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2 Responses to “Jewelry, Significance for Indians”
Is my essay any good? - Opinions please.? I am 13. I know I write WAY too much, but my teacher gives little feedback; do you think it is any good??
(1943 words).
How Significant was the Conquest of Mexico for the Aztecs?
The Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs stands as one of the most significant and influential turning points of the western world. It opened the way for European colonization and brought forth vast changes on the new world that are still felt today. It changed the culture, religion, and a whole new way of life for the inhabitants and descendants of the entire region; since the late 1400’s Spanish explorers had been charting and claiming parts of the new world for the throne of Spain.
In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to display some major and minor impacts that occurred in the Aztec world during the conquest of Mexico which changed so many innocent lives of the great people that made up this strong empire. The conquest of Mexico proved to have great significance on the population; it greatly affected them in areas including: Law, Hierarchy, Religion, Culture (Religion and Beliefs), Marriage, Language, Food and Trade.
The Conquest of Mexico in 1521 gave rise to one of the richest culinary revolutions in history. When the Spanish explorer Cortez and his followers came to the new world in search of fortune, they found a wealth of culinary specialties such as chocolate, peanuts, vanilla, beans, squash, avocados, coconuts, corn and tomatoes. Before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors the Aztec farmers were independent producers and traded locally, keeping their profits after paying their taxes and sacrificing wares to their Gods. Subsequent to the Spanish invasion, a feudal system was introduced which meant each Spanish Peninsular took control of the land and 500 estates were formed. The Aztec’s became the slaves to their new masters, working the land in return for food and shelter, although this responsibility was often neglected by the Spanish. Unfortunately for the Aztec people, this meant two things: that they had to work for far longer hours every day to farm this exotic produce; and also, this meant that the Aztec people were stripped of their local delicacies. However, this was not as bad as it may first seem for the vulnerable Aztecs, in turn the Spanish brought to the Aztec captor’s products such as: pork, beef, lamb, citrus fruits, garlic, cheese, milk, wheat, vinegar and wine. Although this was of a high significance compared to many other things that the Aztecs had previously experienced, such as battles fought against other indigenous colonies; sorting the food and trade out was not the Aztec’s highest priority at that time as other impacts of this invasion would have had greater consequences on their culture. This shows us that effects upon farming, food and trade are all linked and when one aspect of those areas is altered, all the others are affected in some way.
The Aztec hierarchy before the conquest simply consisted of noble-men, warriors and advisors; although, if it was looked at more carefully it deemed to be far more complex. The Aztec priests were supported by the efforts of other people. They did not grow their own food or make their own clothes; priests enjoyed power and privilege. The priests formed part of the upper class. Aztec society, like all complex societies, had different social classes. People at the top - nobles, high priests, and people important in the military and government - had lives of luxury, with fine houses, clothing, and jewellery. The largest class was made up of commoners, such as farmers and servants. In Aztec society, commoners were organized into clans, or groups, made up of many different families. Merchants formed yet another class in Aztec society, separate from the commoners. The Aztecs carried on a great deal of trade with other Indian nations. After the conquest, the hierarchy of society differed a lot; the upper-class consisted of: Cortez, important colonels and royalty of the Spanish kingdom. The Middle class consisted of: Christian priests and Spanish warriors. The lower-class was made up of: slaves, Aztec survivors and Mezitos (The children of Spanish men married to Aztec women). The Spanish conquest had a rather large impact on the hierarchy of society as the Aztecs were pushed from the top, right to the bottom of the chain. This shows us that they had their reasons to revolt as what they considered very important people such as priests were pushed into slavery in a class below some former commoners.
Religion was extremely important in Aztec life. They worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses, each of whom ruled one or more human activity or aspects of nature. The people had many agricultural gods because their culture was based heavily on farming. Each place and each trade had its patron deity: each day, and each part of the day, was watched over by its own god. Priests were expected to live in chastity, to mortify their
flesh, and to understand astronomy, astrology, the complex rituals and ceremonies. The common people seem to have preferred the less fancy, more accessible gods: the patrons of the craft guilds, the protectors of local shrines, and the gods who looked after the things of everyday life.
For everyone, however, rich or poor, each month of the Aztec calendar had its festival, with music, dancing and sacrifices. Ultimately, they believed their world would again end in disaster; the Aztecs believed that the world had been created and destroyed several times. The Aztecs thought that their special purpose in life was to delay that destruction. They sacrificed to the god of war and the sun to keep the sun in the sky and avoid destruction for as long as possible. Many other Aztec gods controlled natural forces. For example, there was a god of rain and a god of wind. These gods also required attention, although they might not have demanded human sacrifice. Life was very insecure, since the
there is A LOT more…
March 8th, 2010 at 5:14 am
Is my essay any good? - Opinions please.?
