1. Aztec and Spanish Ambitions How did these lead to conflict?

2. Empire Building  An “empire” is a territory that extends beyond the borders of a kingdom  “Colonialism” is when a country governs or controls another nation r territory  For example – Canada was a colony of England, meaning that it was governed by England until 1981. English monarchs still have some power in Canada, but do not govern us

3.  The Colonial empires began with a race of exploration between the then most advanced maritime powers, Portugal and Spain, in the 15th century. The initial reason for the start of these empires (and those that followed) was trade, driven by the new ideas and the capitalism that grew out of the European Renaissance.PortugalSpainRenaissance  European Imperialism was a result of the competition between European Christians and Muslim Ottomans. Because the Muslim Ottomans closed trade routes to China in the 14th century, this forced the Spanish and Portuguese to seek a new trade route so they could continue to exchange goods with China

4. Spain  Ferdinand and Isabelle sought to extend Spain’s power by  Establishing an empire to compete with Portugal’s, which had already started to build its empire in Africa, India, and China  Building national unity. The idea that they were establishing colonies and exploring created a sense of national pride.  Increasing colonies and wealth from the new colonies  Converting non-Christians in foreign countries to Roman Catholicism

5. When Cortés landed in Veracruz  Spain and Cortés saw the New World as theirs to take for the glory of Spain  The worldview of Spain and the Spanish at that time was that imperialism was their right

6. Aztec  The Aztec had extended their power over most of Meso- America, and created a unified civilization under their power.  Their reasons for extending their power were  To extend the worship of their god Huitzilpochtli  To take captives as sacrifices to their gods  To increase their economic power through tribute and taxes  To profit from the increased trade throughout the empire

7. When Cortés landed in Veracruz  This was the first time the Aztec had ever seen a European, although they likely had heard of them  They knew nothing about Europe or Spain  They had no understanding of the Spanish worldview

8. Aztec Worldview  The description of the Spaniards that the Aztec might have heard were that they had light skin, short hair, and beards. This was similar to how the god Quetzcoatl was described.  There was a story that Quetzcoatl would one day return to re-take his throne and rule the Aztec. The year he was prophecied to return was the year Cortés landed.

9. The Omens  They believed strongly in omens and were highly superstitious  There had been many bad omens during Moctezuma’s reign.  1 st – a flaming ear of corn crossed the sky  2 nd – the temple of Huitzolpochtli spontaneously burst into flames  3 rd – a temple was struck by lightning when there was no storm

10.  4 th – a stream of fire crossed the sky  5 th – wind came up and lashed the water until it seemed to boil, then flooded the houses  6 th – people heard a woman weeping night after night, calling for her children and telling them to flee  7 th – a strange creature was caught in their nets, a bird with a mirror in the crown of its head. Moctezuma said he saw the sky in the mirror, then people riding animals that looked like deer.  8 th - creatures with two heads appeared in Tenochtitlan. They vanished when Moctezuma saw them.