Transcript Slide 1

How Did Geography and History Affect the
Worldviews of the Aztec and the Spanish?
CHAPTER 7
Geographic Influence: Spanish
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How did the History of Spain
Affect It’s Worldview?
 Spain was ruled by many
kingdoms throughout it’s history.
 The northern half was mostly
Christian and the southern half
was Muslim dominated and ruled
by The Moors of North Africa.
 Muslim rule lasted for about 700
years.
 All Religious faiths were allowed to practice their own
religion, but some Christian faiths fought against the
Muslims in order to recapture Muslim held lands.
 This was known as the Reconquista.
 -The Spanish conquistadors felt
that it was their duty to convert
non-Christian people and to
fight for God and their country.
 -Spain was still made up of
many different kingdoms and
the largest kingdoms were
united with the marriage of
Ferdinand and Isabella. (pg 236-237)
 -By 1492 (under King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella
I), Moorish control of Spain was over.
 This ended 700 years of wars
 -The Roman Catholic faith was considered to be the
only true faith in Spain.
 -Ferdinand and Isabella believed that the only way
Spain would stay united was that if everyone
followed one religion. (the Inquisition)
 During the Reconquista, Western Europe was
benefiting from better economies, new technology.
 King Ferdinand wanted to extend the powers of
Spain and had a strong desire to conquer new lands
for three basic reason:
 Gold (Economic) – Resources and Goods from their new
empire and colonies
 God (Religious) – To spread the word of God and convert to
Roman Catholicism.
 Glory (Political) – To expand the Spanish empire.
 In 1492, Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic
and claimed the Caribbean region for Spain.
 The Spanish (and most European societies)
considered themselves culturally superior to others.
This attitude of ethnocentrism was used to justify
the harsh treatment of the peoples they conquered.
How Did Contact with the Moors
Influence Spain?
 For almost 700 years, the Islamic Empire
controlled a huge empire in the Iberian Peninsula
(today's Spain ).
 The city of Cordoba was
looked upon as a major
centre of learning and of
the arts.
 Muslim scholars along with
Jewish scholars were
involved in the revival of
the study of ancient Greek
and Roman culture and
philosophy.
Cordoba
 They included the following
disciplines:
 Important schools of astronomy,
mathematics and architecture.
 The national art of Spain,
Mozarabic.
 Great libraries including books
on a variety of topics such as;
 architecture astrology, astronomy,
pharmacology, psychology, zoology,
botany, optics, chemistry, physics,
mathematics, navigation, and history.
 A large collection of classical
documents from Greek
intellectuals on the ideas of logic
and questioning.
 Beautiful buildings, mosques
and palaces.
How Did the Spanish Monarchy
Become so Powerful?
 While the Aztec were establishing their empire,
the Spanish were fighting the last 100 years of
the Reconquista.
 After their marriage, Ferdinand and Isabella took
over the monarchy to have the power to rule
Spain as they wished. To do this, they
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centralized government under their control
created a more efficient government bureaucracy
imposed new taxes
took control of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain
began the Spanish Inquisition
forbid any faith but Roman Catholicism
 The Spanish Parliament (Cortes) was established in the 8th
century to keep the power of the monarchs under control.
 controlled the national treasury
 the king or queen were required to get approval for all major
expenditures.
 Over time, members of the Cortes (made up of aristocrats)
became very powerful.
Ferdinand and Isabella
 made men from humbler origins
members of the Cortes, not
aristocracy
 allowed nobles to participate in
parliamentary proceedings, but not
vote
 reorganized important financial and
judicial institutions so the monarchy
had more control
 centralized the powers of the
government under three Councils;
State, Finance, and Justice
 They also gained the support of the merchants and sent
their own representatives to tax citizens and govern cities.
 The King and Queen were granted control of the Church by
being allowed to choose important church positions.
 The Pope allowed Spain to do this if Spain started the
Inquisition.
 Although Spain still had some domestic (internal
problems), Ferdinand and Isabella were able to start a
policy of exploration and discovery.
 By the 1500’s, Spain
controlled large areas of the
Caribbean, the Americas, and
parts of Asia and Africa from
funding Columbus’
explorations.
 In the 16th century, Spain was
the most powerful and
wealthy country in Europe.
Geographic Influence: Aztec
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How did the History of the
Aztec Affect Their Worldview?
The Long Migration
 The Mexica people (Aztec’s) were part of a large group of
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Nahuatl-speaking (NAH-watl) people.
