The Aztec Imperial Expansion

This week's reading focused on Aztec Imperial Expansion and the use of human sacrifice as the main factor that produced this large empire. I was fascinated by the reading and the dynamic of the Mexica. Early on in the chapter of Aztec expansion, Conrad and Demarest tell us we must understand that human sacrifice was a part of the belief system that was crucial to religious rituals and militarism. (29) The Spaniards viewed this as barbaric and uncivilized, but from the perspective of the Mexica it was necessary for survival.

To answer the question of the Black Legend, I do not believe this reading to be related to it in any way. It focuses solely on the empire of the Aztecs, starting with the fall of the Toltec, to the Triple Alliance, to growing power of the Mexica, and finally the fall of the Aztec Empire a little before Spanish conquistadors come to the area.

Focusing on the concept of human sacrifice, Huitzilopochtli, a sun god, became the Aztecs chief god. Starting as a god-hero, his status continued to grow into the main patron deity as the empire started to form and change. The new cosmology of the Aztecs believed that captives of war were to be sacrificed in order to give strength to the sun which would ward off the forces of darkness. (38) This belief that it was their duty to provide food to the sun in order to prevent destruction of the earth, lead to an increase in human sacrifices. These sacrifices were the main force behind the religious practices and the military conquest of this great empire. The greater the number of sacrifices meant the greater the strength of the gods. (44) Thousands of captives would be sacrificed a year. Military conquest was vital to the survival of this empire.

Over time, these military conquests began to fail, as did the social and political structures. The Triple Alliance fell apart and the defeats left them with fewer captives to sacrifice. Ultimately, the driving force in their empire was also the force that caused their destruction.