CONTACT & COLONISATION

Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs

Key Terms

•The name given to the lands the Spanish discovered west of the Pope’s Line

New World

•A European country that established a colonymother

country

•Spanish adventurers who conquered lands and peoples for Spainconquistador

s

•People who do not believe in Christianity

heathens

Aztec Civilisation

Where and when did the Aztecs live?

Timeline: 1111 - 1345

1111•The Aztecs leave Aztlan, a

mythical land in northern Mexico

1250 •Nomadic Aztecs reach the Valley of Mexico

1345 •City of Tenochtitlan founded

Timeline: 1492 - 1502

1492 •Christopher Columbus discovers the New World

1494 •Pope John II divides the world between the Spanish and the Portuguese. He draws the Pope’s line.

1502 •Montezuma II becomes emperor of the Aztecs

Timeline: 1519 - 15211519 •10 February – Cortez sets out for Mexico from Cuba

•20 April – Cortes’ expedition reaches the Mexican coast•8 November – Cortez enters Tenochtitlan for the first time

1520 •27 June – Montezuma II killed; Cuauhtemoc elected emperor

1521 •28 April – Cortez attacks the city of Tenochtitlan•13 August – the fall of Tenochtitlan; Aztec Emperor Cuauhtemoc imprisoned

Key Terms

•Salty waterbrackish•Small fields reclaimed from the mud of the lakeschinampas•Goods given to the Aztec emperor by conquered citiestribute•The Aztec languageNahuatl

Who were the Aztecs?

Who were the Aztecs?

Last Nomadic Native American tribe to enter the Valley of Mexico

1250

Stopped wandering and

became farmers134

5• Spanish arrived• Aztecs

controlled a huge empire

1519

The Aztec Empire

There were 38 provinces in

the Aztec Empire

It was as large as modern-day Mexico

It had over 12 million people

The city, Tenochtitlan,

was the religious &

administrative centre

Fast Facts

The King: elected by the chief warriors and treated like

a God

The Snake Woman: a male official, involved in the day-to-

day running of the empire

The teccalco: a council of the four most important military leaders, often relatives of the

king

The Large Council: like a city council; most likely an

advisory body made up of nobles

Key terms

•Sun-dried mud bricks used to build housesadobe

•A clay disk used by the Aztecs to cook oncomal

•A short rest at midday, usually after the midday mealsiesta

•Source of cocoa and chocolatecacao

•A dark volcanic glass, used for blades of weapons and toolsobsidian