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It is thought that their civilization began in the 12th century. They were not alwaya a settled nation. For many years they roamed the Earth in search of place to build a city.
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The Aztecs believed in many different gods. Here are a few of the many
Chalchiutlicue - goddess of water (springs and seas)
Ehecatl - god of the wind (a form of Quetzalcoatl)
Tonatiuh - god of warriors
Quetzalcoatl - god of intelligience and self reflection. -
Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325. This was where the people decided to settle down instead of roam.
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They farmed and they had people who worked with crafters (Pottery and beading). They akso created canals which were to help them have water to drink and were also used to carry water to their crops. The people also worshipped many gods. They had a polythesistic religion.
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Education became an important part of their culture. Once they were in a settled city, the boys were able to recieve an education. However it is not an education as we may think. They recieved military or religious training in the temple.
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Montezuma was the most famous kings of the Aztecs. It is said that he was king during the time that Hernan Cortez arrived, but died leaving the empire to another emperor who had to watch the spanish take over their nation.
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Hernan Cortes was a spanish conquistatdor that arrived in the city in 1519. He was searching for new land to take over for the king of Spain. The Aztecs think the Spanish are gods and give them valuable gifts.
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The Aztecs had never encountered Europeans before, therefore they had never experienced European diseases. Because of this their immune systems could not fight off the smallpox disease which the Spanish brought over with them. Smallpox was the Spanishes biggest weapon in destroying the Aztecs
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Before the Spanish took over, the Aztecs were a powerful nation. They had conquered neighboring tribes. It is guessed that the Aztec civilization had about 15 million people. About 300,000 of which lived in Tenochtitlan.
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The Aztecs were not able to fight against the Spainish. They were weak from the smallpox influenza, but the Spain had advanced weapons and they also had horse, which the Aztecs did not. They were easily able to take over the Aztec empire. However, the Spanish wanted to use to Aztecs as slaves but could not because so many died from smallpox. The Spanish also became allies with some of the Aztecs enemies and used them to gain control.
