Aztec

Calla

Pre-Columbian city and state in central Mexico, allied with the Spanish Empire (1348-1520).

Motecuhzoma II

Ninth emperor of the Aztec Empire who reigned while the Spanish came (1502-1520).

Tzintzuntzan

Pre-Columbian ceremonial center that held off the Aztec Empire until the Spanish arrived (15th century).

Mixtecs

Indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting La Mixteca, lasting from 1500 BCE until conquered by the Spanish in 1523.

Quiche (K’iche)

Indigenous people of the Americas and one of the Maya groups (950-1539 AD).

Soconusco

Region in Chiapas along with Guatemala.

Taifas

Small, independent Muslim kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula after the fall of the Umayyad caliphate of Cordoba (103); disliked by the Spanish.

Reconquista

Series of military and cultural campaigns by European Christian kingdoms to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule (711-1492).

Spanish Inquisition

Catholic Church office that persecuted heresy and punished those deviating from Catholic doctrine.

Cholula

Important city of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica that betrayed the Spanish after breaking away from the Tlaxcala triple alliance.

Hernan Cortes

Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century.

Noche Triste

Battle between Spanish conquistadors and Aztecs on June 30 - July 1, 1520; significant for its implications on the conquest.

Cuauhtemoc

Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, last Aztec Emperor during the Spanish conquest.

New Fire

Significant ritual in Aztec culture celebrating the start of a new 52-year cycle, involved human sacrifice (13th-15th century).

Venus

Important in Aztec culture, represented by the god Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, associated with dread and hysteria.

Tzitzimime

Celestial deities in Aztec mythology, associated with stars and fertility (13th-15th century).

Sepulveda

Spanish humanist and philosopher arguing for the superiority and dominance of Spanish over Native Americans (1550-1551).

Encomienda

Spanish labor system rewarding conquerors with the labor of conquered non-Christian peoples.

Repartimiento

Colonial labor system imposed upon indigenous populations in Spanish America; tribute-labor system.

Smallpox

Highly contagious and deadly disease caused by the variola virus, significantly affecting indigenous populations (1507-1524).

Moors

People from North Africa who moved into Spain; generally not welcomed by the Spanish.

al-Andalus

Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula from 711 to 1492.

Asturias

First Christian kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, significant in the colonization of the Americas.

Francisco de Cordoba

Notable figure in Spanish conquests; details are limited.

Reduccion

Facilitated Spaniard access to Indian labor, Christianity propagation, and tax collection.

Almohads

Berber Muslim dynasty that ruled Maghreb and Andalusia from 1120-1269.

Almoravids

Berber Muslim dynasty that ruled over North Africa and Spain from the 1050s to 1147.

Alhambra Decree

Order issued in 1492 to expel Jewish people from Spain by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

Carib

Indigenous people of the Caribbean region.

Granada

Final stronghold of the Moors in Spain, constructed in 889 and renovated in later centuries.

Conversos

Jewish individuals who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal during the 14th and 15th centuries.

Limpieza de sangre

Racially discriminatory term referring to the concept of blood purity in the Spanish and Portuguese Empires.

Sweatbaths

Practice used for rituals and community building that cleanses the body.

Ballgame

Sport with ritual associations played by pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mesoamerica since at least 1650 BC.

Virgin soil

Epidemics occurring when a population faces exposure to a disease for the first time without immunity.

Quetzalcoatl

Mesoamerican god also known as the ‘Feathered Serpent,’ significant in Aztec culture.

Bernal Diaz

Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Aztec Empire and later documented events.

Pedro de Alvarado

Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala, involved in the conquest of Cuba (1485-1541).

Santiago Velasquez Narvaez

Notable historical figure, details are limited.

Valladolid Debate

First moral debate in European history about the rights and treatment of Indigenous people (1550-1551).

Chert

Dense hard sedimentary rock rich in silica, composed of microcrystalline quartz and chalcedony.

Atlatl

Handheld tool to throw darts or javelins with greater speed and distance (10,500-800 BCE).

Macuahuitl

Wooden weapon with embedded obsidian blades used by Aztecs and other civilizations.

Nahua

Mesoamerican Indigenous people, ancestors of many living in central Mexico today.

Turquoise

Rare blue-to-green mineral and gemstone significant to indigenous people.

Tariq ibn Ziyad

Umayyad commander who began the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711-718 AD.

Jaguar Warrior

Members of the Aztec military elite.

Otomi

Oto-Pamean language spoken by indigenous Otomi people in central Mexico.

Torquemada

Roman Catholic Dominican friar associated with the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition in 1478.

Champoton

Small Maya city in Campeche; site of the battle ‘Mala Pelea’ in 1517.

Jerónimo de Aguilar Malintzin

Franciscan friar shipwrecked in Yucatán, later became translator for Hernan Cortes.

Tayasal

Maya archaeological site in Guatemala, occupied during middle and late preclassic periods.