how did the aztec benefit from war

The primary objective of most Aztec warfare was to subjugate other cities and lands to extract tribute. Everyone in Aztec society benefited from a successful battle or campaign. Captives of the war would be sacrificed to the gods, ensuring continued benevolence from the gods to the Aztecs

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Full Answer

Why was war so important to the Aztecs?

Warfare for the Aztec society was important politically as well as theologically. On the political front, wars meant subjugation of more city-states and steady inflow of capital which was crucial for proper functioning of the empire.

What did the Spanish do to the Aztecs?

For the Aztecs, this surrender to the Spanish meant the permanent loss of their political and cultural society. The Spanish did not just deal a mortal blow to the political structure and culture of Tenochtitlan; they also wiped thousands of its residents off the face of the planet. This, however, was not intentional.

How did the Aztec Empire maintain its supremacy?

The Aztec Empire maintained its supremacy by war or threat of war against its neighboring areas. Aztecs engaged in war for two primary reasons: for conquest to reap tribute or to take captives for religious sacrifices necessary to satisfy the gods.

How did the Aztecs organize their armies?

The Aztec army was organized into two groups. The commoners were organized into "wards" ( calpōlli) [kaɬˈpoːlːi] that were under the leadership of tiachcahuan [tiat͡ʃˈkawaːn] ("leaders") and calpoleque [kalpoːleʔkeʔ] ("calpulli owners"). The nobles were organized into professional warrior societies.

How did war help the Aztecs?

First and foremost, successful warfare brought the Aztecs new territory and secured and extended their lucrative trade network. Parcels of land were also distributed to nobles and elite warriors.

Why was war and warfare important to the Aztecs?

The Aztecs also engaged in what were known as "flower wars." These wars were conducted to provide warriors with battle training and to obtain human sacrifices for religious ceremonies. Human sacrifice was important to the Aztecs and was done to appease the gods and maintain the balance of life in the universe.

In what ways did the Aztec use war to increase their power?

B. War was the key factor in the Aztecs' rise to power. The Aztecs built alliances, or partnerships, to build their empire. The Aztecs made the people they conquered pay tribute, or give them cotton, gold, or food. The Aztecs controlled a huge trade network.

What were two reasons for the success of the Aztec civilization?

Their relatively sophisticated system of agriculture (including intensive cultivation of land and irrigation methods) and a powerful military tradition would enable the Aztecs to build a successful state, and later an empire.

How did Warfare affect Aztec society?

Wars of Conquest The primary objective of most Aztec warfare was to subjugate other cities and lands to extract tribute. Everyone in Aztec society benefited from a successful battle or campaign. Captives of the war would be sacrificed to the gods, ensuring continued benevolence from the gods to the Aztecs.

What was the impact of the Spanish conquest on the Aztecs?

The Spanish had a positive effect on Aztec civilization because they helped modernize the society. They introduced the Aztecs to domestic animals, sugar, grains, and European farming practices. Most significantly, the Spanish ended the Aztec's practice of human sacrifice.

How did the Aztecs gain their wealth?

The Aztecs gained the majority of their wealth through trade and taxation. Each land conquered by the Aztecs were charged taxes in the form of goods...

What was one strategy the Aztecs used to expand their empire?

What was one strategy the Aztecs used to expand their empire? They entered into military alliances with neighboring societies.

How did the Aztec expand their empire?

The Aztecs expanded their empire through military conquest and sustained it through tributes imposed on the conquered regions. Every 80 days, the new subjects of the Aztecs had to pay tributes to Tenochtitlan. As for the Aztec society, it was very complex. It was socially divided between the nobility and the populace.

What are the Aztecs achievements?

Their engineering achievements include the construction of a double aqueduct, a massive dike, causeways and artificial islands. Among other things, the Aztecs had a number system, a calendar, great knowledge of medicine and a rich tradition in poetry.

How did the Aztec Empire rise and fall?

Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés overthrew the Aztec Empire by force and captured Tenochtitlan in 1521, bringing an end to Mesoamerica's last great native civilization.

What did the Aztecs do to protect their cities?

Once the Aztecs had decided to conquer a particular city ( Altepetl ), they sent an ambassador from Tenochtitlan to offer the city protection. They would showcase the advantages cities would gain by trading with the empire. The Aztecs, in return, asked for gold or precious stones for the Emperor. They were given 20 days to decide their request. If they refused, more ambassadors were sent to the cities. However, these ambassadors were used as up front threats. Instead of trade, these men would point out the destruction the empire could and would cause if the city were to decline their offer. They were given another 20 days. If they refused the Aztec army was sent immediately. There were no more warnings. The cities were destroyed and their people were taken as prisoners.

