Unit: Civilizations in the Americas

Unit: Civilizations in the Americas

Lesson Title: A Study of Conflict - The Conquistadors vs. the Aztecs

In this lesson we will compare the Spanish and the Aztecs in their conflict. We will analyze how the two peoples measured against each other. Which was better prepared for battle? What were their relative strengths and weaknesses?

What things would be important to consider in this comparison?

Both the soldiers of Cortés and the Aztec warriors were highly skilled and fierce fighters. Our analysis of the conflict between the Spanish and Aztecs will focus on weaponry and physical condition (health).

The Spanish soldiers had steel swords, guns, canons, crossbows, long spears with steel tips, and armor. with steel tips The Spanish Harquebus

The Aztecs did not have steel, firearms, or armor. Their weapons were made of wood with blades and tips made of sharp stone and flint.

Weapons used by Aztec warriors The Atlatls: a spear throwing device long bows and arrows axes clubs slings spears The Maquahuitl: a wooden sword embedded at the edges with volcanic stone or flint.

Think about the siege of Tenochtitlán and city s causeways and geography. Which weapons were more advantageous? Why?

Firearms were certainly advantageous from a distance. Read this Aztec account of the Spanish harquebus (rifle). "A thing like a ball of stone comes out of its entrails: It comes out shooting sparks and raining fire, the smoke that comes out with it has a pestilent odor, like that of rotten mud. This odor penetrates even to the brain and causes the greatest discomfort. If the cannon is aimed against a mountain, the mountain splits and cracks open. If it is aimed at a tree, it shatters the tree into splinters. This is a most unnatural sight, as if the tree had exploded from within."

But the weaponry was better matched when it came to close combat.

More advanced weapons are an advantage in conflict between two peoples, but health is also very important. Why would better health be an advantage in a conflict between two peoples? Who do you think had a more advanced understanding of health, the Spanish or the Aztecs?

In class reading activity Read the Health Profiles handout (written by scholars from the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian Institute). Answer these questions: 1. Which peoples lived healthier lives, the Aztecs or the Spanish invaders? Explain why. 2. Which peoples had more advanced knowledge of medicine and disease prevention, the Aztecs or Spanish? Explain why. 3. Which peoples would you expect to have an advantage in a conflict because of their health backgrounds, the Aztecs or the Spanish?

The Aztecs lived much healthier lives and had a more advanced understanding of medicine than the Spanish. But this would prove to be a great disadvantage for the Aztecs and other peoples of Latin America in their ability to fight off the Spanish conquest. How could this be? Look again at the Health Profiles handout and the health backgrounds of the Spanish. Why were the Spanish considered survivors?

The Spanish soldiers were survivors because they had lived through epidemics of diseases in Europe. The Spanish had immunity (antibodies) to these diseases but carried the germs. The Aztecs had not experienced many of the diseases of the Europeans -- partially because they were more hygienic and lived healthier lives. Germs proved to be the deadliest weapon of the Spanish conquest of the native peoples in the Americas.

This graph shows the population of Native Americans in Mexico after Cortés first landed in central Mexico. What happened?

In 1519 when Cortés first landed in central Mexico, the region had 25 million people. Eighty years later at the end of the 1500s, the population in the region had dropped by 95% to just over one million.

When Cortés first entered Tenochtitlán, smallpox had already started to spread among the Aztecs because of the contact of other Spanish explorers with native peoples in Mesoamerica. The Aztecs were a weakened people during the battle for Tenochtitlán.

The losses of Native Americans to European diseases were greater proportionately in Mexico than the losses of Europeans during the Bubonic Plague. Epidemics of small pox, typhus, measles, influenza and mumps swept through Mexico, Central American and parts of South America. The populations of Native Americans like the Aztecs and Incas were decimated.

We have learned how the Bubonic Plague radically changed European society, and helped to end Feudalism and create countries in Europe. Epidemics also radically changed the Americas. How do you think epidemics affected the influence of the Spanish colonizers on the culture of the native peoples in Mesoamerica and South America? How was disease related to the great Spanish influence today in Latin America on language, religion, and architecture?

Right side notebook activity Create a monument in memory of all the Native Americans in Mexico that died during the 16 th Century because of the Spanish conquest. Put a plaque on the monument that includes: --How they died --Why so many died --How this affected the society and culture of Mexico Design the monument to reflect the conflict between the Aztecs and the Spanish. Include an explanation of every feature and how it relates to the event. Explain where you will locate the monument and why.