Imagine you win the Soccer World Cup. Instead of a trophy for your effort and dedication, the whole team gets sent to the gods and you were all right with that. Same sentiment.
They really were a strange, but unique culture. Part of the reason why they tended to start battles a lot was so they could grab prisoners to sacrifice. It's surprising they lasted so long with other nearby territories getting sick of them doing the old: 'knife goes in, heart comes out,' routine as often as they did. The moment Spain entered the picture, they were pretty much fated to die and it goes to show, if you keep bullying your neighbours, you shouldn't be surprised when they end up teaming up against you.
The fact the Tlaxcaltecs and Tetzcocans (the 2 most prominent) allied with people they knew NOTHING about, proves such a point. Also, the tribes that ended up allying early with the Spanish, got better deals than history sometimes gives them credit for they actually got largely left alone to do their own things (despite the smallpox outbreak).
Ironically, while accepting other gods, the Aztecs' unwillingness to expand and colonize other regions like the Roman did prevented them from meeting new tribes. For the Aztecs themselves, being sacrificed was meant to be a big honour, but the fact that other cities suffered the Garland Wars and allied with the Spaniards (through these likely played on their supposed divinity) proves that only the Aztecs considered that to be an honour.
ummm... it is assumed that the sacrifices were to avoid wars that we know that the leader sacrificed himself for his people. There were also other types of sacrifices such as pedophiles, corrupt rulers, serial and zoophilic murderers (they threw the bodies behind the pyramid where the coyolxahuqui stone was, there the nahuales ate them as well as the shamans) and those who did not respect political commerce since if they did not respect it they were sanctioned with death as a charge and the Olmecs left them these political laws to avoid an imbalance due to that and ball games throughout Mexico).
They really were a strange, but unique culture. Part of the reason why they tended to start battles a lot was so they could grab prisoners to sacrifice. It's surprising they lasted so long with other nearby territories getting sick of them doing the old: 'knife goes in, heart comes out,' routine as often as they did. The moment Spain entered the picture, they were pretty much fated to die and it goes to show, if you keep bullying your neighbours, you shouldn't be surprised when they end up teaming up against you.
The fact the Tlaxcaltecs and Tetzcocans (the 2 most prominent) allied with people they knew NOTHING about, proves such a point. Also, the tribes that ended up allying early with the Spanish, got better deals than history sometimes gives them credit for they actually got largely left alone to do their own things (despite the smallpox outbreak).
It's theorized that the human sacrifices were ment to a degree as a form of intimidation to keep the tributary nations in check and prevent rebelions, and it makes a lot of sense becouse it wasn't just the spanish who gave the opresed hope, but the seekness that decimated the aztec population and weakened their army. We only know the "State" side of aztec culture, the one practices by the elites with a lot of political implications, so the day to day religion is almost totaly unknow, we don't know how much the sacrifices actually mattered for the comon folk.
It's theorized that the human sacrifices were ment to a degree as a form of intimidation to keep the tributary nations in check and prevent rebelions, and it makes a lot of sense becouse it wasn't just the spanish who gave the opresed hope, but the seekness that decimated the aztec population and weakened their army. We only know the "State" side of aztec culture, the one practices by the elites with a lot of political implications, so the day to day religion is almost totaly unknow, we don't know how much the sacrifices actually mattered for the comon folk.
I think you're right. We know the religious implications, and that the Garland War left the nobles relatively untouched, but we don't know the reality of the sacrifices. The Aztec book suggests that being sacrificed was considered an honour (and a honorable way to die without killing yourself), but we just assume, we don't know for sure. It's like getting only one side of the story.
