mexico all vocab for midterm

Sierra Madre Occidental

A geographical mountain range located on the Western Pacific Coast of Mexico. The Sierra Madre Occidental helped provide refuge for various indigenous groups due to its rugged terrain, helping protect indigenous tradition from westernization.

Altiplano

A high plateau or high plain like region where water is blocked from draining, making it good for civilizations. A good example includes the Valley of Mexico or Mexican Plateau where the Aztec Empire found its settlement.

Pocatepetl

A smoking volcano located near Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Empire capital, that played a role in Aztec mythology. Specifically, the volcano was named after Aztec warrior Pocatepetl who buried his love on a mountain and eventually turned into the two mountains, one of which is Pocatepetl.

Valley of Mexico

An altiplano region that served as the home of the Aztec Civilization. The area was a lake basin area with lots of vegetation and wildlife, making it a good place to start a civilization such as the Aztecs.

Xochimilco/Chinampa

An agricultural system that involved making mini agricultural islands in shallow lakes to support the Aztec Empire. This system fostered biodiversity within the Valley of Mexico and provided an abundant food source for the Aztecs.

Cenote

A sink hole that develops as limestone is eroded by water; Cenotes also served as a sacred site for the Mayans to make offerings to their gods and as a portal to Xibalba or the Mayan underworld.

Olmec

The mesoamerican civilization existing prior to the Aztecs and the Maya. The Olmecs created a hieroglyphic-esque writing system and a calendar system of which the Mayans would later on refine and utilize themselves. The Olmecs also had an extensive trade system over long distances. 

Calendar Round

The calendar round is a 52 year cycle that combines both the 365 day solar calendar and the 260 day ritualistic calendar to create various permutations and combinations of a cycle. The calendar round played a role in the belief that time was cyclical and many believed the end of the cycle brought destruction.

Long Count

The Mayan Long Count is a method of showcasing time, however it uses a linear system rather than a cyclical cycle like the calendar round. The long count system starts at a zero date and has counted consistently upwards since. The long count system ended in 2012, causing many to believe the world would end, however the cycle began again.

Xoloitzcuintle

A hairless dog breed that both the Mayans and Aztecs believed to be a guide to the underworld alongside a healer and guardian of spirits. This breed of dog is often symbolized in modern day media, such as in Coco.

Nixtamal Process

A process of cooking corn kernels in an alkaline solution such as lime juice to enhance nutrients and also make it more digestible for humans to eat.

Comal

A flat, griddle-like cooking dish that the Aztecs utilized to cook items such as tortillas and other fundamental dishes to their diet.

Teotihuacan

A major city in the Mesoamerican world that wasn’t home to just one civilization over time. Teotihuacan serves as the home of the gods and is known to be the sixth largest city of its time.

Xipe Totec

The Flayed God, Xipe Totec is the god of fertility and renewal and represents the cycle of birth and death and how life emerges from death. Xipe Totec played an important role in both Toltec and Aztec culture. 

Maya

A mesoamerican civilization living in Southern Mexico near the Yucatan Peninsula around 2000 BCE up until the 16 century CE around Spanish Conquest. The Mayans developed a complex writing system and developed the concept of zero in mathematics as well. The Mayans believed in a polytheistic religion with a pantheon of gods.

Toltecs

The Toltecs were a powerful civilization that thrived in central Mexico between the 10th and 12th centuries, with their capital at Tula. They were remembered by later cultures, especially the Mexica, as great builders, warriors, and cultural innovators, inspiring myths about the ideal state.

Chichimecans

Chichimecans were semi-nomadic peoples from northern Mexico, often described by settled Mesoamerican societies as “barbarians.” Despite this, they played a vital role in cultural mixing, and the Mexica themselves were called Chichimeca before becoming rulers of Tenochtitlan.

Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl, the “Feathered Serpent,” was a major deity linked to wisdom, wind, creation, and civilization. Revered by the Toltecs and later the Mexica, he represented learning and order, often contrasted with gods of war and sacrifice.

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is the Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Mexica and many other groups in central Mexico. It was the administrative and cultural language of the Aztec Empire and continues to influence Mexican Spanish today.

Altepetl

An altepetl, literally “water-mountain,” was the basic city-state of central Mexico. Each had its own ruler, temples, markets, and identity, forming the backbone of Nahua political organization.

Tlatoani

The tlatoani, meaning “speaker,” was the ruler of an altepetl. He served as both political and religious leader, commanding armies and overseeing tribute and ceremonies.

Aztlan

Aztlan is the legendary homeland of the Mexica, described as an island place from which they began their migration south. It symbolized their ancestral roots and divine destiny, though its exact location remains debated.

