FLORENTINE

CODEX
 1 5

A Z T E C

S A Z I E H

S P N T A C

Answer: Aztecs

-Aztec civilization: began the conquest of the latin america

-The Aztec Empire flourished between c. 1345 and 1521 CE and, at its greatest extent, covered most of northern Mesoamerica. Aztec warriors were able to dominate
their neighbouring states and permit rulers such as Motecuhzoma II to impose Aztec ideals and religion across Mexico. Highly accomplished in agriculture and trade, the
last of the great Mesoamerican civilizations was also noted for its art and architecture which ranks amongst the finest ever produced on the continent.
 The Aztec Civilisation (1345 - 1521 CE)
Indigenous central Mexican people
covered most of northern Mesoamerica
Aztec warriors were powerful
highly accomplished in agriculture and trade

AZTEC CIVILIZATION

The Aztec Empire flourished between c. 1345 and 1521 CE and, at its greatest extent, covered most of northern Mesoamerica. Aztec warriors were able to dominate their
neighbouring states and permit rulers such as Motecuhzoma II to impose Aztec ideals and religion across Mexico. Highly accomplished in agriculture and trade, the last
of the great Mesoamerican civilizations was also noted for its art and architecture which ranks amongst the finest ever produced on the continent.

The fall of the Aztec civilization: began the conquest of the latin america
 Composed of 12 books
The Aztec Civilisation (1345 - 1521 CE)
Culture, Religious, Ritual Practices, Economics, and Natural History
Before the Conquest and the Conquest itself
motive: primarily religious

THE FLORENTINE CODEX by Fray Bernardino de Sahagun

An encyclopedic work about the people and culture of central Mexico compiled by Fray Bernardino de Sahagn (14991590), a Franciscan missionary who arrived in
Mexico in 1529, eight years after completion of the Spanish conquest

Sahagn's primary motivation was to evangelize indigenous Mesoamerican peoples, and his writings were devoted to this end. He described this work as an explanation
of the divine, or rather idolatrous, human, and natural things of New Spain. Before he can begin to convert the natives to Christians, it was necessary to understand
those gods and the hold they had on the Aztec people. Sahagn was repelled by much of native culture, but he also came to admire many qualities of the Aztecs. As he
wrote in the prologue to Book I of his work, the Mexicans are held to be barbarians and of very little worth; in truth, however, in matters of culture and refinement, they
are a step ahead of other nations that presume to be quite politic.

-The 12 volumes document the culture, religious and ritual practices, economics, and natural history of the indigenous central Mexican peoples in the years immediately
preceding the Spanish Conquest, as well as the events of the Conquest itself.
 BOOK SUMMARIES
Composed of 12 Books

BOOK 1: THE GODS

BOOK 2: THE CEREMONIES

BOOK 3: THE ORIGIN OF THE GODS

BOOK 4: THE SOOTHSAYERS

BOOK 5: THE OMENS

BOOK 6: PRAYERS AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY

The Gods. Deals with gods worshiped by the natives of this land, which is New Spain.

The Ceremonies. Deals with holidays and sacrifices with which these natives honored their gods in times of infidelity.

The Origin of the Gods. About the creation of the gods.

The Soothsayers. About Indian judiciary astrology or omens and fortune-telling arts.

The Omens. Deals with foretelling these natives made from birds, animals, and insects in order to foretell the future.

Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy. About prayers to their gods, rhetoric, moral philosophy, and theology in the same context.

The Sun, Moon and Stars, and the Binding of the Years. Deals with the sun, the moon, the stars, and the jubilee year.

Kings and Lords. About kings and lords, and the way they held their elections and governed their reigns.

The Merchants. About long-distance elite merchants, pochteca, who expanded trade, reconnoitered new areas to conquer, and agents-provocateurs.

The People. About general history: it explains vices and virtues, spiritual as well as bodily, of all manner of persons.

Earthly Things. About properties of animals, birds, fish, trees, herbs, flowers, metals, and stones, and about colors.

The Conquest. About the conquest of New Spain from the Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco point of view.
 BOOK SUMMARIES
Composed of 12 Books

BOOK 7: THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS

BOOK 8: SOVEREIGN

BOOK 9: THE MERCHANTS

BOOK 10: THE PEOPLE

BOOK 11: EARTHLY THINGS

BOOK 12: THE CONQUEST

1. The Gods. Deals with gods worshiped by the natives of this land, which is New Spain.

2. The Ceremonies. Deals with holidays and sacrifices with which these natives honored their gods in times of infidelity.

3. The Origin of the Gods. About the creation of the gods.

4. The Soothsayers. About Indian judiciary astrology or omens and fortune-telling arts.

5. The Omens. Deals with foretelling these natives made from birds, animals, and insects in order to foretell the future.

6. Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy. About prayers to their gods, rhetoric, moral philosophy, and theology in the same context.