I am 13. I know I write WAY too much, but my teacher gives little feedback; do you think it is any good??
(1943 words).
How Significant was the Conquest of Mexico for the Aztecs?
The Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs stands as one of the most significant and influential turning points of the western world. It opened the way for European colonization and brought forth vast changes on the new world that are still felt today. It changed the culture, religion, and a whole new way of life for the inhabitants and descendants of the entire region; since the late 1400’s Spanish explorers had been charting and claiming parts of the new world for the throne of Spain.
In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to display some major and minor impacts that occurred in the Aztec world during the conquest of Mexico which changed so many innocent lives of the great people that made up this strong empire. The conquest of Mexico proved to have great significance on the population; it greatly affected them in areas including: Law, Hierarchy, Religion, Culture (Religion and Beliefs), Marriage, Language, Food and Trade.
The Conquest of Mexico in 1521 gave rise to one of the richest culinary revolutions in history. When the Spanish explorer Cortez and his followers came to the new world in search of fortune, they found a wealth of culinary specialties such as chocolate, peanuts, vanilla, beans, squash, avocados, coconuts, corn and tomatoes. Before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors the Aztec farmers were independent producers and traded locally, keeping their profits after paying their taxes and sacrificing wares to their Gods. Subsequent to the Spanish invasion, a feudal system was introduced which meant each Spanish Peninsular took control of the land and 500 estates were formed. The Aztec’s became the slaves to their new masters, working the land in return for food and shelter, although this responsibility was often neglected by the Spanish. Unfortunately for the Aztec people, this meant two things: that they had to work for far longer hours every day to farm this exotic produce; and also, this meant that the Aztec people were stripped of their local delicacies. However, this was not as bad as it may first seem for the vulnerable Aztecs, in turn the Spanish brought to the Aztec captor’s products such as: pork, beef, lamb, citrus fruits, garlic, cheese, milk, wheat, vinegar and wine. Although this was of a high significance compared to many other things that the Aztecs had previously experienced, such as battles fought against other indigenous colonies; sorting the food and trade out was not the Aztec’s highest priority at that time as other impacts of this invasion would have had greater consequences on their culture. This shows us that effects upon farming, food and trade are all linked and when one aspect of those areas is altered, all the others are affected in some way.
The Aztec hierarchy before the conquest simply consisted of noble-men, warriors and advisors; although, if it was looked at more carefully it deemed to be far more complex. The Aztec priests were supported by the efforts of other people. They did not grow their own food or make their own clothes; priests enjoyed power and privilege. The priests formed part of the upper class. Aztec society, like all complex societies, had different social classes. People at the top - nobles, high priests, and people important in the military and government - had lives of luxury, with fine houses, clothing, and jewellery. The largest class was made up of commoners, such as farmers and servants. In Aztec society, commoners were organized into clans, or groups, made up of many different families. Merchants formed yet another class in Aztec society, separate from the commoners. The Aztecs carried on a great deal of trade with other Indian nations. After the conquest, the hierarchy of society differed a lot; the upper-class consisted of: Cortez, important colonels and royalty of the Spanish kingdom. The Middle class consisted of: Christian priests and Spanish warriors. The lower-class was made up of: slaves, Aztec survivors and Mezitos (The children of Spanish men married to Aztec women). The Spanish conquest had a rather large impact on the hierarchy of society as the Aztecs were pushed from the top, right to the bottom of the chain. This shows us that they had their reasons to revolt as what they considered very important people such as priests were pushed into slavery in a class below some former commoners.
Religion was extremely important in Aztec life. They worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses, each of whom ruled one or more human activity or aspects of nature. The people had many agricultural gods because their culture was based heavily on farming. Each place and each trade had its patron deity: each day, and each part of the day, was watched over by its own god. Priests were expected to live in chastity, to mortify their
flesh, and to understand astronomy, astrology, the complex rituals and ceremonies. The common people seem to have preferred the less fancy, more accessible gods: the patrons of the craft guilds, the protectors of local shrines, and the gods who looked after the things of everyday life.
For everyone, however, rich or poor, each month of the Aztec calendar had its festival, with music, dancing and sacrifices. Ultimately, they believed their world would again end in disaster; the Aztecs believed that the world had been created and destroyed several times. The Aztecs thought that their special purpose in life was to delay that destruction. They sacrificed to the god of war and the sun to keep the sun in the sky and avoid destruction for as long as possible. Many other Aztec gods controlled natural forces. For example, there was a god of rain and a god of wind. These gods also required attention, although they might not have demanded human sacrifice. Life was very insecure, since the
there is A LOT more…
March 8th, 2010 at 10:16 am
It’s really dull. Try to liven it up a bit unless it’s an informational essay of course then very well done.
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