Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Hernando Cortez

When Cortés arrived to the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, he was received by Montezuma and invited into the emperor's palace. Cortes, taking advantage of the Aztec hospitality, made Montezuma his prisoner. Montezuma's submission to the Spaniards gained wide resentment among the Aztec people. It is said in the Spanish chronicles that when he was attempting to make a public speech, he was attacked with stones and arrows from the crowd. The wounds caused by this situation led to his death after three days. The Aztec throne was then passed to Cuitláhuac, who passed away shortly after due to a smallpox epidemic brought into Mexico by the Spaniards.

The Aztec rebellion forced the Spaniards out of Tenochtitlan towards the region of Tlaxcala, where they signed a treaty with the tlaxcaltecas. These people helped reinforce the Spanish troops and played a mayor role in the submission of Tenochtitlan

Empire of the Aztec, Montezuma

his name can also be spelled as Moctezuma, and he was the ninth Aztec emperor of Mexico. Montezuma is particularly famous for his confrontation with Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador.
He was the leader of the Aztec empire from 1502 until his death in the year 1520. During this time, the Aztec empire extended from central Mexico to what is today Honduras in Central America.
Montezuma reached the Aztec throne as a successor of his uncle Ahuizotl. During this time, he organized military expeditions that extended the scope of the Aztec influence, however, he also built resentment among various tribes in the region, who were not willing to pay the tributes that Montezuma demanded. This resentment, among other circumstances, was what helped the Spanish conquistadores submit the Aztec tribe.

 We cannot talk about Montezuma without referring to his profound belief in the god Quetzalcoatl. The Aztecs expected the return of Quetzalcoatl, a white bearded god that ruled the Toltec empire. Some historians suggest that Quetzalcoatl was, in fact, a Viking that arrived to Mexico before Columbus. The legend of Quetzalcoatl talks about a white god that brought with him the knowledge of handling metal, and when looking into the Aztec codex, the pictographic representations of the god Quetzalcóatl resemble the image of a Nordic person.


 

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Some Images of Aztec City

This is the map of the aztec city Techititlan.

This is the images of the aztec city we have now.



Aztec History


The Aztec Empire is part of Mexico today. According to Aztec legend, the gods told the nomadic people who had entered the Valley of Mexico to search for an eagle peached on the top of a cactus. The eagle would be holding a snake in its beak. When they saw the sign on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco they established the city of Tenochtitlan.
Tenochititlan was linked to the mainland with causeways. It had an aqueduct to ensure a fresh water supply and sewers carried waste materials away.The city has many squares where markets are held and trading is carried on.There is one square where there are daily more than 60,000 souls, buying and selling, and where are found all the kinds of merchandise produced  in these countries, including food products, jewels of gold and silver, lead, brass, copper, zinc, bones, shells, and feathers