Anahuac

Anahuac means “land surrounded by water” in Nahuatl and originally referred to the Valley of Mexico. Over time, it came to signify the larger cultural world of central Mexico under Mexica dominance.

Tenochtitlan

Founded in 1325 on an island in Lake Texcoco, Tenochtitlan grew into the Mexica capital and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It was the center of the Aztec Empire until its fall to the Spanish in 1521.

Triple Alliance

Formed in 1428 by Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, the Triple Alliance created a powerful imperial system. Through warfare and tribute, it expanded Mexica control over much of central Mexico.

Huitzilopochtli

Huitzilopochtli was the patron god of the Mexica, associated with the sun, war, and sacrifice. He guided their migration and required constant offerings of human hearts to sustain the cosmos.

Tzompantli

A tzompantli was a skull rack where the heads of sacrificial victims were displayed. It served as both a sacred offering to the gods and a public demonstration of power and military success.

Moctezuma II

Moctezuma II ruled Tenochtitlan from 1502 to 1520 during the height of the empire’s power. His reign ended tragically with the arrival of Hernán Cortés and the Spanish conquest.

Flowery Wars

Flowery Wars were ritualized battles fought between the Mexica and rivals like Tlaxcala. Their purpose was less about conquest and more about capturing prisoners for sacrificial rituals that sustained the gods.

Moors

The Moors were Muslim peoples from North Africa who conquered and ruled large parts of Spain from 711 until 1492. They introduced advances in science, mathematics, architecture, and agriculture that shaped Iberian culture. Their expulsion after centuries of conflict, during the Reconquista, helped form Spain’s militant Christian identity that influenced its conquest of the Americas.

Convivencia

This term refers to the coexistence of Christians, Muslims, and Jews in medieval Spain, especially between the 10th and 15th centuries. While not always peaceful, it fostered intellectual and cultural exchange. This blending of ideas left Spain with traditions of tolerance and tension that carried into colonial policies.

Reconquista

The long Christian campaign to reclaim Iberia from Muslim rule, lasting from the 8th century until 1492, when Granada fell. The struggle combined religious and military zeal, shaping Spain as a crusading power. Its ideology of holy war carried over into the Spanish justification for conquering the New World.

Factoría

A factoría was a fortified trading post set up by Europeans to manage commerce abroad. Initially developed on the African coast for trade in goods (and later enslaved people), it became a model for Spain’s colonial settlements. These centers managed resource extraction and military defense.

Taíno

The Taíno were the indigenous people of the Greater Antilles, including Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. They lived in organized villages, practiced agriculture, and greeted Columbus in 1492. Within decades, their population was nearly destroyed by disease, forced labor, and violence.

Cacique

A Taíno word meaning “chief,” referring to local rulers in the Caribbean. Spaniards adopted the term as a generic word for native leaders throughout the Americas. Caciques often acted as intermediaries but also resisted Spanish control.

Carib

Indigenous peoples of the Lesser Antilles, culturally related to the Taíno but distinct. They were skilled seafarers and resisted Spanish intrusion fiercely. Europeans portrayed them as cannibals, often exaggerating this to justify conquest and enslavement.

Conuco

A Taíno farming system that used raised earth mounds for crops like cassava, maize, and beans. It allowed sustainable use of land in the Caribbean’s tropical climate. Spaniards often disrupted these practices by imposing European agriculture.

Encomienda

A Spanish colonial system granting settlers the right to indigenous tribute and labor. In theory, encomenderos had to protect and Christianize the natives, but in practice it became highly exploitative. It was a cornerstone of early Spanish colonization in the Caribbean and Mexico.

Cabildo

A municipal council established in Spanish towns to oversee local governance. It included Spanish settlers (not indigenous peoples) and managed taxation, policing, and land distribution. The cabildo became a symbol of Spanish authority in the colonies.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian navigator sailing for Spain who reached the Caribbean in 1492 while seeking a westward route to Asia. He established contact with the Taíno and set up the first Spanish colony on Hispaniola. His voyages began European colonization of the Americas, bringing both cultural exchange and devastation.

Hispaniola

The first base of Spanish colonization in the Americas, now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It was the site of early experiments with encomiendas, sugar plantations, and forced labor. The island’s indigenous population collapsed under colonial pressure.

Nicolás de Ovando

Spanish governor of Hispaniola from 1502 to 1509, sent to bring order after Columbus. He introduced structured colonial institutions, cabildos, and systematic use of the encomienda. His rule was marked by brutal suppression of Taíno resistance, including massacres.

Requerimiento

A document written in 1513 that Spanish conquistadors read to indigenous peoples before conquest. It demanded submission to Spanish authority and the Catholic Church, threatening war and enslavement if refused. Most natives could not understand it, making it a legal fiction to justify conquest.

