Describes Aztec civilization before the Spanish conquest & the impact of colonialism.

1. CIVILIZATIONS COLLIDE

2. New World
Civilizations
Aztecs, Mayas & Incas
Unlike the Aztecs & Incas, the Maya had no single political center. Mayan society was organized into a
number of independent states, forcing the Spanish to subdue them one by one. Many fiercely
resisted Spanish incursions. It took 170 years before the last recognized Maya stronghold fell.

3. • The Aztec
empire lasted
over 200 years.
• At its apex, it
had about 25
million people.
• As it expanded,
Aztec society
became more &
more complex.

4. Aztec Society was composed
of several
social classes:
• Nobles
– Priests, Officials,
Warriors
• Merchants
– Craftsmen, Traders
• Commoners
– Farmers & Laborers
• Slaves

5. Being a noble was hereditary--passed down from
one generation to the next. They were
government officials, priests & warriors.
AZTEC NOBILITY

6. AZTEC PRIESTS
• Aztec priests
offered sacrifices to
the gods to make
their crops grow.
• There were over
1,000 Aztec gods
who represented
the forces of
nature.

7. Human Sacrifice
When the Temple of the Sun in Tenochtitlan was
dedicated to the sun & rain gods, 10,000 people
were sacrificed.

8. Aztec
Warriors
• Boys of the nobility were
schooled in religion &
history.
• Boys were also trained in
combat & taught to become
fierce warriors, unafraid of
death. They believed that if
they died in war, they would
go live with the gods in the
heavens.
• Warriors also fought hard
because the more captives
they took, the higher their
social rank would be.

9. Literature &
Education
• Perhaps the most important
Aztec artifacts that
archaeologists have
discovered are the Aztec
codices (a kind of book, with
pages made from tree bark).
The sacred books were
painted on deerskin or agave-
fiber paper.
• The pages opened & closed
like folding screens with both
pictures & symbols that stood
for words. At one time there
were hundreds of these
• Codices dealt with law, history,
the gods, prophesy, astronomy &
the universe, ceremonies & the
ritual calendar.
• Aztec codices were burned by
the Spaniards for their pagan
religious content.

10. Politics & Law • The Aztec empire was made up
of city-states ruled by an
emperor (tlatoani or ahaw) & a
supreme judge & administrator
(cihuacoatl).
• The tlatoani was the supreme
ruler of the land. He received
tribute, oversaw markets &
temples, led the military &
resolved judicial disputes.
• New emperors were elected by
a high council of four nobles
who were related to the
previous ruler. Once a tlatoani
was selected, he ruled his city-
states for life.

11. Merchants & ARTISANS
• Merchants traveled
throughout the empire
bringing back special
foods, colored feathers,
jade & cocoa for the
nobles.
• Merchants & artisans
sold many of their goods
in city markets
throughout the empire.
– Cortes later reported that
more than 60,000 people
visited the city market
daily.

12. COMMONERS: Farmers &
Laborers
• Commoners farmed their
own land but also had to
farm the nobles' land.
• Aztec commoners had to pay
tribute (a kind of tax) in
goods or services to the
government.
– Tribute could be paid in
crops, jewelry, clothing, or
labor on projects like
temples & canals.

13. Family Life
Men worked in the
fields. Women cooked,
made cloth & cared for
the younger children.

14. SLAVES
• Many slaves were captives of war. They
were often sacrificed to the gods.
• Others had committed crimes or had not
repaid debts.
Slaves were
the lowest
level of Aztec
society.

15. The Aztec Empire…
Extended its power by a combination of trade & military conquest. It did
not control territory by large military garrisons in conquered provinces.
Instead it controlled client states by installing "friendly" rulers in
conquered cities, constructing marriage alliances between ruling
dynasties & by extending an imperial ideology to its client states.

16. Tenochtitlan
(tay nawch tee TLAN)
Center of the Aztec Empire

17. Cortez was awed by its Beauty
• It was larger than any Spanish city.
• The most common estimates put the population at over 200,000
people; some popular sources put the number as high as 350,000.

18. Tenochtitlan Sat on an Island
• It was connected to the mainland by causeways leading north, south & west
of the city. These causeways were interrupted by bridges that allowed
canoes and other traffic to pass freely. The bridges could be pulled away if
necessary to defend the city. The city was interlaced with a series of canals,
so that all sections of the city could be visited either on foot or via canoe.

19. A City
Surrounded
by Lake
Texcoco,
teeming with
fish.

20. “Floating Gardens”
Chinampas: Human-made
farms that seemed to float.

21. Fresh Water via Aqueduct
• Two double aqueducts
each more than 2 miles
long provided the city
with fresh water from
the springs at
Chapultepec. This was
intended mainly for
cleaning and washing.
• For drinking, mountain
springs were channeled
into the island too.

22. Spanish & Portuguese Explorations
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

23. Colonialism in the Americas
This map shows
European colonies in
the Americas around
1763. At that time,
European colonies
covered extensive
areas in North, Central
& South America.
France, Portugal, Spain,
& Britain controlled the
greatest amount of
territory.

24. Spain’s Viceroyalties

25. The Spanish Colonial System
Obedezco…Pero No Cumplo

26. The Crown Rules
• Spanish rule over its New
World colonies was
administered through a
system of complex
overlapping & conflicting
authority.
• The ultimate goal was to
keep the crown in control of
its vast colonial territories.
• No one was allowed to gain
too much independent
power relative to the crown.

27. Overlapping
Authority King
Council of
the Indes
Viceroys
New Spain
Peru
Audiencias
- Governor
- Capt. Gen.
- President
- Judges
Cabildos (Town Councils)
Republica de Españoles
Corrigedor (Peru) or Alcaldias (New Spain)
Ecclesiastical
Hierarchies
Fiscal
Authorities
Pope
Bishops
Orders: (Franciscans
Dominicans, etc.)
Caciques (or Kurakas)
Republica de Indios

28. The Essential
Relationship
Indians provided
taxes, labor &
resources…
Spain gave the
Indians God &
“salvation”
Cacique & Corregidor

29. Colonial Class Structure

30. The Columbian Exchange