The Aztecs and Incas

The Aztecs were fierce warriors. They conquered an empire that extended right across Mexico, and was at its height in the early 1500s. from the mountains of Peru, the god-emperor of the Incas ruled a highly organized kingdom. Spanish invasion ended both empires.

Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, was founded in 1325 on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco (now the site of Mexico City).

Tenochtitlan was a walled city of 100,000 people. Causeways linked the island to the mainland, and smaller islands were specially built as places to grow food.

The Aztecs worshipped the Sun. each year priests sacrificed thousands of victims to the Sun-god in the belief that this would bring good harvests and prosperity. Aztec farmers grew corn, beans and tomatoes, and their merchants traded throughout the empire. The ruling class were warriors. All warriors had to capture at least one enemy warriors for sacrifice, and conquered peoples were forced to pay taxes to the emperor.

In 1519, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando Cortes attacked the Aztecs. Emperor Montezuma II welcomed them, believing Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl, but the emperor was taken prisoner. Aztec spears and clubs were no match for Spanish guns, and by 1521 the Aztec empire was at an end.

The Incas took over from the Chimu as rulers of the Andes of South America. Their civilization reached its peak in the 1400s under the ruler Pachacuti.

Pachacuti reformed the way the kingdom was run. He appointed a central administration to control the building of towns and to ensure that farms and workshops were run efficiently. From the capital, Cuzco, he and his successors expanded the Inca empire to include parts of Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador.

The Incas built stone cities and fine roads, which were used by traders. Goods were bartered as the Incas did not use money. Farmers used terraced fields on the mountain slopes to grow corn, cotton and potatoes. The Incas’ many skills included bridge-building and medicine, although they never developed writing or the wheel.

In 1525, the Inca empire was at its greatest extent. But in 1527, after Emperor Huayna Capac died, the empire was split between his two sons and civil war broke out. In the 1530s, a Spanish expedition led by Francisco Pizarro arrived, seeking gold. The Europeans were impressed by Cuzco’s palaces and temples, and by the fortress of Sacsahuaman, which was built from huge stones that fitted together perfectly without mortar.

Though few in number, the Spaniards had horses and guns. In 1532, Pizarro captured the Inca ruler Atahualpa and demanded a room full of gold and two rooms full of silver. The ransom was paid, but Atahualpa was killed anyway. The Inca armies were swiftly defeated, although resistance to Spanish rule continued until 1572.

GODS AND SACRIFICE

One of the reasons that the Aztecs went to war was to capture prisoners to sacrifice to the gods. They believed that the hearts and blood of their victims nourished the gods. Priests cut open the bodies using sacrificial knives like the one shown here. Sacrifices had to be performed on the right day, according to the sacred 260-day calendar.