SS6H1 Describe the impact of European contact on Latin America. a. Describe the encounter and consequences of the conflict between the Spanish and the Aztecs and Incas and the role of Cortes, Montezuma, Pizarro, and Atahualpa.

The Aztec civilization lived in central Mexico from about the year 1200 until it was taken over in the 16 th century by the Spanish. They were a society of fierce warriors who conquered many of the tribes surrounding them. Each conquered tribe had to pay tribute to the Aztecs in the form of food, clothing, jewels, and of course, captives to feed the hungry gods. That made the Aztecs very happy and very rich.

The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice. They believed if their gods were not fed, they would not do their jobs. The sun god would not bring up the sun, and everyone would die. Some of the people sacrificed were Aztecs, but most were people they captured from neighboring tribes.

In 1325, the Aztecs built their capital city on a swampy island in the middle of Lake Texcoco and named it Tenochtitlan. The city’s location helped protect the Aztec from enemy attacks. This magnificent city had a royal palace, thousands of homes, and even a zoo. It was the most modern city of its time. They also built causeways to travel in and out of the city. causeway: a raised roadway across a swamp or body of water. see here

At its peak, the Aztec empire included more than 5 million people. As their population grew, more food was needed. To solve this problem, the Aztecs built “floating” gardens called chinampas to grow crops on Lake Texcoco’s surface. They build a series of rafts, which they anchored to the lake bed. They piled dirt on the rafts and grew their crops there. The Aztecs grew chili peppers, squash, corn, tomatoes, and beans.

They learned valuable skills like metalworking and pottery-making from tribes they conquered, and used advanced concepts like a calendar based on the movement of the earth around the sun. This calendar helped them time planting, harvesting, and religious rituals.

Complete the sentences below using words from the word bank. attacks Lake Texcoco warriors calendar gardens causeways Mexico Word Bank 1.The Aztec civilization lived in central _____________. 2.The Aztec men were fierce _____________. 3.The Aztec capital city was built in the middle of _____________ _____________. 4. Tenochtitlan’s location protected it from _____________ by enemies. 5. Chinampas were floating _____________. 6. _____________ were built for travel in and out of Tenochtitlan. 7. The Aztec used a _____________ to time planting and harvesting of crops.