The Rise of the Aztecs Chapter 9 Section

The Rise of the Aztecs Chapter 9: Section 1

• Very rugged mountainous land. • Two mountain ranges form a with the point in southern Mexico. • Inside the V there is a high area known as the Central Plato. • It is a generally arid (lacking in rainfall) area. • There is more rainfall in the southern portion. • The best farmland was in the basin (a bowl-shaped area, often with a lade at the bottom of it). The Geography of Mexico

The Aztec Home • Central Basin of Mexico called the Valley of Mexico. • During the Aztec time the area was covered with several large, shallow lakes. • The land next to the lakes was fertile, and the climate was mild.

Early Settlement • The Valley of Mexico was settled by farming peoples. • Around A. D. 1200 a migratory people settled in the valley and formed small city-states. • The last to arrive were the Mexica who, according to legend, came from Aztlan and were called the Aztecs. • Settled on an island in Lake Texcoco where they saw an eagle on a cactus which is where, according to legend, they would build a great empire.

The Aztec Empire • Tenochtitlan ( the place of the cactus fruit) was founded in 1325. • Very fierce warriors who were often hired as mercenaries (soldiers-for-higher).

Tenochtitlan • Tenochtitlan was and island that had fertile soil along the shoreline. • Lake Texcoco also provided fish, ducks, and frogs for food. • Aztecs used chinampas (floating gardens) to add more fertile farm land to their island setting.

Chinampas • Floated a mat in shallow water. • Built a fence around it. • Covered the mats with mud and planted past growing willow trees to hold it in place. • They would plant corn, tomatoes, potatoes, chili peppers, and squash.

Travel and Transport • The Aztecs built canals across the island to move goods and people easily by boat. • Also easy to defend from attack.

Expansion • • In the 1400 s they formed the Triple Alliance with two other city-states. They began to conquer their enemies and by 1440, they had become a great empire that included most of the Valley of Mexico. The Aztec army was very powerful, they wore cotton armor and carried shields. They fought with lances, bows, and spears. But their main weapon was a heavy wooden club covered in sharp stone blades.

Moctezuma • The Aztecs continued to expand in 1502, Moctezuma came to power. • Under his rule, the Aztecs reached their height. • They had about one million people. • The capital, Tenochtitlan, was in the center of the Valley of Mexico. • The Spanish Conquistadors came in 1519 led by Hernan Cortez. • Cortez defeated Moctezuma in 1521 for control of the Aztec Empire.