7. The Sun, Moon and Stars, and the Binding of the Years. Deals with the sun, the moon, the stars, and the jubilee year.

8. Kings and Lords. About kings and lords, and the way they held their elections and governed their reigns.

9. The Merchants. About long-distance elite merchants, pochteca, who expanded trade, reconnoitered new areas to conquer, and agents-provocateurs.

10. The People. About general history: it explains vices and virtues, spiritual as well as bodily, of all manner of persons.

11. Earthly Things. About properties of animals, birds, fish, trees, herbs, flowers, metals, and stones, and about colors.

12. The Conquest. About the conquest of New Spain from the Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco point of view.
BOOK 10: THE PEOPLE
 2 15

N A H U A T L

N A Z L E H

H P U T A P

Answer: Nahuatl
In Florentine Codex, the work is arranged in two columns: on the left is the original Nahuatl text, on the right is Sahagns Spanish translation.
 3 10

S A C R I F I C E

S A Z I E H

S P N T A C

Answer: Sacrifice
 Literal

SACRIFICE
The Aztec Capital: TENOCHTITLAN

- where the skinning of the daughter of Coxcox of Colhuacan was held

sacrifices not limited to humans, included animals such as eagles,

dogs, and deers

objects were also given as sacrifice

The Aztecs were very big on sacrifice. The first human sacrifice was held in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Capital. The victim was the daughter of Coxcox of Colhuacan.
Sacrifices included humans, animals and even objects, and whatever they deemed pleasing to the gods, to whom they were sacrificing whatever to.
 Figurative

SACRIFICE
Religious significance: Keeping Nature in Balance

ritual sacrifice every month of the year

(Aztec Calendar had 18 months with 20 days each in one year)

interconnection of the gods, nature and humans

Military conquest related to the sacrifices: Flower Wars

POWs sacrificed as food for the sun god Huitzilopochli to avoid disaster

But why do they perform sacrifices a lot? Sacrifice holds such great religious significance for the Aztecs because it was a way to maintain the balance in between them,
the gods and nature. They had a festival for a certain god every month, which means they had a total of 18 festivals a year for the Aztec calendar had 18 20-day months,
which means they held or performed the ritual of sacrifice at least 18 times a year. Even their battles against other clans or tribes were religious. Well, scholars would
argue that they were political in nature which involved a power play between the respective tribes, but if adopting a religious perspective on these battles, it would seem
that the battles, called the Flower Wars, were fought mainly to gain sacrifices in the form of prisoners of war, who they oered or sacrificed to the sun god Huitzilopochli
to give him strength and keep the sun shining and avert disaster or the end of the world every 52 years.
 Figurative

SACRIFICE
LEGEND OF THE FIVE SUNS
gods sacrificed themselves for mankind

humans owe the gods a blood debt, repaid through sacrifices

atonement: human sacrifice as the highest form

death through sacrifice deemed as good death

heart as the seat of an individual

BOOK 12: THE CONQUEST
 4 10

N E W S P A I N

S A W I E H

S P N T N C

Answer: New Spain

 SUMMARY: BOOK 12
PRE-CONQUEST AND THE CONQUEST

contains primary accounts from the natives of the arrival of the foreigners
Spanish conquest of Mexico
New Spain: modern-day Mexico, Central America, Cuba, Hispaniola,
Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Philippines, Florida, most of the southwestern U.S.

Book XII recounts the Spanish conquest of Mexico, which took place between 1519, when Corts landed on the coast with just over 100 men and a few horses, and
1521, when Tenochtitlan was taken and the Aztecs subjugated.
 5 5

O M E N S

S O N I E O

S Q L T M L

Answer: OMENS
 OMENS

As mentioned before, Book 12 shows the arrival of the conquerors as how locals or the natives saw it, through omens that began 10 years prior to their arrival.

First Omen: flame or tongue of fire

Second Omen: house of the devil, Huitzilpochtli, in his mountain called, Tlacateccan, burned and flared up on its own accord

Third Omen: building of straw at the temple complex of Xiuhteutli, called Tzonmolco was struck by lightnmree parts while the sun was still out

Fifth Omen: water of the lake boiled up

Sixth Omen: a woman would be heard going along weeping and shouting

Seventh Omen: once water-folk were hunting or snaring and caught an ash-like bird, like a crane

Eighth Omen: many times, people appeared, thistle-people with 2 heads but 1 body
 FIRST OMEN

SECOND OMEN

First Omen: flame or tongue of fire

Second Omen: house of the devil, Huitzilpochtli, in his mountain called, Tlacateccan, burned and flared up on its own accord

Third Omen: building of straw at the temple complex of Xiuhteutli, called Tzonmolco was struck by lightnmree parts while the sun was still out

Fourth Omen: Shooting stars

Fifth Omen: water of the lake boiled up

Sixth Omen: a woman would be heard going along weeping and shouting

Seventh Omen: once water-folk were hunting or snaring and caught an ash-like bird, like a crane

Eighth Omen: many times, people appeared, thistle-people with 2 heads but 1 body
 THIRD OMEN FOURTH OMEN

As mentioned before, Book 12 shows the arrival of the conquerors as how locals or the natives saw it, through omens that began 10 years prior to their arrival.

