FindingsfromthefollowingreporthavebasedonacasestudyoftheriseandcollapseoftheAztec Empireoftheancienttimeperiod

Reportcomposedby MichelleM.,IvetteB.,DaisyO.,JenniferC. March13,2014

DearMembersoftheUnitedNations, WehavelookedbackontheancientAztecEmpiretoseewhatleadthatempiretocollapse. WehavegathereddataonwhatcausedtheAztecstocollapse.FromthedatawehavecollectedWe plantoseehowcanwepreventGreecefromdoingthosesamemistakes.Greeceisonthevergeof becomingafailedcountryandwedonotwantthemcollapseliketheAztecsdid.Bylearningfromthe past,wecanfindwaysfrommakingthosesamemistakesthatleadtheAztecEmpiretocollapse. RiseoftheAztecEmpire TheriseoftheAztecscamewhentheymigratedintotheValleyofMexico.TheAztecswantedto ruleandwerenotacceptedatfirstbytheothergroupslivinginthevalley.TheAztecssoonstartedto gainthetrustfromtheothergroupsbyadoptingtosomeoftheirkeyaspects.TheAztecsweretakingin differentculturaldiffusionbecauseofthemadoptingtheothergroupskeyaspects.Afterthisitwassaid TheAztecsevenrewrotehistorytoprovethattheyweredescendantsoftheToltecs.1Inoneofthe quotesIfounditsaidMostMesoamericansthey(theAztecs)metbelievedthattheToltecempire orTopiltzinQuetzalcoatlhaddescendedfromthegodstherefore,theyconsideredhisdescendants theonlytruerulersofthevalley.2TheAztecswerehubrisinwantingtobeatthetopwithallthe power.TheAztecsrewritinghistorymadethegroupsatthevalleythinkoftheAztecsasgodwhich madethemhavepower. EconomicsofAztecEmpireaffectstheculture TheeconomicsintheAztecsweresuccessful.TheAztecshadaproducemarketwheretheygained moneyfromalltheagricultureproduce.InthearticleCulturalAchievementsandTradeitsaysThe economicheartofthecitywasahugemarketofTlatelolco.Visitorstothemarketfoundagreatdealof localagriculturalproduceon display,includingavocados,beans,chilipeppers,corn,squash,andtomatoes3.4Inthinkquest.orgitstated thatcocoabeansweretreatedasapreicoussubstancebytheaztecswhousedthemtomake chocolate.TheAztecsgainedalotofgoldandsilverfromthefoodstheysoldinthesupermarketand fromtheirproduceofagriculture.TheAztecsalsohadmoney,whichmadetheireconomybetterand strongerthanothers.AlsotheevidenceprovesthattheAztecshadcocoabeanstousetomake chocolatewasamajorseller,whichwasoneofhelperstomaketheeconomytobesuccessful. AnotherthingthathelptheeconomicswasthattheKingMontezumalldidnotdeficitthemoneyfrom taxes.

1 2

TheAztecEmpire,EarlyCivilizationsintheAmericas:BiographiesandPrimarySourcespg.152 TheAztecEmpire,Textbook,Biographies 3 CulturalAchievementandtrade,McDougalLittell:GlobalHistoryandGeographyRegentsReviewpg.145 4 thinkquest.org

CentripetalForces ThecentripetalforcesexistedintheAztecEmpireiswhentheAztecjoined..twoother citystatesTexcocoandTlacopantoformtheTripleAlliance..becametheleadingpowerinthe valleyofMexicoandgaincontroloverneighboringregions.5TheAztecEmpiredidthisallianceto becomemorepowerfulthananyothercitystates.Alsowiththealliancetheyweregainingmore powerfulandtheystartedtotakecontrolofeverysmallcitystates.WhatalsokepttheAztecEmpire togetherwaspolytheismmeaningbelievingtheywerechosenbythesunandwargodHuitzilopochtli.6 Itexplainsthattheaztecsbelievethattheywerechosentoservethegod.Theyhadastronginfluenceto thegod,theybegantodohumansacrifice.WhenTheMexicoareperhapsbestknownforthesavage warfaretheywagedandfortheirpracticeofhumansacrifices(thingstheyhadincommonwithallthe otherpeoplesofancientMexico).7ThisispartofacentripetalforcebecausethepeopleintheEmpire hadthesehumansacrificesbecausetheyofferedthemselvestothegodofHuitzilopochtli(thesunand wargod).Theyalwayscametogethertocelebratethisbecausethepeoplebelievedinthegodandifthe humansdiedforagoodwell,thegodwilldosomethinggoodforthem. GoldenAgeOftheAztecEmpire TheAztecshavetheirgoldenagebyachievingbygainingprisoners.Thiswasgoodbecauseitstated thatBy1519,theAzteccycleofconquestandexploitationwasatitspeakMoreandmore (prisoners)conqueredpeoplesprovidedtribute,thebasisoftheAztecsimmense,wealth.Atthistime theAztecswereatitspeakwiththeiragriculturelifestyle,theyweresellingmorestuffandhadalotof prisonerstosacrificeanddidntneednomoretributes.Theywereatthepeakofthebestyeartheyhad. CentrifugalForces TheAztecempirehadsomecentrifugalforces.ThereignofMontezuma||in1502wascausing problemsfortheAztecs.InthequoteUndermontezuma,theAztecEmpirebegantoweaken.For nearlyacentury,theAztecshadbeendemandingtributeandsacrificialvictimsfromtheprovincesunder theircontrol.8ittellsusthattherewasaproblemintheempire.Montezumahadwantedtributesto sacrificethemselvesandpeopledidnotwantto.Thereasontheyneededvolunteerswasbecausethey didn'thaveanymoreprisonerstouseashumansacrifices.Thissituationwasstartingtogetthe provincesmad.Inthequote"AnumberofprovincesroseupagainstAztecoppression.Thisbegana

