Phase 1
The Aztecs settled on a swampy island in this lake because they witnessed a prophecy: an eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake.
What is Lake Texcoco?
Positioned at the very top of the Aztec social hierarchy, this leader held the title of "The Great Speaker" and interpreted the will of the gods.
Emperor/Moctezuma
These are the four primary factors that heavily shaped the expansionist worldview of Renaissance Spain.
What are Geography, God, Gold, and Glory?
This Spanish Conquistador arrived on the shores of Mexico in 1519, defied his governor's orders, and marched toward the Aztec capital.
Hernan Cortes
What is 12 meters.
Meaning "floating gardens," these artificial swamp islands allowed the Aztecs to produce up to seven crops a year to feed their massive population.
What are chinampas?
This social class made up the top of the social pyramid, including priests, high-ranking warriors, and government officials.
Who are the Pipiltin? Nobility
This centuries-long military campaign by Christian kingdoms to retake the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule ended successfully in 1492.
Reconquista
This factor wiped out vast majorities of the Aztec population, severely destroying their morale and military strength.
Smallpox
Derived from the Spanish word for "mixed," this term refers to people of mixed Spanish and Indigenous descent, who make up the largest cultural demographic in modern Mexico.
What is Mestizo
Because the Aztecs had no alphabet, they recorded their history, religious practices, and tribute records using pictures in these accordion-folded books.
What are codices (or a codex)?
This was the name of the Aztec school for commoner children (Macehualtin), where the curriculum focused heavily on citizenship duties and military training.
What is the Telpochcalli?
These two Spanish monarchs unified Spain under Catholicism and ultimately agreed to finance Christopher Columbus's risky voyage westward.
Who are King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella?
This person acted as a translator, advisor, and strategist for Cortés, helping him navigate local political rivalries.
This architectural feature, common in Mexican cities, represents a fusion of Spanish colonial styles layered directly over dismantled Aztec structural stones.
What are cathedrals / churches (or Spanish architecture)?
This primary Aztec patron god and god of the sun required human blood to gain the strength to battle the forces of darkness each night.
Who is Huitzilopochtli?
This highly disciplined school trained noble children to become future priests, judges, and military commanders.
What is the Calmecac?
This religious institution, re-established by the Spanish crown, was used to put non-Catholics on trial and exile or execute those who refused to convert.
The Spanish formed crucial military alliances with groups like this indigenous independent state, which deeply resented paying tribute to the Aztecs.
Tlaxcalans
To fast-track the destruction of the Aztec worldview, the Spanish crown implemented this colonial labor policy, granting conquistadors land and a supply of forced Indigenous workers in exchange for promising to convert them to Catholicism.
Encomienda system
This 52-year event occurred when the Aztec solar calendar (Xiuhpohualli) and sacred calendar (Tonalpohualli) perfectly aligned, requiring all fires to be extinguished until a new one was lit on a sacrificed heart.
What is the New Fire Ceremony?
This economic system required conquered city-states to send regular payments of goods like jade, feathers, cocoa beans, and cotton back to Tenochtitlan.
Tribute System
This term describes the belief that one's own culture, particularly European culture during the Age of Discovery, is inherently superior to all others.
Eurocentrism
Upon arriving in Tenochtitlan, Cortés took this extreme and highly controversial strategic gamble, choosing to do this to control the population through him.
What is taking Moctezuma hostage?
This group of barefoot Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in New Spain in 1524, having walked 500 kilometers from the coast to Mexico City to systematically destroy Aztec temples and convert the population.
Franciscans