Voyages of Exploration By-Ambrish Kumar Gupta PGT-HISTORY KV-AFS, Manauri, ALLAHABAD

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS ( )  Italian Sailor sponcered by Spanish Rulers.  Self-educated and Adventurous, Believing prophecies and inspired by CARDINAL PIERRE D’AILLY and his text IMAGO MUNDI WRITTEN IN  Discovered America in 1492 and thought it is India and called Native Americans as ”RED INDIANS”.  Started sailing from 3 aug.1492 & reached Guanahani island in Bahamas and welcomed by Aztecs.

Sources of Knowing Americans History  Basically American Archaeological sources and Europeans literary sources.  European Anthropologists and Archaeologists discovered the remains of destroyed manuscripts and buildings.  By Arial Survey and Local Site Survey.  Europeans explained their views in log-books, diaries, travelogues and justified themselves.  We have very little knowledge about local people and their views.

American Geography  People are living in North & south America and nearby islands for thousands of years.  People migrated to America from Asia and South Sea Islands.  South America was/is densely forested and mountainous & world largest river amazon flows through dense forest.  In Central America, Mexico is densely settled area while elsewhere villages were scattered over forested areas.

Three Meso-American Civilizations  Aztec Civilization.  Inca Civilization.  Maya Civilization.

Extent of ‘AZTEC’ Civilization

Extent of ‘MAYA’ Civilization

Extent of ‘INCA’ Civilization

The Awesome Aztecs

Introduction The Aztec tribe lived in ancient Mexico for about 400 years. For the first 200 years, the Aztecs were constantly on the move. No one wanted the Aztecs as neighbors. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice. They believed that 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.

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 The Aztec Empire Mexico’s Flag

Tenochititlan  Tenochititlan was linked to the mainland with causeways. It had an aqueduct to ensure a fresh water supply and sewers carried waste materials away.

Tenochititlan Over the years Tenochititlan grew into a great city with open plazas and market places.

Tenochititlan  "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

Settlement When the Aztecs first arrived in the Valley of Mexico, other tribes were already living on the best land in the area. This time, rather than fight for the best land or for captives to feed their hungry gods, the Aztecs quietly settled along the swampy shores of Lake Texcoco. They built canoes so they could fish, hunt waterfowl, and trade with other tribes for the building materials they needed.

Free School for Everyone To build the city they wanted, they knew that they would need many engineers, builders, and traders. This required an educated population. To solve this problem, the Aztecs set up a system of public schools. Attendance was mandatory for all Aztec children, even girls and slaves. The Aztecs were the only people up to that time in history to have free schools that every child had to attend.

All-Girls School There were three different schools: one for girls, and two for boys. Girls learned about religion and were trained to be good wives and mothers. They learned how to cook, sew, and how to care for their children. They also learned how to make beautiful woven textiles.

Sons of the Upper Class Sons of the upper class went to the nobles’ school. Sons of wealthy traders and merchants also went to this school. They studied law, writing (hieroglyphics), medicine, engineering and building, interpretation of dreams and omens, and self-expression. They also learned about their history and religious beliefs. It was a tough school. The boys were humiliated and tormented to toughen them up.

Sons of Commoners and Slaves The other boys’ school was for sons of commoners. Its main goal was to train warriors and farmers. Boys had to sleep under skimpy blankets. They were given hard bread to eat. The commoners’ school also taught history, religion, manners, correct behavior, and important rituals, along with singing and dancing.

Specialized Professions No matter which school an Aztec boy attended, he was trained to be a specialist. Boys studied how to be farmers, traders, engineers, builders, astronomers, and doctors. Students who became builders and engineers designed and built the amazing Aztec cities, including the capital city of Tenochtitlan, located on the swampy shores of Lake Texcoco.

Floating Gardens As the Aztec population grew, more food was needed. To solve this problem, Aztec engineers created “floating” gardens. They built a series of rafts, which they anchored to the lake bed. They piled on dirt and grew crops. They made walkways out of mud and reeds to connect the floating rafts. The gardens were quite successful. The Aztecs grew chili peppers, squash, corn, tomatoes, and beans.

Food and work Aztecs ate corn and beans. Tortillas grilled and dipped in tomatoes. They also ate pancakes stuffed with tadpoles. The Aztec used a lot of herb and prayer in their medicine. The Aztec also developed a writing system with pictographs that gave a image of the story.

The Aztec Calendar Their Calendar was very sophisticated for their time. It consisted of 360 days a year, over 18 months, excluding five days for sacrifice. It is approximated that this calendar was used 100 year before the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar we use today.

Montezuma was the Emperor of the Aztecs in the Sixteenth Century. He was a conquering king who often went to war with his neighbours. He kept the gods on his side by making human sacrifices to the gods. Montezuma

Human Sacrifices  According to some accounts Montezuma sacrificed tens of thousands of prisoners at a time. Each had to be individually killed. The usual method of sacrifice was to open the victims chest, pull out his heart while he was still alive and then knock the victim down the temple stairs. The temple stairs were covered in blood.

The Aztec Temple

Huitzlopochtli Huitzlopochtli:the sun and war god. He battled the forces of darkness each night and was re-born each morning. There was no guarantee the sun would win, so human sacrifices were made.

Quetzelcoatl Quetzelcoatl was a former white skinned and bearded priest. He came from the east and promised to return. The god of civilisation and learning.

v ARAWAK TRIBE

How was the tribute system both a strength and a weakness? How are the army & religious beliefs linked in the Aztec Empire? How did human sacrifice hurt the Aztec Empire?

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