Aztec Geography
This large raised area with flat land helped define the geography of the Valley of Mexico.
What is a plateau?
These two bodies of water border Spain to the south and west.
What are the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean?
The Aztec capital city, found on a lake island.
What is Tenochtitlan?
These two monarchs united Spain under one religion.
Who are King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella?
This term refers to beliefs that one’s culture is superior.
What is ethnocentrism?
This lake was the central location of the Aztec capital.
What is Lake Texcoco?
This mountain range separates Spain and France.
What are the Pyrenees Mountains?
This symbol (an eagle, cactus, snake) led the Aztecs to their final destination.
What is the eagle on a cactus with a snake in its beak?
This was the court system used to judge people’s religious beliefs.
What is the Spanish Inquisition?
This kind of contact affected both Aztec and Spanish worldviews.
What is intercultural contact?
These structures connected Tenochtitlan to the mainland.
What are causeways?
This geographic challenge caused outer regions of Spain to feel disconnected from the capital.
What are mountains?
These warriors were known for their ferocity and military strength.
What are jaguar warriors?
This 1492 decree expelled Jewish people from Spain.
What is the Edict of Granada?
The Spanish believed their mission included this religious goal.
What is saving souls (or spreading Catholicism)?
This feature kept the Valley of Mexico’s temperature constant and spring-like.
What is altitude (and sheltering mountains)?
Spain’s position on this peninsula helped it become a leader in exploration.
What is the Iberian Peninsula?
Aztecs used these to bring freshwater to their capital.
What are aqueducts?
This religious group faced forced conversions or exile along with Jews.
Who are Muslims (Moors)?
This belief in strong military power influenced Aztec society.
What is militarism?
These arid geographic features dominate the northern region of Mexico and limited early agricultural development and settlement.
What are the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts?
The Meseta Central is a plateau isolated by these landforms.
What are irregular mountain ranges (or sierras)?
These payments were collected from conquered peoples by the Aztecs.
What is tribute?
This worldview justified Spanish expansion and conquest.
What is ethnocentrism?
These were the Spanish reasons for expansion: economic, political, and _____.
What is religious?