WHI-Chap6/21-Obj5

Founding of Tenochtitlan

In about the year 1345, the earliest Aztec people finally settled on an island in the marshy Lake Texcoco and founded the city that would later be known as Tenochtitlan. Though the area was at first strategically inconvenient, the initial choice of where to place their capital was not militarily or politically based, but religiously. The Aztecs had a myth that they would be led by their patron god, Huitzilopochtli, until they found an eagle eating the fruit of a cactus. This would be where they would base their city, despite it's geographical pros and cons. However, it's location turned out to be at least a little beneficial for the Aztecs. The surrounding lake and the fertile soil that made up it's bottom led way to the Aztec's chinampa agricultural system and the lake it self also proved to be a great natural defensive mechanism.

The Aztec Empire

By the early fifteen century, the Aztecs became strong enough to start conquering their neighbors and demanding tribute. As the years went on, the Aztecs conquered more and more neighboring cities and demanding taxes and tributes, increasing Tenochtitlan's wealth and the land area of the Aztec Empire. This method of obtaining wealth defined the Aztec Empire as a "tribute empire". At the Empire's high point, tribute from 489 subject territories was constantly flowing into the city. However, even while oppressive such a large number of people, the Aztecs did not create a complex bureaucracy or an elaborate system of roads to their conquered cities to keep them under control. The Aztecs had no fear of rebellion as they controlled their subjects through terror. They kidnapped the leaders' families, and if any subjected cities became insubordinate, they were wiped out instantly. The Aztec Empire focused heavily on the military aspect of their society. If one was a male, they could grow from a peasant to a noble if they distinguished themselves on the battlefield. Though priests still held a high place in Aztec society, the military leaders assumed the top position. Women, on the other hand, had no place in society because of the Aztec's focus on the military. Almost every woman was married, and the only way they could have any honor bestowed on them was to either be the mother of successful warriors, or to die while giving birth to a warrior. For the latter, a woman was giving the same amount of honor as a man who died in battle. The Aztec Empire was also very well known for its practice of mass human sacrifice. The Aztecs, having absorbed the religious practices of the previous Mesoamericans, continued to practice bloodletting just as their ancestors had. However, the Aztecs took this is a whole new level. For each blessing one of their gods gave them, a human had to be sacrificed to pay them back--and as their military successes continued, more and more humans had to be sacrificed. However, to them, it was just what had to be done, and there was nothing wrong with it. They were an incredibly religious and successful Empire amassing nearly five hundred subject cities under their control and creating an incredibly wealthy and powerful Empire.