The Tragic Story of the Aztec Empire

🏛️ The Aztec Empire was a powerful and feared empire in southern Mexico.

⚔️ The Aztecs started as nomadic Chichimec people and eventually formed independent city-states through migration.

🌍 The Mexica tribe, which later became the Aztecs, established their own city, Tenochtitlan, and quickly expanded their power through alliances and unique warfare strategies.

👑 The Mexica formed alliances and quickly dominated the region to create the powerful Aztec empire.

💼 The Aztecs established a tax-collecting infrastructure, implemented a modern system of law, and focused on education and military strength.

⚔️ The Flower Wars allowed the Aztecs to maintain a trained army and collect prisoners for religious rituals.

🌺🛡️ The ongoing rivalry with Tlaxcala, aggressive expansion, and succession issues led to the downfall of the Aztec empire.

🛡️ The Aztec Empire was facing internal issues and external threats before the arrival of the Spanish Armada.

🚢 Hernan Cortes, despite his uncertain position, took a daring move to prove himself by leading a group of loyalists to Mexico.

🗣️ Cortes leveraged the assistance of a shipwreck survivor and a native translator to gain advantage and manipulate the Aztecs.

🏰 Cortes successfully builds his forces by targeting rival tribes and gains the loyalty of the city of Tlaxcala, increasing his army size.

💀 Cortes brutally attacks a group of civilians in Choula, leading to the worst massacre yet perpetrated by his soldiers.

👑 Cortes gains control of the capital city of the Aztecs, rendering the emperor his puppet, but faces opposition from a larger Spanish fleet.

📜 Cortes gains territory and convinces key lieutenants to switch sides, leading to a civil war and the removal of the emperor from power.

⚔️ The Spanish are forced to retreat in disgrace, known as the 'Sad Night', and face the deadly Smallpox virus.

💀 The Smallpox virus spreads through the Aztec capital, resulting in the death of over 50% of the population.

📜 The Aztec Empire weakened due to the plague and Cortes assembled a powerful army to invade Tenochtitlan.

⚔️ Cortes cut off the Aztec water supply and aimed to starve out the Aztecs, leading to a brutal war of attrition.

🏛️ Despite fierce resistance, Cortes eventually overcame the Aztecs and captured the city of Tenochtitlan.

📜 The Aztecs were blockaded and faced limited water supplies, leading to food shortage and contaminated water.

🧪 The Aztec capital suffered from famine, dysentery, and extreme starvation, leading to weakened residents.

⚔️ Cortes divided his forces and made a final push into the city, eventually defeating the Aztecs.

💔 The arrival of the Spanish fleet and European conquest caused the fall of the Aztec Empire.

🤒 Smallpox and a mysterious plague called Cocoliztli were devastating diseases that contributed to the end of the empire.

🦠 The Aztecs may have been affected by Salmonella enterica, a foodborne illness, which likely spread due to contaminated food supply.