The Aztecs — History Reading Comprehension Lesson

Reading Passage

The Aztecs

The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican civilization that dominated much of central Mexico from the 14th through the 16th centuries. At the height of their power, the Aztec Empire stretched across much of what is now Mexico, encompassing an estimated 5 to 6 million people. The Aztecs called themselves the Mexica, and their civilization is considered one of the most sophisticated in the pre-Columbian Americas. They built great cities, developed complex systems of agriculture, created a calendar, produced remarkable art and architecture, and maintained a vast trading network. Their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was one of the largest cities in the world at the time.

According to Aztec legend, their ancestors were guided by their god Huitzilopochtli to found their city where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent. They found this sign on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco in 1325 and built Tenochtitlan there. Through remarkable feats of engineering, they constructed causeways connecting the island to the mainland, built floating gardens called chinampas to grow food, and developed a sophisticated aqueduct system to bring fresh water to the city. By the time Spanish explorers arrived in 1519, Tenochtitlan had a population of perhaps 200,000 to 300,000 — far larger than any European city of the time.

Aztec society was highly structured. The emperor — called the tlatoani — held supreme power and was considered semi-divine. Below him were nobles, priests, warriors, merchants, and artisans, followed by commoners and then serfs and slaves. Warriors held high status: the Aztecs practiced a form of warfare aimed at capturing enemies alive for sacrifice rather than killing them outright. Religion was central to Aztec life. They worshipped many gods and believed that human sacrifice was necessary to keep the sun moving across the sky. Large temples called teocallis dominated Tenochtitlan, and thousands of sacrificial victims — mostly war captives — were killed each year.

The Aztec Empire came into devastating contact with Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés, who arrived in Mexico in 1519. Cortés formed alliances with indigenous peoples who resented Aztec domination. The Aztec emperor Moctezuma II initially received Cortés peacefully, possibly believing him to be a god. The situation deteriorated rapidly: the Spanish took Moctezuma hostage, and violence broke out. The Spanish were temporarily driven from Tenochtitlan in 1520 in an event called La Noche Triste (‘the Night of Sorrows’). They regrouped and, reinforced by thousands of indigenous allies, besieged the city for 80 days.

Tenochtitlan fell on August 13, 1521 — a combination of military defeat and a devastating smallpox epidemic that had already killed enormous numbers of Aztecs, including Moctezuma’s successor. The Spanish destroyed the city and built Mexico City on its ruins, which became the capital of New Spain. The conquest ended the Aztec Empire, but Aztec culture did not disappear: millions of people of Aztec descent survived, and many elements of Aztec culture — language, food, art, and tradition — blended with Spanish culture to form the basis of modern Mexican identity. The Aztecs’ achievements in agriculture, engineering, and astronomy continue to be studied and admired today.

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