What impressed the Spanish about Tenochtitlan?

Of astounding beauty and impressive scale, its towering pyramids were painted in bright red and blue, and its palaces in dazzling white. Colorful, busy markets with a bewildering array of foods and luxuries impressed native visitors and conquering Spaniards alike.

How did the Spanish feel about the Aztecs?

They hated the Aztecs because they had raided their cities for people to sacrifice to their gods. Montezuma II tried to keep Cortés from getting all the way to Tenochtitlan, but Cortés continued his march. He destroyed the Aztec religious city of Cholula along the way.

What is Cortés impression of Tenochtitlan?

With their red and white insignia, thousands of Tlaxcalans accompanied the Spanish when, in November 1519, the conquistadors caught their first sight of the island city of Tenochtitlan, which seemed to one like an “enchanted vision” rising out of the lake.

What happened when the Spanish arrived in Tenochtitlan?

During the Spaniards’ retreat, they defeated a large Aztec army at Otumba and then rejoined their Tlaxcaltec allies. In May 1521, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlán, and after a three-month siege the city fell. This victory marked the fall of the Aztec empire.

Why did the Spanish want to conquer the Aztecs?

Cortes wanted to conquer the aztecs for gold glory and god. Because of these things, many people in the Aztec Empire were unhappy. Some of them helped the Spanish conquistadors take over the Empire.

Why did the Aztec initially accept the Spanish?

The Aztecs decided it was time for the Spanish to leave. They did not want to eliminate them because they might be gods after all, but the Aztecs wanted them to move along. The Spanish were secretly glad to leave. For some time, they had been wondering how to escape alive.

Why was Tenochtitlan destroyed?

Lacking food and ravaged by smallpox disease earlier introduced by one of the Spaniards, the Aztecs, now led by Cuauhtemoc, finally collapsed after 93 days of resistance on the fateful day of 13th of August, 1521 CE. Tenochtitlan was sacked and its monuments destroyed.

Why did Montezuma II welcome Cortes at Tenochtitlan?

Montezuma’s decision to welcome Cortés into his city reflected his strength and intelligence, not his weakness. Years of reports of Spaniards along the coastline suggested they were in the Americas to stay.

What happened Tenochtitlan?

A great deal of Tenochtitlan was destroyed in the fighting, or was looted, burned, or destroyed after the surrender. The leader of the conquistadors, Hernan Cortés, began the construction of what is now known as Mexico City among the ruins.

Why did the Spanish demolish the Aztec calendar stone and temples?

Construction of the first temple began sometime after 1325, and it was rebuilt six times. The temple was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521 to make way for the new Mexico City cathedral.

Why did Aztecs fall?

Disease. When the Spanish arrived, they brought with them smallpox. … Smallpox spread among the indigenous people and crippled their ability to resist the Spanish. The disease devastated the Aztec people, greatly reducing their population and killing an estimated half of Tenochtitlán’s inhabitants.

Why did the Spanish conquest happen?

The conquest of Mexico began with an expedition to search for gold on the American mainland. In 1519 Cortés led about 450 men to Mexico and made his way from Veracruz on the Gulf Coast to the island city of Tenochtitlan, the stunningly beautiful Aztec capital situated in Lake Texcoco.

Why was the calendar so important to the Aztecs?

Aztec Calendar

One calendar was used for tracking religious ceremonies and festivals. This calendar was called the tonalpohualli which means “day count”. It was sacred to the Aztecs and was very important as it divided time equally among the various gods and kept the universe in balance. The calendar had 260 days.

What happened to most of Tenochtitlan buildings?

Most of the Tenochtitlan’s buildings were destroyed by the Spanish and Hernan Cortes. The current capital of Mexico, Mexico City, is located at the same location. Archeologists have uncovered the ruins of Tenochtitlan near the center of Mexico City.

Was the Aztec calendar accurate?

The system developed by the ancient Maya civilization was astronomically more accurate than the Julian calendar used in Europe at the time of the first encounters between early explorers and native cultures. … Like the Maya calendar, the Aztec calendar consisted of a ritual cycle of 260 days and a 365-day civil cycle.

Did the Aztecs use hieroglyphics?

The Aztecs didn’t have a writing system as we know it, instead they used pictograms, little pictures that convey meaning to the reader. Pictography combines pictograms and ideograms—graphic symbols or pictures that represent an idea, much like cuneiform or hieroglyphic or Japanese or Chinese characters.

What did the Aztecs predict?

A new study on one of the most important remaining artifacts from the Aztec Empire, a 24-ton basalt calendar stone, interprets the stone’s central image as the death of the sun god Tonatiuh during an eclipse, an event Aztecs believed would lead to a global apocalypse accompanied by earthquakes.

How did Aztecs measure time?

The Aztecs of ancient Mexico measured time with a sophisticated and interconnected triple calendar system which followed the movements of the celestial bodies and provided a comprehensive list of important religious festivals and sacred dates.

Why are the Aztec codices so important?

Painted manuscripts contained information about their history, science, land tenure, tribute, and sacred rituals. … After the Conquest, the Aztec continued to produce painted manuscripts, and the Spaniards came to accept and rely on them as valid and potentially important records.

How did Aztec aqueducts work?

This aqueduct consisted of two mortar lined troughs made of stone masonry. The addition of the second trough allowed for water to be diverted to the second pipe when maintenance had to be performed on the other. This allowed for a continuous supply of fresh water to be delivered to the city.

What did the Aztecs use to keep records?

pictograms
The Aztecs kept records using a writing system. They used pictograms and ideograms to portray meaning in the way we use letters to form words.