally until the Spanish conquest.

Making a Living
The Inca economy was based on
agriculture.
 Most Inca were farmers.
 They cultivated crops of corn, potatoes,
squash, tomatoes, chili peppers, and
cotton.
 The Inca also raised animals such as dogs,
guinea pigs, and alpacas.

Incan Social Structure
The Inca had a rigid social structure.
 They were divided into two main classes:
nobles and farmers.
 The farmers were the common people and
were divide into ayullu. The ayullu were
groups of families that lived together and
shared crops, animals, and land. The Inca
stayed in the ayullu for life.

Incan Government
The Inca government was very developed.
 At the top was the emperor, who was believed
to be a descendant of the sun god.
 The emperor ruled with the help of bureaucrats,
people who carried out orders. Many nobles
worked with the emperor to carry out military
and religious matters. Their government system
also included governors and district governors.

The Conquest of the Incas




10 years after conquest
of Aztecs, Francisco
Pizzaro led expedition to
Peru
Pizzaro heard of fabulous
wealth of Inca Empire;
hoped to win wealth for
himself
Inca Empire already
weakened by smallpox;
many killed, including
emperor
Civil war had also broken
out




1532, new ruler,
Atahualpa, agreed to
meet with Spanish
Pizarro demanded
Atahualpa accept
Christianity, AND hand
over the empire to Spain
Atahualpa refused
Spanish killed Atahualpa,
destroyed Inca army, and
took over the Inca empire
Correction and Addition
Population=Over!!!
million
 Aztec
10
pyramids were used as
temples
The Colombian Exchange
Columbian Exchange
What was it????
The
widespread exchange
of plants, animals, food,
humans, disease and ideas.
Began with European arrival
to the Western Hemisphere.
Columbian Exchange
Americas
 Potatoes
 Beans
 Maize (corn)
 Tomatoes
 turkeys
Europe
 Wheat
 Rice
 Sugar
 Bananas
 Pigs
 Horses
 Cattle
 God
 diseases
Animal Exchange
 L.A.
had no large domesticated
animals
except for llamas.
 UNTIL
THIS TIME, THERE WERE
NO HORSES IN THE AMERICAS.
Animal Exchange
 Big
impact on land use,
economies and lifestyles.
 The
imported animals became the
center of Latin America livestock
industry.
SLAVERY COMES TO AMERICA
 European
officials governed American
holdings.
 Disease and mistreatment reduced
the native population.
 Reformers recommended replacing
Native American laborers with
imported African slaves.
African Slavery
 Spain
took slaves to the
Caribbean.
 Portugal took slaves to Brazil.
 Cultural Influence (voodoo
religion, mulattos, music, dance
and art.