Congregación

A Spanish colonial policy of resettling dispersed indigenous communities into centralized towns. This made it easier to collect tribute, spread Christianity, and control labor. It disrupted native ways of life and broke traditional community ties.

Hatuey

A Taíno chief who fled Hispaniola and led resistance against the Spanish in Cuba. Captured in 1512, he was burned alive after rejecting baptism, declaring he would rather go to hell than share heaven with Spaniards. He became a lasting symbol of indigenous resistance.

Hernán Cortés

A Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that conquered the Mexica Empire (1519–1521). He used diplomacy, alliances with indigenous groups like Tlaxcala, and ruthless military tactics. His victory reshaped Mexico and brought it under Spanish rule.

Gonzalo Guerrero

A Spaniard shipwrecked in Yucatán who integrated into Maya society, marrying a Maya woman and raising children. He fought against the Spanish when they later invaded. He is remembered as one of the first mestizos and as a symbol of cultural blending.

Gerónimo de Aguilar

Another Spaniard shipwrecked in Yucatán, but unlike Guerrero, he kept his Spanish identity. He knew Maya languages and later joined Cortés as a translator. Working alongside Malinche, he helped bridge communication between Spaniards and indigenous peoples.

Tlaxcala

A Nahua city-state that resisted the Mexica and remained independent until the Spanish arrival. Tlaxcalans allied with Cortés, providing thousands of warriors and supplies. Their support was crucial in defeating Tenochtitlan.

Moctezuma II

The ninth tlatoani of Tenochtitlan (1502–1520), who ruled at the empire’s peak. He initially tried diplomacy with Cortés but was taken prisoner, weakening Mexica authority. His death during the conquest remains debated and marked the empire’s decline.

Marina/Malinche

A Nahua woman given to Cortés as an enslaved captive who became his translator, advisor, and cultural mediator. Fluent in Nahuatl and Maya, she enabled communication between Spaniards and indigenous peoples. Her role remains controversial: seen as both a traitor and a mother of mestizo Mexico.

Fiesta of Tóxcatl

A major Mexica festival in May 1520 dedicated to Tezcatlipoca. During the ceremony, Spaniards attacked and massacred unarmed celebrants inside the temple precinct. The event triggered a massive uprising against the Spanish in Tenochtitlan.

Noche Triste

“Night of Sorrows,” June 30, 1520, when Spaniards and allies attempted to escape Tenochtitlan after revolt. Hundreds were killed as they fled across causeways, losing much of their plundered gold. Despite this defeat, Cortés regrouped and returned to conquer the city.

Cuauhtémoc

The last tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, chosen in 1520 at a young age to defend the city. He led fierce resistance until the Spanish captured Tenochtitlan in 1521. Captured by Cortés, he was later executed during campaigns in Central America, remembered as a heroic last defender of Mexica sovereignty.

Encomienda

A colonial system granting Spaniards the right to indigenous tribute and labor in exchange for protection and Christianization. It often became highly exploitative. The system was central to early colonization in the Caribbean and Mexico.

New Laws

Enacted in 1542 under Charles V, these laws banned indigenous enslavement and restricted the inheritance of encomiendas. They were influenced by reformers like Bartolomé de las Casas. Colonists resisted, limiting their enforcement.

República de Indígenas / de Españoles

Colonial society was divided into two “republics”: one for Spaniards, Africans, and mestizos, and another for indigenous peoples. This separation allowed Spain to govern natives more directly. It reinforced colonial control while preserving some native traditions.

Repartimiento

A  labor draft system that replaced much of the encomienda. Indigenous men were forced into short-term work for Spanish projects with limited protections. In practice, it still resulted in abuse and hardship.

Congregación

Spanish authorities resettled dispersed native groups into centralized towns. This aided tribute collection, religious conversion, and labor control. It often disrupted indigenous social structures.

Seven Cities of Cíbola

A legend of wealthy golden cities rumored to exist in northern New Spain. It inspired several expeditions in the 16th century. Explorers instead found modest pueblos.

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado

Spanish conquistador who led an expedition (1540–1542) in search of Cíbola. He explored much of today’s U.S. Southwest and Great Plains. Though he found no gold, he expanded Spanish knowledge of the region.

Pedro de Gante

A Franciscan missionary who arrived in New Spain in 1523. He founded schools to teach indigenous children reading, writing, music, and Christian doctrine. His work made him one of the earliest educators in Mexico.

Franciscans

The first major missionary order to arrive in New Spain after the conquest (1524). Known as the “Twelve Apostles of Mexico,” they aimed to convert the indigenous population. They emphasized poverty, humility, and large-scale evangelization.

