The+Americas+On+the+Eve+of+Invasion

1) ESPIRIT on Aztecs



 * E || -Feeding the populations focused heavily on the use of traditional agriuculture in the area

-Conqured people had to pay tributes, give up land, and even give food to the Aztecs

-Developed complex irrigation systems called **chinampas**

-Privete estates owned by nobles had workers on them

-Each city had periodic markets that occurred every 5 to 13days depending on the calender

-Markets allowed for trading of different kinds of foods

-The merchant class was called the **pochteca**

-The pochteca specialized in long distant trade in luxury items such as plums, and tropical birds

-The state redistrubuted tributes from captured peoples

-Tribute payment was dependent on if the captured people had accepted Aztec rule or not

-The nobility recieved larger amounts of redistrubted tributes than the commoners did

-tributes redistributed to aztecs cities

-Nobles had privete land for slaves to work on

-food was tribute payments

-land was appointed to the church ||
 * S || -Subject people were forced to pay tribute, surrender lands, and sometimes do military services for the Aztecs

--Organized in a loose association of clans

-Ruled by a single supreme ruler

-Aztecs wrote that their people were created to serve the Gods

-Human sacrafice occured in the region due to it being a type of cult being traveled along with the military class

-War captives were used during human sacrafices

-"Flower wars" were arranged so the Aztecs and other people could obtain victims for human sacrifice

-Used human sacrifice to terrorize enemy nations

-The king was a representation of God on earth

-The nobility and king united the cult of human sacrifice to the different regeions

-Were mercenaries

-Women inherited and passed property.

-Marriages were arranged of lineages.

-lakes were cultural heartlands and populations core

-land divided into 7 calpulli

-needed to be bor nin nobility

-comonor status was higher than slaves

-Arrange marriges occured

-Women could inherit property ||
 * P || -Penetrated the area around the Toltec's empire

-**Tenochtitlan** founded in 1325 on an island in lake Texcoco which was used as he main Aztec base

-1428 emerged as an independent power

-In 1434 Tenochtitlan created an alliance with two other city-states that controlled much of the central plateau.

-Ruled by a supreme ruler, the king

-Aztec state was dominated by a king who represented civil power and served as representative of gods on earth

-cult of human sacrifice and conquest

-Aztecs were distrusted by dominant powers of the area

- Were said to have been civilized and knew agricultural methods but lived in exile in Aztlan before changing location

-Took use the of the political anarchy that occurred towards the end of the Toltec empire to seize control

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 * I || -Spoke Nahuatl, language spoken by Toltecs

-Aztecs migrated into central Mexico valley following the fall of Toltec empire in 1150

-Interacted with people around Tenochtitlan

-Conquered people were forced topay tribute, surrender lands complete military service for Aztec Empire

-Established dominance over those by inspiring fear and terror into them. ||
 * R || -Incorporated beliefs that had been apart of the Mesoamearican belief system

-Religion was a uniting force for the many people, but it also contributed to oppression

-Little distinction between the multiple gods of the different areas

-128 major deities, main being the deities of rain,fire, water, corn, sky, and sun

-Dieties had both a male and female form

-Specific Gods were used as the representation of cities, groups, and occasions

-Yearly festivals and rituals to celebrate the gods

-Rituals had dancing, penance, and sacrifice

-Dieties were organized into 3 groups: agriculture gods, gods who brought the universe together, and third gods of warfare

-All aspects of life were infused religious symbolism.

-Human sacrifice was expanded to unprecedented scale. It was symbolism and ritual like cannibalism with sacrifices.

-Religious art and poetry

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 * I || -Developed religious poetry, and writings

-Calenders were developed for specific ceremonies

-Where influenced by the early the Toltecs ||
 * T || -Built **chinampas**, to produce crops, it was a form of irrigation

-Designed pyrimids that were used in religious events

||

Summary:
The **Aztecs** people who were thought to have been exiled in Aztlan before the fall of the Toltec Empire, soon began to override the region in which the Toltec’s resided. The Toltec people ruled the area around **Lake Texcoco**, around 1150 C.E. Because of the growing anarchy in the Toltec Empire, the Aztec people came into the region and began to dominate the lands. By 1325 C.E, the Aztecs had founded their central base of operations/ main city on Lake Texcoco, called **Tenochtitlan**. By 1428 the Aztecs had become and independent power in the area.

The Aztecs had a king, who was said to be the manifestation of the gods on Earth, and he had absolute control over the people. The Aztecs frequently tried to please their gods through religious rituals. The Aztecs found religion to be extremely important to their lives. They constructed complex pyramids which were used in rituals. They also had several religious traditions that went along with many Mesoamerican peoples. One of which was human sacrifice, in which people from captured cities would be taken, and were sacrificed to please the gods. The Aztecs had an organization of their gods/deities. There were three groups, agricultural gods, universal gods, and warfare gods.

