Untitled Flashcards Set

Tzintzuntzan

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

Hernan Cortes

Spanish conquistador who led the expedition causing the fall of the Aztec Empire (1485-1547).

Noche Triste

Battle between Spanish conquistadors and the Aztecs on June 30 - July 1, 1520.

Encomienda

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

Alhambra Decree

Order issued in 1492 to expel Jewish people from Spain.

Smallpox

Highly contagious disease that killed a large portion of the indigenous population (1507-1524).

Reconquista

Military campaigns by Christian kingdoms to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule (711-1492).

Quetzalcoatl

Mesoamerican god also known as the 'Feathered Serpent', a deity in Aztec culture.

Jaguar Warrior

Members of the Aztec military elite.

Valladolid Debate

First moral debate on the treatment of Indigenous people by colonizers (1550-1551).