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Consequences of the Spanish Conquest (SIEGE OF TENOCHTITLAN (The Spanish…
Consequences of the Spanish Conquest
SMALLPOX
Wiped out natives
Spanish were immune
The disease was spread by war
The natives did not know how to treat it
Killed 300 million individuals
The Smallpox epidemic began the night that the Aztecs defeated the Spanish
During the time of the Spanish conquest in the New World it is estimated that more than one-third of the total native population had been killed by smallpox viruses.
Smallpox was caused by an African being held as a slave, from the Spanish army, who had smallpox. One of Cortes' men caught the disease. When they returned, the Aztec army quickly overwhelmed the Spanish, killing many and causing the rest to retreat. The soldier was killed, and, likely when his body was stolen from, an Aztec caught the disease.
Long-Term Impact: Smallpox was very significant, as it killed many, many people. This lead to a decrease in population.
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NEW GOODS AND FOODS FOR EUROPEAN CULTURES
Spanish introduced new livestock, such as horses, and other larger domestic animals.
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Many crops such as chillies, potatoes, chocolate, and tomatoes were introduced to the Americas.
These were unknown outside of the Americas before the Spanish came. They then became very important to the countries affected by these goods.
The foods became important sources for nutrition for Europeans.
Chillies, potatoes, chocolate, corn, maize, wheat, tortillas, tomatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, squash, limes, peanuts, cashews are some of the foods that the Spanish brought to Europe and the Aztecs.
Some crops allowed more efficient farming
Some foods also enriched diets and improved the health of the population.
Helped with population growth.
Long-Term Impact: The new goods and foods for European cultures changed the rest of these country's diets, cuisine, and more. If the Spanish had not have arrived, these countries would not have the food that makes their cuisine and diets so important. It also had a huge impact on farming, and livestock.
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DESTRUCTION OF TENOCHTITLAN
Massacre at the Festival of Toxcatl
Immediately turned all the Aztecs against the Spanish and threatening Moctezuma's authority
Montezuma was attacked with stones and arrows by his own people.
The Spanish had originally intended to preserve Tenochtitlan because Cortés had offered it to the Spanish king as a prize.
The Aztec warriors proved difficult to defeat on their own land
Eventually Spanish soldiers had used cannons to flatten the city.
The Aztecs from Tenochtitlan began to leave the city to head to other parts of the Aztec Empire.
The Spanish were waiting for them as they left the city
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The Spanish took the women and boys as their possessions, most likely to use them as slaves
They branded their faces to show their ownership (of the Aztecs :)
Men taken back to Tenochtitlan to build a Spanish city
Long Term Impact: The destruction of Tenochtitlan was very significant, as it would no longer stand after being destroyed. This means that it would not exist anymore.
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SIEGE OF TENOCHTITLAN
The Aztecs' population was already damaged due to the smallpox epidemic, so this made them more vulnerable to the Spanish attack.
Cortes created alliances with the Tlaxcalans
These people probably joined the Spanish for a number of reasons.
They would have been intimidated by the Spanish.
They resented the citizens of Tenochtitlan, and had been paying tribute to them for years.
The Tlaxcalans stopped paying tributes to Tenochtitlan and helped the Spanish Empire.
Without the tributes from the Tlaxcalans, it meant that Tenochtitlan was largely cut off from the outside world and could not receive food and supplies.
The Spanish used their alliances with other cities to starve the citizens of Tenochtitlan into defeat.
The whole siege dragged on for four months.
An advantage for the Aztecs was that they knew the area better than the Spanish.
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The Spanish had better weapons and benefited from the way that the Aztecs fought.
The Aztecs were on foot and only had wooden clubs, bows and arrows to fight with.
The Spanish had horses, steel swords, crossbows, muskets and cannons.
The Aztec warriors also had to take live captives, so they often fought the Spanish twice: Spaniards who were captured were rescued, and then they could fight again.
The Spanish couldn't understand why the Aztecs didn't surrender, even though the Spanish victory was clear.
The Aztecs would never have surrendered. This is because they saw the Spanish as unpredictable, scared, and not going along with the rules of war. These people were not to be argued with.
Long-Term Impact: The siege of Tenochtitlan is very significant because all of the Aztecs living there were made to starve for four months. This may have an effect on children being born, and their children, and so on. Also, the siege of Tenochtitlan stopped people paying tributes, and they were never heard of again. Tributes are like what we call taxes.
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The Aztecs (especially Montezuma) thought that Hernan Cortes was Quetzalcoatl
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Bibliography:
http://www.aztec-history.com/fall-of-the-aztec-empire.html
http://www.ancient.eu/article/916/
http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/o/oldstone-viruses.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Tenochtitlan
https://www.thoughtco.com/massacre-at-the-festival-of-toxcatl-2136526
https://obook3.oxforddigital.com.au/student/OB086/chunks/CA0801.html