Juan de Zumárraga

The first bishop (and later archbishop) of Mexico, serving from 1528. He worked to establish the Church’s authority, build schools, and print the first books in the Americas. He was also responsible for inquisitorial trials against indigenous religious practices.

Motolinía

A Franciscan missionary whose name means “poor little one” in Nahuatl. He defended indigenous people against abuses but supported evangelization through mass conversion. His writings provide key insight into early colonial Mexico.

Joachim de Fiore

A 12th-century Italian mystic whose apocalyptic ideas influenced some missionaries. He predicted a coming “Age of the Spirit” of universal peace and faith. His thought shaped the millenarian hopes of friars in New Spain.

Bartolomé de las Casas

A Dominican friar who became the leading defender of indigenous rights in the Spanish Empire. He denounced the abuses of the encomienda system and advocated for peaceful conversion. His efforts helped inspire the New Laws of 1542.

Santocalli

A “house of saints,” meaning a chapel or small church in indigenous communities. These served as local centers of Christian devotion. They blended Catholic practice with native traditions.

Moros y Cristianos

A popular festival and performance in Spain and the Americas reenacting battles between Muslims and Christians from the Reconquista. In colonial Mexico, it symbolized the triumph of Christianity over indigenous religions. It reinforced Spanish religious and political dominance.

Diego de Landa

A Franciscan bishop of Yucatán known for both preserving and destroying Maya culture. He burned many Maya codices and idols in 1562 but also wrote a detailed account of Maya religion and language. His work remains a controversial source for Maya history.

Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

An indigenous convert who, according to tradition, saw the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill in 1531. She appeared to him as the Virgin of Guadalupe. His testimony gave rise to Mexico’s most important religious devotion.

The Virgin of Guadalupe

A Marian apparition said to have appeared to Juan Diego in 1531. She became a powerful symbol of both Catholic faith and Mexican identity. Her cult blended Christian and indigenous elements, making her central to New Spain’s religious culture.

Francisco de Montejo

A Spanish conquistador who led expeditions to conquer the Yucatán Peninsula in the 1520s–40s. His campaigns faced fierce Maya resistance and took decades to succeed. Ultimately, his family established Spanish control over the region.

Cofradía

A religious brotherhood or lay association within the Catholic Church. In New Spain, cofradías organized festivals, maintained local chapels, and supported members in times of need. They became important spaces for both Spanish and indigenous religious life.

Mixtón War

A major indigenous uprising (1540–1542) in western Mexico against Spanish rule, led primarily by Caxcanes. It was one of the fiercest resistances to early colonial control. The Spanish eventually crushed it with brutal force, reinforcing their domination.

Caxcanes

An indigenous people of present-day Zacatecas and Jalisco. They were central leaders of the Mixtón War against Spanish conquest. Their defeat weakened indigenous autonomy in the region.

Francisco Tenamaztle

A Caxcan leader during the Mixtón War. After resistance, he was captured and taken to Spain to plead the case for his people before the crown. His fight symbolized indigenous resistance and calls for justice.

Pedro de Alvarado

A Spanish conquistador infamous for his brutality, including the massacre during the Fiesta of Tóxcatl in Tenochtitlan. He participated in campaigns in Mexico and Guatemala. His cruelty earned him fear and hatred among indigenous groups.

Chichimeca War

A long conflict (1550–1590) between Spanish colonists and nomadic Chichimeca peoples in northern Mexico. It was one of the bloodiest and costliest wars of Spanish colonization. Peace was achieved through negotiation, gifts, and missions rather than military victory.

Camino Real

The “Royal Road,” a vast network of roads linking Mexico City to northern territories such as Zacatecas and Santa Fe. It was crucial for transporting silver, goods, soldiers, and settlers. It tied the frontier to the colonial center.

Presidio

A Spanish military fort built to protect settlers, missions, and trade routes. Presidios housed soldiers who defended against indigenous resistance and rival powers. They became the backbone of frontier defense.

Juan de Oñate

A Spanish conquistador who led the colonization of New Mexico in 1598. He is notorious for his violent suppression of the Acoma Pueblo, where hundreds were killed and survivors mutilated. Though he expanded Spanish control, his cruelty stained his legacy.

Pueblo War of Independence (Pueblo Revolt)

 A massive indigenous uprising in 1680, led by the Pueblo peoples against Spanish rule in New Mexico. They expelled the Spanish for over a decade, the most successful indigenous revolt in colonial North America. It reshaped Spanish-indigenous relations when the Spanish returned.

Castas

The colonial racial hierarchy in New Spain that categorized people based on ancestry. It mixed Spanish, Indigenous, and African heritage into dozens of classifications. Castas defined social, economic, and legal status.