preview

Aztec Imperialism Essay

Satisfactory Essays

“Imperialism is the policy of extending rule over an Empire or nation, or to take control of a colony or settlement.” (Dictionary, 2017) It has been responsible for transforming many nations and cultures in positive and negative ways. The Aztec society for example was affected by the Spanish in terms of its government, trade and economy.

The government of the Aztec Empire was changed after the Spanish arrived. The ways the government had been affected was mainly in negative ways after the Spanish took the Aztec’s leader hostage and then killed him shortly after the Spanish destroyed the city. (Then again, 1997)The Spanish also did not follow any of the laws, which were set for them. Those rules were that Indians could not be used to carry goods, nor could any underage boy or pregnant woman be made to work in the mines. (Aztecs Law, 2017) Another negative for the Aztecs was that death became a common punishment once the Spanish took control. This change in the Aztecs government also caused changes to the Aztecs trade and Economy.

Trade in the Aztec civilisation increased after the Spanish took over. The …show more content…

Firstly, they stopped ritual sacrifice, which had a positive and negative influence. The positive influence was that no more of the Aztecs were killed for their belief and the negative was that without the sacrifice the Spanish lost all control over the Aztec people because the sacrifice was keeping the people out of trouble. (Aztec Human Sacrifice, 2015) The lives changed for the Aztec population because once the Spanish took control they made the Aztecs work non-stop as slaves or in the fields. This was not a large negative because most of the Aztecs started to have a better life style, which helped them, become a lot wealthier. (New world Encyclopaedia, 2014) Cortez once said, “Montezuma was, indeed, a complex man, intelligent and impressive in appearance.” (Cortez Quotes,

Get Access