First Omen: flame or tongue of fire

Second Omen: house of the devil, Huitzilpochtli, in his mountain called, Tlacateccan, burned and flared up on its own accord

Third Omen: building of straw at the temple complex of Xiuhteutli, called Tzonmolco was struck by lightnmree parts while the sun was still out

Fourth Omen: Shooting stars

Fifth Omen: water of the lake boiled up

Sixth Omen: a woman would be heard going along weeping and shouting

Seventh Omen: once water-folk were hunting or snaring and caught an ash-like bird, like a crane

Eighth Omen: many times, people appeared, thistle-people with 2 heads but 1 body
 FIFTH OMEN SIXTH OMEN

As mentioned before, Book 12 shows the arrival of the conquerors as how locals or the natives saw it, through omens that began 10 years prior to their arrival.

First Omen: flame or tongue of fire

Second Omen: house of the devil, Huitzilpochtli, in his mountain called, Tlacateccan, burned and flared up on its own accord

Third Omen: building of straw at the temple complex of Xiuhteutli, called Tzonmolco was struck by lightnmree parts while the sun was still out

Fourth Omen: Shooting stars

Fifth Omen: water of the lake boiled up

Sixth Omen: a woman would be heard going along weeping and shouting

Seventh Omen: once water-folk were hunting or snaring and caught an ash-like bird, like a crane

Eighth Omen: many times, people appeared, thistle-people with 2 heads but 1 body
 SEVENTH OMEN

EIGHTH OMEN

As mentioned before, Book 12 shows the arrival of the conquerors as how locals or the natives saw it, through omens that began 10 years prior to their arrival.

First Omen: flame or tongue of fire

Second Omen: house of the devil, Huitzilpochtli, in his mountain called, Tlacateccan, burned and flared up on its own accord

Third Omen: building of straw at the temple complex of Xiuhteutli, called Tzonmolco was struck by lightnmree parts while the sun was still out

Fourth Omen: Shooting stars

Fifth Omen: water of the lake boiled up

Sixth Omen: a woman would be heard going along weeping and shouting

Seventh Omen: once water-folk were hunting or snaring and caught an ash-like bird, like a crane

Eighth Omen: many times, people appeared, thistle-people with 2 heads but 1 body
 7 15

M O N T E Z U M A

M Z O I E U

M M N T A C

Answer: Montezuma
 MONTEZUMA
leader of the Aztecs from 1502 to 1520

ninth tlatoani or rule of Tenochtitlan

depicted as unfavorably weak-willed, superstitious and indulgent by

Sahagun

When Montezuma saw this, he took fright.

Moctezuma or Montezuma.

-leader of the Aztecs; ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520.

-in Book 12, the astonishment and fright of the people are clearly described with the omens and signs of incoming trouble

-When Montezuma saw this, he took fright.

- [line above as proof] Sahagun depicted Montezuma unfavorably as a weak-willed, superstitious, and indulgent ruler

-These legends are likely a part of the post-conquest rationalisation by the Aztecs of their defeat, and serve to show Moctezuma as indecisive, vain, and superstitious,
and ultimately the cause of the fall of the Aztec Empire

 8 20

HC
H E R N A N C O R T E Z

N A N R E H

Z E T R O C

Answer: Hernan Cortez

 HERNAN CORTEZ
LEADER OF THE CONQUISTADORS

easily conquered and defeated the Aztecs

use of firearms and horses

ruthlessness in battle which determined the Spanish victory

landed on the coast with over a hundred men

-leader of the conquistadors: Hernan Cortez

-despite being heavily outnumbered by the natives, still managed to easily conquer Mexico with the use of firearms and horses, both of which the Aztecs have never
encountered before, rendering their spears and generally melee weapons useless

-Among the key factors that determined the Spanish victory were the ruthlessness of the Spanish soldiers and of Corts in particular, the use of horses and firearms,
which the Mesoamericans had never seen, and Cortss intuition that the peoples of the Aztec Empire were prepared to join forces with him to shake o Aztec rule.

 9 15

P H I L I P P I N E S

P E I I I H

S P N L A P

Answer: Philippines
 RELIGION
AS COLONIZING TOOL

Use of the Catholic religion

Parallelism of the Spanish colonisation of

Sahagns preparation for the creation of the Florentine Codex began

shortly after his arrival in 1529 to New Spain

Sagahuns motive was primarily religious

END.