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How did Spain take over Mexico with less soldiers?
It is a common misunderstanding that Cortes and his men alone conquered the Aztecs; in reality, 400 Spanish conquistadores allied themselves with up to 10,000 Tlaxcaltec warriors, who were bitter enemies of the Aztecs. Between both armies crushed the Aztecs.
What year did the Aztecs start their civilization?
The Aztec civilization was started by making Tenochtitlan (today's Mexico City) in about 1330. 1519 - Battle of Otumba. Many Aztecan cities united under one banner and attacked the Aztecan people. The Spanish however, had help from a nearby tribe called Tlaxcaltec because they wanted freedom from their Aztecan overlords. The Aztecan have weaken, and Spanish general Hernán Cortés captured all their cities in 1521.
Did Aztecs civilizations mix its culture with others?
Yes. Aztecs had regular contact with other civilizations, such as Texcocan, Tlacopan and Maya. Aztecs were also bitter enemies of the Tlaxcaltec civilization, who ultimately allied with Cortes and his Spanish conquistadores to destroy the Aztecs. These civilizations had common traits, such as weapons and tools made from obsidian stone, the year calendar, the ball game or the need to sacrifice the captured warriors for their gods. That is why the area of central and south Mexico is known as Mesoamerica.
Why did the people of central Mexico help Cortez?
Although many think of ancient Mexico as part of only one civilization (the Aztecs), in reality most of Mexico was composed by many groups and tribes from which the Aztecs were the most powerfull. Therefore, besides Aztecs there were Mayans, Chontales, Otomies, Toltecs, Tlaxcaltecs, etc.So, the Aztecs were one of many warring states, and Cortez took advantage of such division to conquer them. For example, the most important allies to Cortez were the Tlaxcaltecs, who owned part of what today is known as Puebla (some 80 miles southeast of Mexico City).See http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlaxcaltec for more information.
Were there people in Mexico before the Spanish came?
Although Mayans and Aztecs are the most well known native civilizations of Mexico, there were more than 63 ethnic groups before those lands were colonized by Europeans in the 16th century. Most of them had their own distinctive culture and language, but all of them fall within the overall "Mesoamerican Culture", with common traits such as the numeric system, mythology or the sacrifice of captured warriors to worship their gods.Some of these peoples include:The Nahuatl group, including the Aztec, Texcocan, Teotihuacan, Toltec, Tlaxcaltec and others.The Mayan, including Olmec and Yucatec Mayan, Tzeltal Mayan, Tzotzil Mayan, and Ch'ol.Other minor, however representative groups, which include the Mixtec, Zapotec, Otomi, Totonac, Mazatec, Huastec, Chinantec, Mixe, Mazahua, Tarascan, Tlapanec or Tarahumara.
