Spanish vs Aztecs

3. – Conquistador who later led the conquest of the Inca Empire
6. – Explorer who in 1518 sailed along the Mexican coast, hearing of a rich inland ruler
7. – Last name of the 1517 captain whose expedition first saw cities on the Yucatán coast
9. – Spanish name for the disastrous night-time retreat from Tenochtitlan in 1520
10. – Religious images that Spaniards often destroyed in temples they conquered
12. – Spanish city where Cortés eventually died in 1547
14. – The Nahuatl name for the people who ruled the Aztec Empire from Tenochtitlan
22. – English phrase for the tzompantli, a structure displaying human skulls
24. – Highland polity that became a key ally of Cortés against the Aztec
25. – Aztec capital city built on an island in Lake Texcoco
26. – Common name for the Mexica-led empire centered in Tenochtitlan
27. – Gulf coast town (Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz) founded by Cortés
28. – Spanish officer whose actions helped ignite an uprising in Tenochtitlan
30. – Ritual killing practiced in Aztec religion and condemned by the Spaniards
32. – Large political unit, such as the Aztec or Spanish realms, ruling many peoples
33. – Metal from later mines that, along with gold, enriched the Spanish Empire
34. – City where a major massacre by Spaniards and allies took place in 1519

1. – Spanish conquistador who led the overthrow of the Aztec Empire
2. – Caribbean island where many Spaniards, including Cortés, first built careers
4. – Region on the Gulf coast where Cortés fought an early battle and received gifts
5. – Animals never before seen by Mesoamerican peoples, used by Spanish cavalry
8. – Name for the Spanish colonial realm that replaced the Aztec Empire
11. – Precious metal that helped motivate Spanish expeditions and enrich Spain
12. – Epidemic disease that devastated the Valley of Mexico after European contact
13. – Surname of the rival Spanish commander sent from Cuba to arrest Cortés
15. – Last Aztec emperor captured at the end of the siege of Tenochtitlan
16. – Spanish castaway who spoke Maya and helped translate for Cortés
17. – Indigenous interpreter also known as Doña Marina
18. – Another way to write the Gulf settlement whose name means “True Cross”
19. – Aztec emperor who first received Cortés in Tenochtitlan
20. – Type of small warship Cortés used to control the lake around Tenochtitlan
21. – Military tactic of surrounding a city and cutting off supplies, used against Tenochtitlan
23. – Gunpowder weapons whose thunderous blasts terrified Indigenous warriors
29. – Indigenous groups who joined Cortés in fighting against the Mexica empire
31. – Term for Spanish conquerors in the Americas