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By the year 1 Reed the Aztec Nation had reached the apex of empire. The Aztecs had a very large and sophisticated empire and their economic and political systems rivaled many European systems. The capital city, Tenochtitlan, had an elaborate infrastructue complete with paved roads, fresh water, markets, religious doctrines, and a sewer system. The problem, however, was the the year 1 Reed was also the Christian year 1519 and was the year of the arrival of Hernan Cortes.
The Spanish had two primary goals. As Cortes once reflected, "we suffer from a disease that only gold can cure," and, to his pleasure, Tenochtitlan had ample deposits of gold. The second goal was to spread Christianity. The Aztecs practice a religion, the Spanish believed, was evil. These goals were to the detriment of the Aztec Empire; the gold was taken and the people were forced to convert or face death. This disregard and disrespect for culture spread like a disease and eventually led...
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