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How Did The Europeans Have An Impact On Early American Culture

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The early European explorers had a profound impact on the population and culture of early America. The moment that Christopher Columbus set foot on one of the Islands of the Bahamas, the world would drastically change for many of the Native Americans. The Aztec people of central and South America, or Mesoamerica, had a very advanced and complex society that they established in approximately 1428, that would undergo a transformation and descent from dominance that they could never have imagined. The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and Christianity were the single greatest contributions to the fall of the Aztec Empire and the cultural transformation that occurred in the 1500s. This in turn led to the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the eventual transformation to the world as we know it now. The Aztecs controlled and dominated most of Mesoamerica during the 14th through the 16th centuries. In its prime it had a population of close to 250,000, and its capital, Tenochtitlan, was one of the largest cities in the entire world. While other native American tribes north of Mexico had yet to achieve literacy …show more content…

This included cities, road systems, irrigation systems, extensive trade networks, and advances in architecture, like pyramids that far outpaced other societies of the time. The Government revolved more around tribute than direct rule. While they had a monarchal type government, complete with Emperor, council, and other types of officials, they typically let their territories govern and did not interfere in local affairs themselves as long as those lands paid tribute. The Aztec religion was a complex complicated set of beliefs that included demanding gods and human

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