Aztec Empire

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The Aztec and Inca Empire
The Aztec and the Inca empire were both great empires that existed in the 16th centuries but were conquered by Spain. The Aztec empire was an alliance between three city-states which ruled in the valley of Mexico and its surroundings (The Aztecs: The End of the Aztec Empire n.p). The Inca Empire began from Cusco present-day Peru and expanded by assimilating the neighbors either peacefully or through conquest (The Fall of the Inca Empire n.p). The Aztec empire had an indirect means of ruling. They had a system of tributes which they used for a ruling as opposed to a unitary form of government like that used by the Inca Empire.
Unlike the Aztec, the Inca Empire lacked several features that were associated with civilization in the old word. This included lack of wheeled vehicles, lack of a writing system as well as the lack of knowledge on iron and steel (The Fall of the Inca Empire n.p). The Aztecs had a social hierarchy where individuals were either identified as slaves, commoners or nobles, serfs (The Aztecs: The End of the Aztec Empire n.p). Just like the Aztec, the Inca also had a social hierarchy. At the top of the hierarchy was the Nobles followed by the public administrators then the commoners. Both empires had a dozen of deities. The sacrifice of human life was also a common practice in the two empires. The Inca, however, differed from the Aztec in that they believed in reincarnation. Both empires had strict religious believe that they followed keenly.

Trade was a common economic activity among the Aztec and the Inca empires. The Inca was organized into a central planning economy. They traded with the neighboring regions but lacked a substantial market economy internally (The Fall of the Inca Empire n.p). The Aztec, on the other hand, had both local, regional markets and luxury trades that were long distance. The Aztecs and Inca also largely practiced agriculture (The Aztecs: The End of the Aztec Empire n.p). Also, the economies of the two empires depended greatly on Tribute and taxes paid by their citizens
The Spanish conquered both the Aztec and Inca Empire. When they approached the Aztec empire, they at first disguised themselves as allies. The Aztec leader Moctezuma welcomed Cortes who was a Spanish expedition leader to Tenochtitlan. It which was then the largest and most powerful of the three city-states in the empire (The Aztecs: The End of the Aztec Empire n.p). On the other hand, Inca was defeated by the Spanish for several reasons. First, the Spanish had fully armored horsemen and were more superior to the Inca in terms of technology. They also attacked Inca at a time when smallpox and other European diseases have spread widely ravaging the Inca people (The Fall of the Inca Empire n.p).

Works cited
“The Aztecs: The End of the Aztec Empire.” YouTube, Uploaded by Le Baron on 12 Apr 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=0t5BxjEPox0
“The Fall of the Inca Empire.” YouTube, Uploaded by Enderworkbench on 25 Apr 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=393Fh-trnp0