stirs up controversy. Many Mexicans continue to revile the woman called Doña Marina by the Spaniards and La Malinche by the Aztecs‚ labeling her a traitor and harlot for her role as the alter-ego of Cortes as he conquered Mexico. They ignore that she saved thousands of Indian lives by enabling Cortes to negotiate rather than slaughter. Her ability to communicate also enabled the Spaniards to introduce Christianity and attempt to end human sacrifice and cannibalism. Herself a convert‚ baptized Marina
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In 1521‚ the Aztecs tirelessly defended their capital against Hernan Cortés‚ a Spanish conquistador‚ and his convoy of fellow Spaniards and native allies. Founded in 1345 on the shore of Lake Texcoco‚ Tenochtitlan became the capital city and religious center for the Mexica people of the Aztec empire. An Aztec eyewitness describes in detail the final days of the once powerful city as it fell to the Spaniards. When Christopher Columbus arrived to the Indies in 1492‚ he opened the gates for Spanish
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Mexico In 1519 Hernán Cortés led a couple hundred other Spaniards inland to the impressive Empire of the Mexica ruled by the Great Montezuma. Many historians today tell how quickly and almost effortlessly these Spaniards conquered the Empire. They paint an image of ignorant‚ helpless Indians practically giving up their land out of fear of this group because certainly the Spaniards must be gods since they have powerful weapons and strange animals. We know neither Cortés nor any of his men were
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Unit 4/Week 1 Title: Lost Temple of the Aztecs1 Suggested Time: 5 days (45 minutes a day) Common Core ELA Standards: RL.6.1‚ RL.6.2‚ RL.6.4; W.6.1‚ W.6.4‚ W.6.9; SL.6.1; L.6.1‚ L.6.2‚ L.6.5 Teacher Instructions Refer to the Introduction for further details. Before Teaching 1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for teachers‚ about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after
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“When we die‚ truly we die not‚ because we will live‚ we will rise‚ we will continue living‚ we will awaken this will make us happy” (Nezahualcoyotl). It all began in 1519‚the Aztecs and the Spaniards will cross paths which will end in catastrophe. The Aztecs had a peculiar religion that would worship gods and sacrifice in favor for their gods. The Spaniards‚ the ones who ended up destroying one of the strongest civilizations at the time‚ the Aztec empire. The arrival of the Spaniards to Central
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to read I learned that she was first a slave. She became a slave for Cortes. She was offered to him as a slave by the Cacique of Tabasco‚ along with 19 other young women. Cortes discovered that he could not communicate with the Indians. That night he was recommended to him that one of the women given to him in Tabasco spoke Spanish. When he found out that could speak Spanish. At that point in time Marina spoke no Spanish. Cortes was happy because he could now communicate with the Indians. So she
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How can it be that the Aztecs‚ one of the greatest and strongest civilisations of its time‚ be defeated by only a few hundred men? The answers to this question are many but the one we shall explore is that of the factors that gave the Spanish soldiers the advantage over the Aztecs. The main factor that led to the victory of the Spanish Conquerors was the Aztec religion. The Aztecs had many myths about their gods however the most important was the story about Quetzacóatl (ket-zahl-co-ah-tul)‚ the
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Have you ever wondered the methods in history‚ to wipe out a powerful empire? Hernan Cortes‚ the Spanish conquistador conquered the Aztec Empire and claimed Mexico for Spain‚ in the 16th century. The Aztecs were a Nahuatl speaking nation of central Mexico‚ in MesoAmerica. They were very powerful and wealthy in natural goods‚ in addition to creating their own weapons and techniques. When Hernan Cortes came to the land of the heart of the Aztecs‚ he had brought unknown weapons and diseases to the Aztecs
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to take under consideration is why the Spaniards were there in Mexico in the first place. Diego Velasquez‚ the wealthy governor of Cuba‚ placed Hernan Cortes in charge of an expedition to Mexico. Velasquez charged Cortes with the authority to represent the Spanish crown and trade with the indigenous people he would encounter (Díaz). Obviously‚ Cortes had other plans. Whether he had concocted his scheme for the settlement of the lands he would explore when he accepted the position from Velasquez or
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Hernan Cortes‚ a fierce Spanish conquistador‚ landed at San Juan de Ulua‚ in April 1519. With him‚ Cortes had 508 soldiers‚ one hundred sailors‚ artillery cannons‚ eleven ships and sixteen horses. Cortes and his small army‚ marched through Mexico‚ forming alliances with Aztec rivals‚ until reaching the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the massive Mexican empire known as the Aztecs or Mexica. It had a population of 200‚000 people; almost three times that of the largest
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