Embedded Files
Discussion Questions:
Read carefully, use your earbuds to explore the videos, and write your answers in your binder.
1) Why did Cortez sink his ships, when he arrived to the mainland form Cuba?
2) What impressed the Spaniards, when they first saw Tenochtitlan?
3) What food did the Aztecs offer Cortez when he arrived?
4) Was Human Sacrifice part of the Aztec religion? How many people did the Aztecs sacrifice? What evidence supports your answer?
5) Were the Aztecs cannibals? What evidence supports your answer?
6) How many Spaniards helped Cortez defeat the Aztecs? What happened during the battle? Describe the tactics. How did they build brigantines (boats)?
7) How many indigenous allies helped Cortez defeat the Aztecs? Why did so many indigenous tribes help the Spaniards rather than the Aztecs?
Many of the resources below were found by students. Feel free to use them to get started! If you find anything that we can add to this page, send me the link. We can add relevant updated resources that you find, as you research these questions. We are always looking for good resources.
Understanding Aztec Cannibalism. (JSTOR - Academic Article)
The Guardian (Conquistadors eaten by Aztec/Acolhuas)
NY Times Article (Dr. Harper / Theory / Debate)
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*** Brigantines / Boats - Cortez and his indigenous allies built 12 ships in the shadow of a volcano and carried them in pieces to the lake. Then they put them together and used them in the battle.
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Allies of Cortez - Tlaxcalans + Other Tribes
“It wasn’t 600 to 800 Spaniards who conquered [Tenochtitlán]. It was thousands and thousands of Tlaxcalans, Huejotzingas or other peoples, who were under the Mexica yoke and wanted to liberate themselves,” archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma told Radio Formula.
“Cortés had 30,000 to 40,000 Mesoamericans fighting with him,” said Aurelio López Corral, an archaeologist in Tlaxcala. “He couldn’t have done it on his own.”
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