Aztec Indians

The history of the Aztecs does not begin with the Spaniard Hernan Cortes but in fact begins many centuries earlier. The Group of Indians that we know today as the Aztecs originated in the Valley of Mexico; the Aztecs called it Anahuca. When the sun god Huitzilopochtli   told the chief of the Aztecs to move his people from Aztlan, the plains near the Valley of Mexico, southward to find a new place to live. They ended up at Lake Texoco. The Aztecs made their capital on Lake Texoco; they named it Tenochtitlan.

    Because Tenochtitlan was built on an island, the Aztecs could not have a productive agriculture. In order to fix this problem, the Aztecs conquered areas of many other empires. Then the Aztecs would have their new area pay tributes to them. These tributes were like taxes; the new land would give the Aztecs food or livestock. As the Aztecs conquered more lands, the citizens that lived in Tenochtitlan became rich because that was where the tributes were sent. To be able to get the tributes into the city easier the Aztecs built causeways and canals, man made waterways, to make trade more efficient. This was a great idea to transport tributes into the city and other goods out of Tenochtitlan. Also, another great attribute of the causeways and canals was that they would decrees travel time thus promoting trade and their economy.

 

Most students learn about the Aztecs in the period during and after Cortes's conquest. In fact, most of the information that I found would came frm that period. Hernan Cortes was born in Medellin in the year 1485. His mother was Doña Catalina Pizarro Altimarano de Cortes, and his father was Martín Cortes. After leaving Medellin, Cortes went to Santo Domingo. Where he later met Diego Velazquez and married his daughter. Velazquez sent Cortes to Mexico to bring back slaves for his plantations. So, in 1519 Hernan started his conquest of Mexico and the Aztec Indians....