Essay on Aztec and Inca Religious Zeal - 1726 Words

Aztec and Inca Religious Zeal The Aztec and Inca peoples lived in militaristic and expansionist societies whose ideals were fueled by their religious convictions. Expansionism was necessary for both societies to support their religious beliefs. The religious zeal of these two civilizations became something that the leaders of the empires could not control. These empires were built through ideologically driven conquests, which became the cornerstones of their societies and something beyond the control of the rulers. Every imperialistic nation has a motive for expansion. Military, materialism, and missionary are three of the biggest motives foe expansion that imperialistic countries use to expand their borders. Conquests†¦show more content†¦This required the Mexicas’ to go out and make war with their neighbors and then ruthlessly take prisoners of war for later sacrifice. It was believed that the strength from the sacrificed captives’ souls would strengthen the sun in its ongoing battl e with the forces of darkness (Conrad, 38). This need for the sun to constantly be appeased set the Mexica people out on divine missions for sacrificial bodies that took the form of imperial conquests. Mexica rulers flooded their lands with propaganda that promoted their imperialistic religion. Most of the Aztec’s art and literature was made up of this propaganda, which created this religious fervor among the people that grew beyond the control of the ruling elites. â€Å"Oral literature, monumental art, written codices, and public and private ceremonies instilled and continually reinforced belief in the divine struggle and the unceasing need for sacrificial victims† (Conrad, 51). Furthermore, religious zeal was strengthened by the guarantee that immortality would be granted to warriors who died in the divine quest and increased social standing awaited those who faired well in wars (Conrad, 52). The Aztec empire was conquering new lands but not staying to govern them. â€Å"Moctezuma II inherited not only a tradition of glorious military achievement but also its product: a far-flung, loosely organized, and totally unstable imperial hegemony† (Conrad, 60). Moctezuma II recognized this problem withShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Fall of the Aztec and Inca Empires1411 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fall of the Aztec and Inca Empires In this essay I will tell how the Aztec and Inca empires ended, and also I will compare the fall of both empires, using for a point of departure the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the land of Mexico. Wherever the Spanish went always the same thing happened, from my point of view. Innocent people were killed for no good reason, cities were massacred, civilizations were destroyed or forced to convert to Christianity. And so, I think now is theRead More Columbus and the New World Discovery Essay4487 Words   |  18 PagesIn a book especially produced for the fair, the historian Meyer Kayserling summed up the prevailing assessment of Columbus: In the just appreciation of his great services to mankind, all political, religious and social differences have vanished. How things changed in a century! Political, religious, and social differences, far from vanishing, place Columbus today in the center of a world-wide cultural civil war. The great hero of the nineteenth century seems well on the way to becoming the greatRead MoreEurope and the New World: New Encounters4462 Words   |  18 Pagesof the Mongol Empire reduced Western traffic to the East âž ¢ A number of people became interested in reaching Asia by sea âž ¢ Merchants, adventurers, and government officials had high hopes of finding precious metals and new areas of trade Religious zeal ⠝â€" A crusading mentality was strong in Portugal and Spain The Mean ⠝â€" The expansion of Europe was connected to the growth of centralized monarchies during the Ren. âž ¢ Ren. Expansion was a state enterprise âž ¢ By the 2nd  ½ of the 15th centuryRead MoreIntegration of Spanish Empire2531 Words   |  11 Pagesestablished a capital at Manila, a location that offered the outstanding harbor of Manila Bay, a large population, and closeness to the sufficient food supplies of the central Luzon rice lands. Manila became the center of Spanish civil, military, religious, and commercial activity in  the islands. By 1571, when Là ³pez de Legaspi established the Spanish city of Manila on the site of a Moro town he had conquered the year before, the Spanish grip  in the Philippines  was secure which became their outpost