JUNIOR CYCLE HISTORY The destruction of Tenochtitlan
The Aztecs revolted and the Spaniards were driven out of the city, but Montezuma was killed in the violence. Cortés and his men fl ed to regroup amongst local allies, but later returned with 100,000 men and laid siege to Tenochtitlan for three months. Eventually they constructed a small fl eet of ships that could cross the lake. The city fell and its people were massacred. When the Spanish king appointed him governor of New Spain, Cortés built his capital on the site of Tenochtitlan.
CHECKPOINT!
1. Give three examples of how Aztec and European society differed. 2. Why did Cortés decide to attack the Aztecs? 3. Why did he burn his ships upon landing? 4. Who did the Aztecs believe Cortés was? 5. Why did the Aztecs revolt against the Spaniards? 6. How did Tenochtitlan eventually fall?
. I understand how the Spanish conquered the Aztecs. Conquering the Incas: Pizarro TIME TO GO BACK I CAN MOVE FORWARD
Machu Picchu
To the south of the Aztecs lay an even more powerful and rich civilisation. The Incas controlled a huge amount of territory in the Andes mountains, along the western coast of South America. The Incan empire was ruled from its capital in Cusco by a god-king.
The Incas were sophisticated engineers and architects and also very fi ne artists. They used no written script, but kept records using a system of knotted string. Roads ran to every corner of their empire and they collected tribute from their subjects.
