, had already collapsed before the arrival of the Europeans. However, some kingdoms, like the Aztec and the Inca collapsed as a result of the invasion by the Europeans. This essay compares the perspectives, issues, and the concerns of the Aztec and the Inca peoples, and with relation to their contacts with the Europeans.

For a thorough comparison of the perspectives, issues and concerns of the Aztec and the Inca peoples, this essay will analyze five major issues thus: religion and rituals; structures, architecture or earthworks; agriculture’ trade and their reasons for decline. The paper will use historical methodology to do this comparison. The paper thus will analyze and interpret both primary and secondary sources. The online e-core material shall also be used to supplement the primary sources.

The Aztecs was a group in Mexico that had around ten thousand members while they controlled an empire of more than 22 million people. They, however, had never developed a bureaucratic system as the Europeans. Andreas and Overfield (129) observe that the Aztec’s political system allowed their kings to remain in power as long as the kings continued to send tribute. They held both religious and political power. The kings were seen as the representatives of the gods, and they also controlled the civil powers. The Aztec believed that a religion was a very important element in keeping the conquered peoples in control, especially the use of the sacrificial (Sahagun and Anderson 128).

The Aztecs were led by emperors thought to have demigod powers, while the Inca were led by a supreme ruler, also seen as a god. Just like with the Aztec’s ruler with absolute political and religious powers, the Incan ruler was an authoritarian ruler who controlled movement, marriage and produce (Duiker and Spievolgel 32). The Aztec used the sacrificial system to control the conquered people, while the Incas used resettlement and military force to control people.

In terms of economy and trade, the Aztecs valued maize, squash and beans. They had markets in the cities, and relied on tributes and extensive slave labor. They also participated in regional trade with their neighbors. Their wealth was mainly from their military force to controltaxes in the form of food, services and goods. However, the Inca, unlike the Aztec stressed communal farming for self-sufficiency (Duiker and Spievolgel 51). They also had a system of roads to enhance trade. Their road system was around 10,000 miles. It facilitated communication, trade and the movement of troops.

The Aztec religion consisted of around 128 major deities. They recognized the duality in all things; thus each deity had a female consort. In architecture, they had pyramids. They also practiced art, ceremonies and sacrifices. The gods needed blood nourishment; hence they made up to 20,000 sacrifices at a time. The Incan religion was less brutal. They were tolerant of the local beliefs. Just like the Aztec, they considered the sun to be the highest ranking deity (Duiker and Spievolgel 49). Their popular belief was animistic. They considered mountains, caves, rivers and stones to be the holy shrines.

Even though the Inca and the Aztec declined with the arrival of the Europeans, they staged a resistance to the Spanish. The subordinate groups, however, were loyal to the Europeans. The Spanish started arriving in the kingdom in 1918 (Espinosa 120). The Hernando Cortes, who was the leader of the Spanish during the conquest, (Espinosa 310). The European invasion thus had a great impact on the decline of the Aztec Kingdom. The Incas started declining in the 1400s due to over-extension. The leadership was unable to keep the conquered groups loyal. The Inca kingdom was weakened by the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500. They were defeated by Francisco Pizzaro even though the Inca had an army of more than 20,000 soldiers.

In sum, both the Aztec and the Incas were defeated by the Spanish. They made human sacrifices to their gods and were polytheists. They had advanced engineering and architectural techniques, and developed systems of roads. In both kingdoms, the nobles were the rulers. They both participated in extensive agriculture, and made attempts to produce surplus. Their reaction to the Spanish invasion was through resistance though they were all overpowered, and their kingdoms declined.

Works Cited

Andrea, Alfred, and Overfield James. The Human Record Sources of Global History.6th. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Print.

Duiker, James, and Spievolgel J. World History- Volume I:To 1800.7th. Independence, KY: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.

Espnosa, Antonio V. Compendium and Description of the West Indies, Volume 102.Washington DC: Smithsonian Institute, 1942. Print.

Sahagun, Bernardino, and Anderson Arthur. General history of the things of New Spain, Volume 7.Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research, 1976. Print.