5 6

AztecEmpire,Textbook Aztec,Website, 7 AztecEmpire,Website 8 ProblemsintheEmpire,McDougalLittell:GlobalHistoryandGeographyRegentsReviewpg.145

periodofunrestandrebellion,whichthemilitarystruggledtoputdown."9ittellsushowpeoplewere rebellingbecausetheydidnotwanttobesacrificed.Theprovincesrisingupbegantobringproblems causingthistobeahardtimeontheAztecempire.ThecentrifugalforceofthereignofMontezuma|| begantocauseinternalproblemsfortheEmpiretodealwith.

InternalForcesthatledtheEmpiretocollapse Theinternalforcesthatledtheempiretocollapsewasthespreadofebola(disease).ItstatesthatThe Aztecs...hadgivenitanamelongbeforetheSpanisharrivedbecauseithadalreadydramatically reducedtheirnumbers.TheycalleditCocoliztliandbiologiststodayidentifyitasformofEbolaspread byrats...ThereisevidencethatMexicowasalreadysufferingfromdemographiccrisisbeforethe Spanisharrived.10ThisquoteshowsthattheAztecEmpirewasintroublewaybeforetheSpanishgot thereandtookover.TheAztecwerevulnerablebecausetheyaccepttheSpanishwerehesitating.The AztecEmpirehavebeenspreadingbadchemicalsthatisusuallyspreadbyratsanditcausethemany peopletodie. ExternalForcesledtheEmpiretocollapse TheexternalforcesthatleadtheAztecstocollapsewearemany,butallhadtodowiththeconquestof HernanCortes.In1519theAztecswereatthepeakoftheirmostpowerfulandgoodyearbutitall changedwhentheSpanisharrived.TheAztecswereamazedwhentheSpanisharrived.TheSpanish hadthingstheAztecshadneverseen.Inthequote"WhenHernanCortesenteredthecityofMexico, theAztecssawhimandhispeopleasgods.TheAztecsbeganpraisingthemwithgifts,thespanishsaw thisvulnerabilityanddecidedtoattack11ittalksofhowtheSpanishusedhegemonytotakeoverthe Aztecs.TheSpanishConquistadorssawthattheAztecsthoughttheyweregodsandtookthisasastep toattack.TheSpanishexploitedtheAztecsinthisattack. TheAztecsnotonlycollapsedfromtheattackandconquestfromHernanCortes,butalsothediseases theybrought.ForexampleFinally,theAztecscoulddolittletostoptheinvisiblewarriorthatmarched alongsidethespaniardsdisease.Measles,mumps,smallpox,andtyphuswerejustsomeofthe diseasesEuropeansbroughttotheAmericasTheyhaddevelopednonaturalimmunitytothem.By thetimeCorteslaunchedhiscounterattack,theAztecpopulationhadbeengreatlyreducedbysmallpox andmeasles.talksoftheAztecsbeingkilledofbythediseasesthespanishhadbrought.TheAztecs
9

ProblemsintheEmpire,McDougalLittell:GlobalHistoryandGeographyRegentsReviewpg.145

10

Twocheersfortheconquistadors:thedeathobsessedandinwardlookingAzteccivilizationsowedthe seedsofitsowndestruction,Website 11 http://www.history.com/topics/aztecs/videos/aztecencounterVideoAztecEncounter

hadnotknownanyofthesediseasesbecausetheywerehygienicallycleanpeopleandthosetypesof diseasedidnotexisttothembeforethespanishcame.ThequotehadalsotalkedoftheAztecsnot knowinghowtocurethemselves,thisleadtothemdyingandreducingingreatpopulations. TheAztecEmpirecollapsedformtheconquestoftheSpanish.Greeceisonthevergeofalso collapsingliketheAztecs.TheAusteritypolicytheEuropeanUnionputonGreecemightbethewrong policybecausebasedontheresearchwecollected,theAztecshadbeensuccessfulinsellingalotof theirdiversefruitsandvegetables.TheideaoftheE.Utocutoftheirbudgetwouldbeabadidea.The AztecswereconqueredbyTheSpanish.Greecehasnotbeenconquestedbyanyothercountry.If anothercountrytriestoattackGreecetheycollapseworsethantheAztecs.Ourbestideaoffixingthe economicalsysteminGreeceisforthemtonotcutofthebudget.Greecewillmakeevenmoremoney justliketheAztecsbysellingproduceandavarietyofstuff.OurresearchontheAztecshelpedus cometothisconclusiontohelppreventGreecefromcollapsing.