Aztec Empire Research Paper
Why the Aztec Empire was defeated
Isolation, limited technology, disease, beliefs/religion, and allies were all contributing factors which led to Aztec destruction.
Isolation, due to the fact that the Aztecs thought they were the only people alive apart from the other Indian/Mexican tribes, the Aztecs stayed in their city unaware with the world around them. While the Aztecs were staying in their island, the Spanish were exploring and trading which allowed them to develop better technology such as gunpowder. Futhermore, the Aztecs had no immunity to foreign diseases like smallpox, which killed many of them.
The Aztecs had primitive technology and weapons whereas, the Spanish had an updated technology status and superior weaponry. Therefore,
Aztecs weapons and armour were useless to Spanish weapons which meant the Aztec’s chances of defeating the Spanish were meagre. Once again because of their isolation the Aztecs had lost many people because of their poor level technology.
Since the Aztecs did not explore, they had no immunity to foreign diseases such as smallpox. Smallpox was a destructive disease which was introduced by the Spanish. The Aztecs had no cure/medicine for this disease so the amount of Aztecs infected by the disease increased exponentially. Likewise, isolation had played as a factor again.
The leader of the Aztecs, Montezuma, was very religious and thought Cortez was the Aztec god Quetzicoatl returning to the Aztec people. Montezuma showered Cortez with gifts. Also, the Aztec’s neighbours were forced to pay tribute and were sacrificed to the gods. This made their religion unpopular and made the Aztecs hated. If the Aztecs had not been isolated they would have been familiar with the Europeans and Montezuma would not have made the terrible mistake.
The Aztecs had very few neighbours who had liked them because of their cruelty. This made it very easy for the Spanish to convince the Aztec neighbours to join their army. Also, Donna Marina played a crucial role because she was able to translate for Cortez. Therefore the Aztec’s cruelty had led them to be isolated in their region.
In conclusion, the Aztecs were easily defeated by the Spanish mainly because of their isolation. If this wasn’t for their isolation, the Aztec empire could have truly lasted a lot longer, as they could have developed better technology, immunity to the diseases, more allies and would have never made the mistake of Cortez being a god.
Isolation, limited technology, disease, beliefs/religion, and allies were all contributing factors which led to Aztec destruction.
Isolation, due to the fact that the Aztecs thought they were the only people alive apart from the other Indian/Mexican tribes, the Aztecs stayed in their city unaware with the world around them. While the Aztecs were staying in their island, the Spanish were exploring and trading which allowed them to develop better technology such as gunpowder. Futhermore, the Aztecs had no immunity to foreign diseases like smallpox, which killed many of them.
The Aztecs had primitive technology and weapons whereas, the Spanish had an updated technology status and superior weaponry. Therefore,
Aztecs weapons and armour were useless to Spanish weapons which meant the Aztec’s chances of defeating the Spanish were meagre. Once again because of their isolation the Aztecs had lost many people because of their poor level technology.
Since the Aztecs did not explore, they had no immunity to foreign diseases such as smallpox. Smallpox was a destructive disease which was introduced by the Spanish. The Aztecs had no cure/medicine for this disease so the amount of Aztecs infected by the disease increased exponentially. Likewise, isolation had played as a factor again.
The leader of the Aztecs, Montezuma, was very religious and thought Cortez was the Aztec god Quetzicoatl returning to the Aztec people. Montezuma showered Cortez with gifts. Also, the Aztec’s neighbours were forced to pay tribute and were sacrificed to the gods. This made their religion unpopular and made the Aztecs hated. If the Aztecs had not been isolated they would have been familiar with the Europeans and Montezuma would not have made the terrible mistake.
The Aztecs had very few neighbours who had liked them because of their cruelty. This made it very easy for the Spanish to convince the Aztec neighbours to join their army. Also, Donna Marina played a crucial role because she was able to translate for Cortez. Therefore the Aztec’s cruelty had led them to be isolated in their region.
In conclusion, the Aztecs were easily defeated by the Spanish mainly because of their isolation. If this wasn’t for their isolation, the Aztec empire could have truly lasted a lot longer, as they could have developed better technology, immunity to the diseases, more allies and would have never made the mistake of Cortez being a god.