The Aztecs were increasingly great farmers and economically advanced people. They developed a complex type of irrigation system, and combined it with their traditional ways of agriculture, to produce large quantities of crops. This irrigation system called **chinampas**, were small islands that were constructed so water could reach all the plants. Markets were set up occasionally in cities to help promote trade of food, and other goods. Specialized long distant traders called **pochtecas**, sold luxury goods such as plumes, and tropical birds.

2)ESPIRIT on Incas



 * E || -Centralized system that integrated various ethnic groups into an imperial state

-Agricultural system with irrigation

-None or limited trade, which was caused by the Inca's belief of self-sufficienty

-Expanded to Andean highlands through war conflicts/ war causes exspenses

-irrigated land was important in cultivation and labor power for agricultre

-Only Ecuador area participated in trade

-Incas grew potatoes and corn

-Had state management government

-metalworking

-No merchant class/ little trade due to belief in isolationism

-Peasant class known as ayllus

-Yanas were the working class: artisians, servents,vand workers of the nobility

-Land distribution ||
 * S || -Women were seen as inferior to men in the military

-Men and women could own and pass the rights of property to others

-Women would serve at temples, or would weave cloth for religious or court use. They also tended to the household

-the yanas were working class people who were servents, artisians, or workers

-No merchant class (except in Ecuador areas)

-Women praised the gods of the moon, earth, and corn the most

-Peasant class were generally herds

-**Yanas**- people forced to work permanently as servants, artisans, and nobility

-nobility had special priveleges

-Temple of the sun

-Mita were labors that were obligated and happened occurently

- ||
 * P || -The leader was a ruler called the "inca", who was seen as a god on Earth

-The "inca's" wife, sister, or female relatives were seen as vitale to survive. The "inca" was seen as the sun, while his female relatives usually his wife was seen as the moon

-Used military tactics to capture areas from Columbia to Chile and eastwards to Bolivia and Argentina

-Developed a state bureaucracy, that nobles had an influence on

-Empire was organized into four provinces with a smaller ruler to help govern them called a **curacas**

-Curacas were exempt from paying tribute, and instead received labor or produce from those they ruled over

-The sons of chieftans were taken to the Cuzco and educated

-Complex of systems of roads helped connect the empire together

-Along these roads tambos/inns existed and it was the job of a runner to deliver messages throughout the empire

-Extracted land from people for state, religious, and "sun" use

-Used the Quechua language throughout the empire

-Labor turns called **mitas** occured ||
 * I || -Incas required defeated people to join their armies

-Defeated people needed to pay a tribute through labor or tax

-Using conqured people in the army and not killing them expanded the size of the empire greatly

-Spread the **Quechua** language throughout their empire, so everyone would recognize it as their defined language

-Empire extended from Columbia to Chile and eastwards to Bolivia and Argentina

-Armies rewarded with goods after defeating someone ||
 * R || - The sun god was considered highest deity

-Inca ruler was a representation of god on Earth

-Temple of sun located at Cuzco

-Rulers were mummified when died

-Multiple dieties to worship

-Mountains, stones, rivers, caves, tombs, shrines were seen as holy shrines

-Temples were operated by priest

-Rituals of human sacrifice were present still

-Food, animals, and people were offered as sacrifices to the gods ||
 * I || -Cuzco had places were people could be educated

-The Quechua language was spread throughout the empire, as the main language

-Was able to allow multiple groups and cultures of people to coexist as one

-Rulers were often mummified

-built artwork from predecessors

-Women developed clothing by weaving

-Pottery ||
 * T || -Metalworks

-Goods with gold and silver while tools made with copper and bronze

-Developed an advance type of architecture

-Tambos along roads, used by multiple people for multiple purposes

-Developed a road system

-**Quipu**:system of knotted strings for accounts and enumeration ||
 * Summary:** The Incas arose around 1300 C.E in the areas where Andean culture had dominated. Soon however the Incas rose over the land and took control. The Inca's were a group of Indians based in south America. Cazco clan leaders, soon emerged to lead the Inca's to victory such as Pachacuti(1438-1471).

The Incas established a unique system of living. The Inca's, had a political system where the ruler was the "inca", who was the representation of god on Earth. This person often had a wife who was also worshiped for her connection to the moon. The Inca's empire was divided into four provinces, where each was led by a governor, who served under the "inca". These areas were connected through means of system of roads, where runners would run back and fourth between cities spreading news from the empire. The Inca's developed use of the language of Quechua as their main language, spreading it throughout their empire.

The Inca's social system and interaction system differed from other areas. The Inca's forced captured people to join their armies and made them fight for them. Captured people also were rqeuired to pay a tribute of land, labor, or money to the government. If soldiers fought in a war and conqured areas, they would get treasure from that area. The social system in the Inca world was also different. Women were seen as inferiorr to men is some cases such as in the military, however both women and men could own property, and transfer the rights to it. There also was no merchant class in the Inca world, as the Inca's believed in self-suffcianitycy,