The Aztecs The Conquistadors And The Making Of Mexican Culture

Tracing events from the discovery of the New World through the fall of the Aztec empire in 1521, this book discusses the battles between the Spanish explorers and the Aztecs—battles that culminated in the ruin of a civilization. The first half of the work alternates between Aztec and Spanish history, discussing events and motivations on each side as the two cultures expanded toward one another on their way to inevitable conflict. Placing special emphasis on Aztec mythology and religious beliefs, the author explains how the Spanish exploited the Aztecs’ own cultural practices to insure the success of their invasion. The gold-and-glory engines driving the Spanish Crown and the actions of contemporary Spanish explorers such as Juan Ponce de León and Francisco Cordoba are examined. The concluding chapters give a thorough account of the struggle between Hernán Cortés and the Aztec ruler Montezuma, including the role of other indigenous tribes in the eventual downfall of the empire. The final chapter details the siege of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, and summarizes the ultimate destruction of the Aztec civilization.

Traces the history of the Aztecs in North America, describing the traditions and culture of the Native American group, examining their interactions with other groups of Native Americans, European settlers, and explorers, and discussing their lives in the early twenty-first century.

This case study is about the Aztecs of Central Mexico, a people who dominated a vast area of what is now Mexico by the time the Spanish conquistadors arrived in A.D. 1519, but who had humble beginnings as despised nomads. The story of the confrontation and the defeat of the Aztecs by the small force of Spaniards led by Hernan Cortes is told in the last chapter.

Describes the history and culture of the Aztec Indians in the Valley of Mexico and discusses how the arrival of the conquistador Hernando Cortes brought about the fall of their mighty empire.

"Mexico of five centuries ago was witness to one of the most momentous encounters between human societies, when a group of Spaniards led by Hernando Cortâes joined forces with tens of thousands of Mesoamerican allies to topple the mighty Aztec empire. It served as a template for the forging of much of Latin America and began the globalized world we inhabit today. This violent encounter and the new colonial order it created, a New Spain, was millennia in the making, with independent cultural developments on both sides of the Atlantic and their fateful entanglement during the pivotal Aztec-Spanish war of 1519-1521. Collision of World examines the deep history of this encounter with an archaeological lens-one that considers depth in the richly layered cultures of Mexico and Spain, like the depths that archaeologists reveal through excavation to chart early layers of human history. It offers a unique perspective on the encounter through its temporal depth and focus on the physical world of places and things, their similarities and differences in trans-Atlantic perspective, and their interweaving in an encounter characterized by conquest and colonialism, but also active agency and resilience on the part of Native peoples"--

What role did indigenous peoples play in the Spanish conquest of Mexico? Ross Hassig explores this question in Mexico and the Spanish Conquest by incorporating primary accounts from the Indians of Mexico and revisiting the events of the conquest against the backdrop of the Aztec empire, the culture and politics of Mesoamerica, and the military dynamics of both sides. He analyzes the weapons, tactics, and strategies employed by both the Indians and the Spaniards, and concludes that the conquest was less a Spanish victory than it was a victory of Indians over other Indians, which the Spaniards were able to exploit to their own advantage. In this second edition of his classic work, Hassig incorporates new research in the same concise manner that made the original edition so popular and provides further explanations of the actions and motivations of Cortés, Moteuczoma, and other key figures. He also explores their impact on larger events and examines in greater detail Spanish military tactics and strategies.

Describes the origin, history, traditional and contemporary ways of life of the Aztec Indians of Mexico.