introduction+and+conculison+ty

They wandered for many years before settling in the Valley of Mexico in the 1200′s

The Aztecs believed that one of their gods had white skin and a beard. This god sailed away on a raft made of [|snakes], but promised to return. In 1519 Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs, was told that white-skinned, bearded men were coming. Montezuma believed the Aztec god had returned. At first the strangers were welcomed. Soon, however, Montezuma learned that their leader, Hernando Cortez, was not a god. He and his men had come to conquer the New World for the king of Spain.

To build more land they built large rafts made from straw on which they placed river mud. They planted trees and vegetables and their long roots anchored the rafts to the bottom of the [|lake]. By placing the rafts apart they created a system of canals throughout the city. Most of the city was built using slave labor by forming poor tribes who could pay taxes to work.

The Aztecs built their city on an island in the middle of a swampy lake called Texcoco or in English, Lake of the [|Moon]. They called their city Tenoctitlan which means Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus.

Around the center of the city there were also four districts, each with its own government. Each district had its own houses, shops, parks, schools, and temples for lesser gods. The city was rich with [|gold], [|silver], and rare jewels