Origin stories tell of the Aztec leaving their homeland of
Aztlan and wandering in a semi-nomadic lifestyle from
about 1100-1300.
The Aztec God Huitzilopochtli encouraged the people to
move often, and endure many hardships.
Eventually after a long and difficult migration they settled
in the Valley of Mexico.
This region was already occupied by a large number of
other city-states and the Aztec’s were considered
barbarous and driven from one location to another.
Many of these city states had conflicts with the Aztecs.
 Eventually the Aztec settled
on a swampy island in the
middle of Lake Texcoco.
 The city was called
Tenochtitlan (tay-noachtee-TLAHN), the city named
after their leader Tenoch.
Mexico City
 The Aztec still had tensions with their neighbors and
worked hard as servants, mercenaries. They became
skilled workers and ferocious warriors.
 The city was connected to the mainland and by the year
1500 was bigger than any European city.
 The Aztec began to develop their new culture based on
the history of constant movement and on some of the
manners and traditions of the societies around them.
How Did Contact with Other
Meso-American Societies
Influence the Aztec?
 Each time the Aztec stopped during their long migration, their
religious beliefs and practices, social structure, architecture,
and art was influenced
 The Aztec were influenced by the three greatest earlier
civilizations of the Valley of Mexico. These were the Olmec,
the Teotihuacan and the Toltec.
 The Toltec are believed to have had the greatest influence and
impact on the Aztec culture. The Aztec believed that the
Toltec were masters at creating a refined civilization.
 Eventually the Aztec became powerful as a result of these
encounters and were able to command respect from their
neighbors.
Effects of Other Meso-American Societies on
Aztec Culture
Religious Beliefs and Practices
 The belief that gods could take on different
forms such as the jaguar (an earth mother
goddess) and the serpent (a water goddess)
 A belief in many gods, Quetzalcoatl (the gentle
plumed serpent god), Tezcatlipoca or Smoking
Mirror (who had a war-like nature), and the god
of rain Tlaloc
 Religious practices that centered on seasonal
cycles, emphasizing astronomy and the
calendar
 A belief that human sacrifices were necessary to
sustain the gods with human hearts and blood
Social Systems
 A hierarchical society with both a
noble class, priests, and commoners
 A government with a strong central
authority
 Use of militaristic practices to build
an empire
Architecture and Art
 Huge pyramid-shaped temples
to honour the gods
 Beautiful murals, large
sculptures, and monuments of
both humans and animals,
mainly with religious motifs
 The art of fine jewellery making,
ceramic pottery, mosaic,
metalworking, and featherworks
Itzcoatl
Founder of the Empire
 The Aztec leader, who
eventually led the Aztec in
conquering most of the citystates in the Valley of
Mexico.
 He became the leader the
newly formed “TripleAlliance” of city-states.
 He established a hierarchical
social system with distinct
social classes and improved
the military by creating an
elite group of warriors who
came from nobility.
(1428-1440)
How Did the Aztec Emperors become
the most Powerful Rulers in the
Valley of Mexico?
 The Aztec knew that they needed to claim direct lineage to
the Toltec in order to be respected by the Meso-American
societies.
 In 1376, Acamapichtli, became the Aztec
emperor that linked the Aztec to the Toltec.
 His mother and wife were of Culhua ancestry
 Culhua were considered to be direct descendants
of the Toltec.
 The Aztec empire grew under the leadership of
Itzcoatl, and conquered most of the Valley of
Mexico. (except for the Tlaxcalan republic)
 By the 1500’s, most of Meso-America was
controlled by the Aztec. (About the same time
as the unification of Spain)
 The Aztec had two goals when they were attacking another city-
state.
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to seek an honourable defeat for their enemy and then make them
provide labour to the empire
 gain soldiers for the human sacrifice to the god Huitzilopochtli
 The Aztec would first conquer surrounding city-states and then
the isolated city-state that was left.
 When the city-states were defeated, its citizens were required to
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promise allegiance to the Emperor
pay tribute to him in either goods or services
worship the god Huitzilopochtli
 The Aztec empire eventually included over 50 city-states.
 The Emperor and his second in command, the Chief of Internal
Affairs were the highest of the nobility.
 The priests were important advisors to the emperor and
determined which days would be best (lucky) for war and
religious ceremonies.
 The Tlatoque ruled major towns and cities and the Tecutin ruled
smaller areas.
Copy & Fill out Chart:
Ways in which the
worldviews were
similar
Powerful
Strong religious
faith
Unified kingdoms
The Aztec
The Spanish