What did the Aztecs learn from their education?

The formal education of the Aztecs was to train and teach young boys how to function in their society , particularly as warriors. The Aztecs had a relatively small standing army. Only the elite soldiers, part of the warrior societies (such as the Jaguar Knights), and the soldiers stationed at the few Aztec fortifications were full-time. Nevertheless, every boy was trained to become a warrior with the exception of nobles. Trades such as farming and artisan skills were not taught at the two formal schools. All boys who were between the ages of ten and twenty years old would attend one of the two schools: the Telpochcalli or the neighborhood school for commoners, and the Calmecac which was the exclusive school for nobles. At the Telpochcalli, students would learn the art of warfare, and would become warriors. At the Calmecac students would be trained to become military leaders, priests, government officials, etc.

What was the second war of the Aztecs?

The second kind of warfare practiced by the Aztecs was referred to as Flower war ( xōchiyāōyōtl [ʃoːt͡ʃijaːˈoːjoːt͡ɬ] ). This kind of warfare was fought by smaller armies after a previous arrangement between the parties involved. It was not aimed directly at the enemy city-state ( altepetl) but served a number of other purposes. One often cited purpose is the taking of sacrificial captives and this was certainly an important part of most Aztec warfare. Friar Diego Durán and the chronicles based on the Crónica X states that the Xochiyaoyotl was instigated by Tlacaelel during the great Mesoamerican famine of 1450-1454 under the reign of Moctezuma I. These sources state that Tlacaelel arranged with the leaders of Tlaxcala, Cholula, and Huexotzinco, and Tliliuhquitepec to engage in ritual battles that would provide all parties with enough sacrificial victims to appease the gods. Ross Hassig (1988) however poses four main political purposes of xochiyaoyotl :

What were the Aztec warriors?

Warriors were essential to Aztec life and culture. At birth, an Aztec boy would receive two symbols of being a warrior. A shield would be placed in his left hand, and an arrow would be placed in his right. After a short ceremony the newly born boy's umbilical cord, shield, and arrow would be taken to a battlefield to be buried by a renowned warrior. These parts would symbolize the rise of a warrior. Each shield and arrow would be made specifically for that boy and would resemble his family and the gods. These birth rituals show the importance of warrior culture to the Aztecs.

Why was the gathering of information about Aztec cities important?

Because the Aztec empire was maintained through warfare or the threat of war with other cities, the gathering of information about those cities was crucial in the process of preparing for a single battle or an extended campaign. Also of great importance was the communication of messages between the military leaders and the warriors on the field so that political initiatives and collaborative ties could be established and maintained. As such, intelligence and communication were vital components in Aztec warfare. The four establishments principally used for these tasks were merchants, formal ambassadors, messengers, and spies.

What were the Aztec merchants?

Merchants, called pochteca (singular: pochtecatl), were perhaps the most valued source of intelligence to the Aztec empire. As they traveled throughout the empire and beyond to trade with groups outside the Aztec's control, the king would often request that the pochteca return from their route with both general and specific information. General information, such as the perceived political climate of the areas traded in, could allow the king to gauge what actions might be necessary to prevent invasions and keep hostility from culminating in large-scale rebellion. As the Aztec's empire expanded, the merchant's role gained increasing importance. Because it became harder to obtain information about distant sites in a timely way, especially for those outside the empire, the feedback and warning received from merchants were invaluable. Often, they were the key to the Aztec army's successful response to external hostility. If a merchant was killed while trading, this was a cause for war. The Aztecs' rapid and violent retaliation following this event is testament to the immense importance that the merchants had to the Aztec empire.

What was the Aztec state's political expansion?

The Aztec state was in the center on political expansion and dominance of and exaction of tribute from other city states, and warfare was the basic dynamic force in Aztec politics. Aztec society was also centered on warfare: every Aztec male received basic military training from an early age and the only possibility of upwards social mobility ...

Warfare in Aztec society

There were two main objectives in Aztec warfare. The first objective was political: the subjugation of enemy city states in order to exact tribute and expand Aztec political hegemony. The second objective was religious and socioeconomic: the taking of captives to be sacrificed in religious ceremonies.

