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With the help of trained engineers, builders, and traders, the
Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan became a great city. It had
huge temples, beautiful open plazas, and a huge bustling
central marketplace. By
the mid-1400’s, Tenochtitlan had a population of about
300,000 people, which made it the largest city in the world at
that time!
When
Spanish soldiers first arrived in the Valley of Mexico, they
were amazed at what they found in the capital city of
Tenochtitlan. Everything was clean. There were “eating
houses” and hairdressers. You could buy medicines and herbs
and all kinds of food. You could buy meat and game. There were
streets that sold only pottery and mats.
Painters could buy the paints they needed for their art.
One soldier said, “There
were soldiers among us who had been in many parts of the world,
in Constantinople and Rome and all over Italy, who said that
they had never before seen a market place so large and so filled
with people.”
Cortes,
the leader of the Spanish soldiers, mentioned in one of letters
home that he believed there were more than 60,000 people in the
marketplace buying and selling wares. No one used money. Goods
were bartered and small differences in value were evened up
using cocoa beans! Cortes found the use of cocoa beans quite
amusing. But then, he had never tasted hot chocolate before.
Today, Mexico City is sitting on the site of
the original Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. Mexico City has covered
up the lake. All that is left are small pockets of water, and
underground waterways. This
has caused Mexico City a lot of problems.
Mexico City today is experiencing the same problems as
the ancient Aztecs did long ago. Mexico City is sinking. The
city fathers keep shoring it up. No one wants to lose the city.
It’s an absolutely beautiful city, rich in history and
culture.
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