The period of exploration of the New World was also a period of exploitation as European adventurers and armies encountered the native population and took advantage of that population, robbing the civilizations found here and decimating the population. The Aztecs had a mighty civilization in the New World that was
destroyed by the Conquistadors in the name of greed and Christ-ianity. The Aztecs were regarded as uncivilized heathens, and their lands were taken from them, their goods were stolen, and their leaders murdered.
Aztec civilization--and it was indeed a civilization--created
its most extraordinary achievements in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It received a sudden and painful defeat at the hands
of the Spanish army in 1519-1521. Aztec civilization flourished
in the Valley of Mexico, a tiny area in comparison with the total territory of the Aztec empire (Gibson 1).
The term "Aztec" actually has no precise meaning, and it is used in an inclusive sense in reference to Indian peoples who have a more particular tribal nomenclature. There were many tribes in-volved, and their history to 1519 was quite complex and was
governed by military victory and defeat in the Valley of Mexico. By 1519, there was a major alliance drawing these peoples together (Gibson 20-22).
Aztec society was a military state with a population in the millions. The Aztecs were considered the most aggressive and dedicated warriors in the area, and fighting was glorified and deified. There were economic, religious, and social rewards to be derived from warfare. The Aztec capital was Tenochtitlan, and it maintained its supremacy by exacting tribute from conquered cities. There was also a vast trade network which provided income and which took Aztec merchants to the far reaches of Middle
America. These traders, of course, were also backed by the mighty army of the Aztecs. Religious belief reinforced the militarism of the societ...