Aztecs | Historyworld

HISTORY OF THE AZTECS

including headings Aztecs, Aztec sun rituals, Quetzalcoatl, Arrival of Cortes, Cortes and Montezuma, ...

Aztecs | HISTORY OF MEXICO

Aztecs

The Aztecs are a tribe, according to their own legends, from Aztlan somewhere in the north of modern Mexico. From this place, which they leave in about the 12th century AD, there derives the name Aztecs by which they ar...

Aztecs | HISTORY OF MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATION

Aztecs

The Aztecs are a tribe, according to their own legends, from Aztlan somewhere in the north of modern Mexico. From this place, which they leave in about the 12th century AD, there derives the name Aztecs by which they ar...

The patron deity of the Aztecs | HISTORY OF THE AZTECS

Aztec sun rituals

The patron deity of the Aztecs is Huitzilopochtli, god of war and symbol of the sun. This is a lethal combination. Every day the young warrior uses the weapon of sunlight to drive from the sky the creatures of darkness -...

The patron deity of the Aztecs | HISTORY OF MEXICO

Aztec sun rituals

The patron deity of the Aztecs is Huitzilopochtli, god of war and symbol of the sun. This is a lethal combination. Every day the young warrior uses the weapon of sunlight to drive from the sky the creatures of darkness -...

The patron deity of the Aztecs | HISTORY OF MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATION

Aztec sun rituals

The patron deity of the Aztecs is Huitzilopochtli, god of war and symbol of the sun. This is a lethal combination. Every day the young warrior uses the weapon of sunlight to drive from the sky the creatures of darkness -...

The patron deity of the Aztecs | HISTORY OF RELIGION

Aztec sun rituals

The patron deity of the Aztecs is Huitzilopochtli, god of war and symbol of the sun. This is a lethal combination. Every day the young warrior uses the weapon of sunlight to drive from the sky the creatures of darkness -...

The two leading civilizations of 15th-century | HISTORY OF AMERICA

The European invasion

The two leading civilizations of 15th-century America, the Aztecs and the Incas, meet their sudden end at the hand of Spanish adventurers in 1521 and 1532 respectively. But the first people of the Americas to come face t...

The turkey is indigenous to central | HISTORY OF THE DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS

The turkey

The turkey is indigenous to central and north America. It is kept as a domestic fowl by the Aztecs in Mexico from the 14th century, and no doubt has been domesticated considerably earlier by their predecessors.

...

The destruction by the Spaniards of | HISTORY OF THE INCAS

A brutal end

The destruction by the Spaniards of the great Inca empire in Peru, twelve years after the similar fate of the Aztecs, brings to an effective end nearly three millennia of indigenous civilization in America - though the M...

The destruction by the Spaniards of | HISTORY OF ANDEAN CIVILIZATION

A brutal end

The destruction by the Spaniards of the great Inca empire in Peru, twelve years after the similar fate of the Aztecs, brings to an effective end nearly three millennia of indigenous civilization in America - though the M...

The cocoa tree, the seeds of | HISTORY OF THE CULTIVATION OF PLANTS

Chocolate

The cocoa tree, the seeds of which are the source of chocolate, is (like tobacco) native to central and south America. Roasted and ground, then flavoured in hot water with vanilla and spices, the seeds are the basis of a...

Almost nothing is known about the | HISTORY OF THE CELTS

Druids

The next battles, far more dangerous | HISTORY OF THE AZTECS

Arrival of Cortes

The next battles, far more dangerous than the first encounters on the coast, are with the Tlaxcala people. The Spaniards eventually defeat them, and are received as conquerors in their capital city. This is a victory of...

The next battles, far more dangerous | HISTORY OF MEXICO

Arrival of Cortes

The next battles, far more dangerous than the first encounters on the coast, are with the Tlaxcala people. The Spaniards eventually defeat them, and are received as conquerors in their capital city. This is a victory of...

The next battles, far more dangerous | HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA

Arrival of Cortes

The next battles, far more dangerous than the first encounters on the coast, are with the Tlaxcala people. The Spaniards eventually defeat them, and are received as conquerors in their capital city. This is a victory of...

The next battles, far more dangerous | HISTORY OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE

Arrival of Cortes

The next battles, far more dangerous than the first encounters on the coast, are with the Tlaxcala people. The Spaniards eventually defeat them, and are received as conquerors in their capital city. This is a victory of...

The next battles, far more dangerous | HISTORY OF MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATION

Arrival of Cortes

The next battles, far more dangerous than the first encounters on the coast, are with the Tlaxcala people. The Spaniards eventually defeat them, and are received as conquerors in their capital city. This is a victory of...

Around this time the earliest American | HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION

America

Around this time the earliest American civilizations have their beginnings, with the Olmecs in central America and the Chavin in the Andes.

Both these cultures develop large towns, centred o...

The Olmec temple complexes set the | HISTORY OF MEXICO

The first American monuments

The Olmec temple complexes set the pattern for societies in America over the next 2000 years. The pyramids, with their temples and palaces, dominate the surrounding dwellings as powerfully as the priestly rulers and thei...

The Olmec temple complexes set the | HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

The first American monuments

The Olmec temple complexes set the pattern for societies in America over the next 2000 years. The pyramids, with their temples and palaces, dominate the surrounding dwellings as powerfully as the priestly rulers and thei...

The Olmec temple complexes set the | HISTORY OF MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATION

The first American monuments

The Olmec temple complexes set the pattern for societies in America over the next 2000 years. The pyramids, with their temples and palaces, dominate the surrounding dwellings as powerfully as the priestly rulers and thei...

Once there is a temple of | HISTORY OF RELIGION

Mute monuments

Once there is a temple of any kind, the gods move in - usually in the form of idols. A temple is the house of the gods. The priests, their servants, share their lodgings.

The role of the priests is to satisfy t...

In the summer of 1518 a | HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA

A glimpse of Aztec gold

In the summer of 1518 a meeting takes place, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, between a party of Spanish explorers and the retinue of a local chieftain. The two sides can communicate only in signs, but an exchange of pr...

In the summer of 1518 a | HISTORY OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE

A glimpse of Aztec gold

In the summer of 1518 a meeting takes place, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, between a party of Spanish explorers and the retinue of a local chieftain. The two sides can communicate only in signs, but an exchange of pr...

This half-century of activity by a | HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA

Spaniards in a new world

This half-century of activity by a single nation, Spain, on the other side of a vast ocean, in an age of relatively primitive sailing vessels, is perhaps unparalleled in history. It involves numerous incidents and advent...

This half-century of activity by a | HISTORY OF THE SPANISH EMPIRE

Spaniards in a new world

This half-century of activity by a single nation, Spain, on the other side of a vast ocean, in an age of relatively primitive sailing vessels, is perhaps unparalleled in history. It involves numerous incidents and advent...

This half-century of activity by a | HISTORY OF SPAIN

Spaniards in a new world

This half-century of activity by a single nation, Spain, on the other side of a vast ocean, in an age of relatively primitive sailing vessels, is perhaps unparalleled in history. It involves numerous incidents and advent...

The most characteristic sculptures of San | PRIMITIVE ART - THE MAGIC EYE

American sculpture

The most characteristic sculptures of San Lorenzo and La Venta are astonishing creations. They are massive stone heads, more than two metres in height, of square-jawed and fat-lipped warriors, usually wearing helmets wit...

The most characteristic sculptures of San | HISTORY OF SCULPTURE

American sculpture

The most characteristic sculptures of San Lorenzo and La Venta are astonishing creations. They are massive stone heads, more than two metres in height, of square-jawed and fat-lipped warriors, usually wearing helmets wit...