Why was it easy for the Spanish to conquer the Aztecs?

Why was it easy for the Spanish to conquer the Aztecs?

They found that the city’s society had crumpled. The Aztecs no longer trusted Montezuma, they were short on food, and the smallpox epidemic was under way. More than 3 million Aztecs died from smallpox, and with such a severely weakened population, it was easy for the Spanish to take Tenochtitlán.

What bad things did the Aztecs do?

The Aztecs were severely weakened by diseases that the Spanish brought such as smallpox, influenza, and malaria. Over time, around 80 percent of the people living in the Valley of Mexico died from these diseases. Cortés founded Mexico City on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.

What were some of the biggest advantages the Spanish had over the Aztecs?

The advantages that the Spanish had over the Aztec were 16 horses, guns, armor, formed alliances, and diseases, steel. What were the Natives most afraid of. The natives were most afraid of the horses that the Spanish brought over.

What factors helped the Spanish defeat the Aztecs?

• Superior Weapons. Spanish weaponry was far superior to anything used by the Aztecs or Incas.
• Alliances and Experience. The invading Spanish forces also took advantage of internal divisions within the Aztec and Inca empires.
• The Power of Horses.
• Deadly Disease.

Is there any Aztecs left?

Today the descendants of the Aztecs are referred to as the Nahua. More than one-and-a-half million Nahua live in small communities dotted across large areas of rural Mexico, earning a living as farmers and sometimes selling craft work. The Nahua are just one of nearly 60 indigenous peoples still living in Mexico.

What are the Aztecs known for?

The Aztecs were famous for their agriculture, cultivating all available land, introducing irrigation, draining swamps, and creating artificial islands in the lakes. They developed a form of hieroglyphic writing, a complex calendar system, and built famous pyramids and temples.

What makes Aztecs unique?

The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. They were a civilization with a rich mythology and cultural heritage. Their capital was Tenochtitlan on the shore of Lake Texcoco – the site of modern-day Mexico City.

What is the Aztecs culture?

MATOS MOCTEZUMA: The Aztec was fundamentally a culture based on war and agriculture. Their two most important deities were Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, and Tlaloc, the god of rain. The duality of war and agriculture was crucial for the Aztec economy.