Aztec 4

How did the Mexica explain their own origins?

They traced themselves to Aztlán, a mythic homeland in the north, guided by their tribal god Huitzilopochtli. The migration story justified their divine destiny to rule;

Why did the founding of Tenochtitlan carry sacred meaning?

According to prophecy, they would find an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent. Discovering this sign on a small island in Lake Texcoco validated their chosenness.

How did myth and geography reinforce political legitimacy?

By claiming the city’s location was divinely chosen, the Mexica made religion inseparable from state power. Every temple and causeway symbolized the merger of cosmic order with imperial order

What was the purpose of the Triple Alliance?

Formed by Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan after defeating Azcapotzalco (1428 CE), it institutionalized tribute collection and mutual military support.

How did Itzcoatl and Tlacaelel shape imperial ideology?

Itzcoatl’s reign centralized rule and purged rival records; Tlacaelel recast history to glorify Huitzilopochtli and the Mexica as the chosen people.

Why were warfare and sacrifice tied together?

Capturing rather than killing enemies fed the ritual economy. Sacrifice kept the sun moving and affirmed warrior virtue.

How did dualism structure Aztec thought?

Life and death, order and chaos, male and female were seen as complementary forces. To live well was to maintain balance between them.

What did sacrifice represent beyond religion?

It expressed reciprocity between humans and gods—“we give so that you give.” It also served as a dramatic assertion of state power: the empire could literally feed the cosmos.

What roles did education play in shaping citizens?

Boys attended telpochcalli (military/commoner school) or calmecac (noble/religious academy). Girls were trained in household arts and devotion. Education aimed at moral steadiness rather than individual ambition.

How were gender expectations framed religiously?

Women’s work—grinding maize, weaving, childbirth—was honored as parallel to warriors’ duties. Each sustained cosmic order through sacrifice of labor or blood.

Why did alliances and resentment shape the conquest?

Spanish forces under Cortés exploited native rivalries, recruiting Tlaxcalans and Totonacs against Mexica dominance. Thus the fall of Tenochtitlan was as much an indigenous civil war as an external invasion.

What roles did Malintzin (Doña Marina) and Bernal Díaz play in shaping memory?

Malintzin bridged worlds as translator and strategist, symbolizing both betrayal and survival. Díaz’s Conquest of New Spain portrayed Spaniards as heroic, while native accounts (Florentine Codex, Native Conquistador) stressed devastation and spiritual confusion.

How did the Nahua intellectual tradition survive the conquest?

Nahua elites continued writing in their own language using the Latin alphabet. They worked with friars such as Sahagún to record pre-Hispanic history, cosmology, and moral codes.`

Why were bilingual codices and chronicles politically important?

They allowed surviving nobles to prove land claims and status to Spanish authorities while keeping ancestral memory alive.

What changes occurred in the religious worldview under Spanish rule?

Outwardly, Christianity replaced public ritual sacrifice, but inwardly many Nahuas mapped Christian figures onto familiar deities—Tonantzin became the Virgin of Guadalupe; the Sun’s daily death and rebirth resonated with Christ’s passion.

How did post-revolutionary Mexico reinterpret the Aztecs?

twentieth century, intellectuals and artists like Diego Rivera recast the Mexica as symbols of indigenous pride and anti-imperial strength