Aztecs
Aztec warriors fought in these highly ritualized battles where the goal was to capture, not kill, opponents.
What are Flowery Wars?
This disease, inadvertently brought by Europeans, devastated indigenous populations, including the Aztecs and Incas.
What is Smallpox?
Spain's 1492 reconquest of this last Muslim stronghold inspired their subsequent efforts to conquer and Christianize new lands.
What is Granada?
By exploiting indigenous labor, Spain became the richest European country due to deposits of this precious metal.
What is silver?
This civilization, considered either a "mother" or "sister" culture, emerged around 1500 BCE and mysteriously declined by 500 BCE.
What is the Olmec civilization?
This is the Patron god of the Aztecs, the god of sun and war.
Who is Huitzilopochtli?
The Aztec worldview and understanding of time was this believing events repeated and were predestined by the gods.
What is cyclical?
The growth of this empire blocked European access to Asia via the Mediterranean, prompting maritime exploration.
What is the Ottoman Empire?
The Spanish used this form of labor for farming and gaining silver in the Americas.
Enslaved people
Located in the Valley of Mexico, this city-state thrived from 200 BCE to 750 CE and was known for its monumental architecture.
What is Teotihuacan?
This is what the Aztecs called their empire.
What is "Mexica"?
This Spanish conquistador led the expedition that resulted in the fall of the Aztec Empire.
Who is Hernán Cortés?
This explorer sailed west from Spain in 1492, seeking a direct route to Asia.
Who is Christopher Columbus?
These are the social group of Spaniards that initially came over to colonize the Americas.
Low-level aristocrats
This street, lined with apartment compounds, led to the massive pyramids of the sun and moon in Teotihuacan.
What is the Street of the Dead?
The Aztec Empire used this system, involving goods like textiles and luxury items, to maintain control and reward local elites.
What is the tribute system?
This conquistador exploited civil war in the Inca Empire to conquer it between 1524 and 1533.
Who is Francisco Pizarro?
In 1497-1499, this Portuguese explorer rounded the Cape of Good Hope, establishing trading relations in South Asia.
Who is Vasco da Gama?
The riches Spain gain after conquering the Inca and Aztec go on to fund these two things.
Colonization and slave trade
The Mayan civilization developed primarily on this large peninsula in modern-day Mexico.
What is the Yucatán Peninsula?
At its height, the Aztec Empire ruled over this many people, making it the largest empire in North America up to that point.
What is 25 million?
This Spanish priest, a former conquistador, documented the brutal treatment of Native Americans in A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies.
Who is Bartolomé de las Casas?
Unlike Portuguese explorers, who sought trading networks, Spanish explorers aimed to achieve these objectives in the Americas.
What are conquest and colonization? (OR spreading Christianity and precious metals)
Smallpox reduced the population from 1 million to this number in 20 years.
What is 30,000?
This term describes the Mayan king, believed to be descended from a local god or goddess (Native term and translation).
What is K’uhul Ajaw (Sacred Lord)?