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Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 8:03 pm
A Spanish conquistodor, with only a few hundred men, conquered a civiization with a populace with millions of men, women, and children. With their guns, horses, and disease, they paved the way for colonilization, but almost wiped out one of the most resouceful and inventive races known to mankind. The Aztecs.
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 8:04 pm
The Aztecs, once a great empire that stretched from present day northern Brazil to northern Mexico. They had created a superb and unique architecture, had a rich culture, and also had a fearsome warrior class. The architecture's featured palaces with steppes lading from the bottom to the very top, huts and shops made from brick, and intricate patterns built into the buildings themselves.
The culture was amazing. They had a game that was the equivalent of the U.S. war games. Nicknamed the Garland (flower) Wars, young promising warriors would fight people from other cities or tribes and gain fame and fortune this way. While sharpening their skills for reall fighting, there were often fatalities that left some teams completely decimated. In other words, people died sometimes.
Now onto the good stuff. The warrior class was revered by all. At the foot of it was the simple foot soldier. Armed with a wooden shield and obsidian blade or maybe a short bow with obsidian tipped arrows, they were the bread and butter of the Aztec army.
Above them were the Eagle Warriors. Unburdened by the leather armor worn by the foot soldiers, they could move quickly and were the equivalent of cavalry. Armed with spears and wearing a distinct headpiece (sometimes with feathers or shaped like and eagle's head) they would act as shock troopers to move in and attack the enemy and then pull out. Or sometimes they were the messengers, using their speed to it's fullest.
And above the rest were the Jaguar warriors. Each of them seasoned warrios with years of experience under their belt, they were the fiercest fighters the Aztecs offered. They wore armor covered with Jaguard pelts to show not only their strength, but to stirke fear into the enemy. They were belived to fight as fierce as any animal, the equivalent of a European knight. All they had were their armor and blades made of the finest, and sharpest, obsidian.
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 8:06 pm
Now onto the Spaniard conquistador that conquered the Aztecs. Hernando Cortez, loyal to her majesty, landed on Aztec territory in 1521. He was quickly found out and was told to the emperor, who was living in Technotilan. As he moved around the area, he found a small Mayan village and was given the young La Malinche as a gift. Instead of using her as a regular slave, he used her as a trnaslator between himself and the Aztec. It was with her that he was able to adapt so quickly.
At first, the people thought he was the great snake god Queazequaotol (sp?). They gave him gifts of gold, but by doing this, they made him think that the Aztecs held great wealth behind their city walls. He befriended the Astec's enemies and then tried to conquer the Aztecs himself.
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 8:17 pm
Now this is a dark part in Aztec history. Cortez, with his guns, horses, and strong allies, stormed the Aztec's great city of Technotilan and occupied the city for a long time. The Aztecs, tenacious as they were, retook the city but lost their beloved leader Montezuma. The Spaniards even told them that they themselves had killed their leader.
After that, smallpox, a gift from the Spaniards, took hold on most of the population. It killed a huge percentagwe of the people and left the Aztecs open for attack. With his remaining forces, Cortez took Technotilan and weeded out all resistance. After killing all Aztec hostiles, he enslaved the rest and sent the queen word of his succes.
This, my friends, is the Aztec and Spaniard Conflict. Post anything relevant that I may have forgotten.
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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:27 pm
Ksrugi The Aztecs, tenacious as they were, retook the city but lost their beloved leader Montezuma. Montezuma was actually pretty unpopular among the Aztecs. He unwillingly inherited his position from his father and he made quite a few changes that upset the general populous. (He replaced dozens of competent and well-respected authority figures in favour of a handful of inexperienced students, for instance, and he made a point of distancing himself from his people out of sheer disdain for them.)
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:08 pm
Montezuma is, in my opinion, a tragic figure.
Like many other gods-fearing Aztecs, he waited for his god to return from the seas. He's a victim of a horrible miscalculation.
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