Fortifications

The Aztecs didn't normally maintain tight territorial control within their empire but nonetheless there are examples of fortifications built by the Aztecs.

Organization

The Aztec army was organized into two groups. The commoners were organized into "wards" ( calpōlli) [kaɬˈpoːlːi] that were under the leadership of tiachcahuan [tiat͡ʃˈkawaːn] ("leaders") and calpoleque [kalpoːleʔkeʔ] ("calpulli owners"). The nobles were organized into professional warrior societies.

Campaigns and battles

Once the decision of going to war was made the news were proclaimed in the plazas calling for mobilization of the army for several days or weeks in advance. When the troops were ready and any allied cities had been alerted and had given their consent to partake in the campaign the march began.

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How did the Aztecs benefit from the war?

Everyone in Aztec society benefited from a successful battle or campaign. Captives of the war would be sacrificed to the gods, ensuring continued benevolence from the gods to the Aztecs. When the Aztecs started to eye a land for conquest, they first asked the pochteca, the long-distance traders of the empire, to investigate ...

Why did the Aztecs fight for conquest?

The Aztec Empire maintained its supremacy by war or threat of war against its neighboring areas. Aztecs engaged in war for two primary reasons: for conquest to reap tribute or to take captives for religious sacrifices necessary to satisfy the gods.

Why were the Pochteca important to the Emperor?

In this sense, the pochteca were invaluable to the emperor. The military intelligence conveyed by these merchants could enable successful campaigns, especially in lands distant from Tenochtitlan, the capital. The next step was to send a formal ambassador to the area or city state.

What weapons did the Aztecs use?

When the attacking and defending forces sighted each other, the first weapons used were projected weapons—atlatls or dart throwers, slings, spears and bow and arrows. When the armies closed into melee, razor-sharp obsidian clubs, swords and daggers were used. When the Aztecs won, they would take defeated warriors, women and children as slaves or sacrifices. The city itself was left alone, but the temple was burned or razed. The local leaders would be left in charge, but heavy tribute had to be paid. As Aztecs were fierce warriors, the threat of war was often enough to cause other Mesoamerican cities to surrender.

What was the Aztec system of communication?

Military Communication and Intelligence. The Aztec system of communication required regular messengers. The emperor established a group of well-trained runners every 2.5 miles throughout the empire. When a message went out from Tenochtitlan, runners could convey the information to the farthest flung outpost.

What was the war for captives?

We’ll discuss the war for captives in another article. War, therefore, was a major part of Aztec society and successful Aztec warriors received high honors. War was one of the few ways that commoners improve their social standing: successful warriors received many honors from the emperor, including land, rich clothing, ...

Why did the Spanish treat the Aztecs as slaves?

In many cases, the Spanish treated the Aztecs as slaves. In hopes of expanding European society into the area, the indigenous people ultimately lost their religion, their culture, their freedom, and their dignity under this system.

What did the Aztecs surrender to?

For the Aztecs, this surrender to the Spanish meant the permanent loss of their political and cultural society. The Spanish did not just deal a mortal blow to the political structure and culture of Tenochtitlan; they also wiped thousands of its residents off the face of the planet. This, however, was not intentional.

What happened to the Aztecs after 1521?

Ultimately, there was no Aztec society left after 1521. It was merely a new European society founded upon the skeleton of the former empire. After the decapitation of the Aztecs, the conquistadors brought in their religion and new political structure and imposed it upon the few remaining indigenous peoples.

What was the role of maps in the 16th century?

Maps played a major role in 16th century Europe . During this century we see the emergence of the Waldseemuller maps in 1507, which have become known as the “birth certificate” of America (exhibit). [ 20] . Hernán Cortés also creates a map, this one of his conquered city of Tetnochtitlan.

What were the main resources that the Spanish encountered in the New World?

The Spanish encountered a plethora of new resources in New Spain, but the one good they valued above all others was mineral wealth. The presence of gold and silver in the New World was one of the strongest factors that encouraged colonization (Darwin 63).

Who was the emperor of the Aztecs?

The Aztec empire as a whole, run by an emperor named Montezuma, had authority over 5 million people in the area that is now known as Mexico. [ 5] . Cortés’ first attempt to conquer the Aztecs failed miserably and he was quickly forced to retreat.

Did the Aztecs have smallpox?

This, however, was not intentional. The Aztecs had never been exposed to European diseases such as influenza and smallpox, and therefore were extremely susceptible to these illnesses. Smallpox was particularly contagious and deadly.