Name Class Date

The Early Americas Biography

Tlacaelel
c.13901481

WHY HE MADE HISTORY Tlacaelel was the

power behind the throne during the reign of
three important Aztec kings. It was Tlacaelels
advice to these kings that led to the greatness
of the Aztec Empire.

As you read the biography below, think about

how Tlacaelels persuasiveness helped him influ-
ence the Aztec rulers and bring about great
The Granger Collection, New York
changes to Aztec society.

Tlacaelel was an important counselor to three VOCABULARY

Aztec rulers. He advised them to take the steps that destined determined
shaped the history of the Aztec people. The Aztec in advance
Empire would perhaps never have reached the botanical about plants
greatness it did if not for Tlacaelel.
Tlacaelel was the nephew of the Aztec king
Itzcatl. He served as prime minister to Itzcatl
and to the two kings who followed, Moctezuma I
and Axayacatl. Tlacaelel was such a powerful and
influential person that the nobles wanted him to
become king when Itzcatl died. Tlacaelel declined.
When Moctezuma I died, Tlacaelel was again asked
to become king. However, Tlacaelel preferred his
role as the power behind the throne, so he never
accepted the kingship.
Earlier in their history, the Aztecs were a weak
tribe. Even at the time of Tlacaelel, the Aztecs
were frequently attacked by their more organized
neighbors. They were almost ready to surrender to
one of the neighboring tribes, but Tlacaelel opposed
the surrender. When he went to that tribe to talk
about the terms of the surrender, he instead

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7 The Early Americas

5622_MSH_Biography_Ch16a.indd 7 6/28/05 6:38:37 PM

Name Class Date

Tlacaelel, continued Biography

declared war. Although the commoners disagreed

with him, tribal leaders and the army backed
Tlacaelel. The Aztecs won the war that followed.
Tlacaelel then took it upon himself to change the
way the Aztecs looked at themselves. He visualized
the Aztecs as the tribe chosen by Huitzilopochtli,
the god of war, to conquer and dominate other
tribes. He needed to convince the people that they
were the chosen ones, destined to conquer in the
name of Huitzilopochtli. In order to accomplish his
vision, Tlacaelel convinced the tribal leaders to burn
all of the books containing Aztec history up until
then. Tlacaelel then introduced new and revised
version of Aztec history. This new history was
embraced and supported by the tribal leaders.
In this new version, the Aztecs had to serve their
god, Huitzilopochtli, by conquering other nations
and taking prisoners to be used for human sacrifice.
The concept of human sacrifice was greatly stressed.
Aztecs were told that it was necessary to invade and
attack others constantly in order to have enough
victims for sacrificial ceremonies. People were told
that Huitzilopochtli would die unless he was fed
with human blood. If Huitzilopochtli died, the sun
would also die. If the sun died, the people would
die. To the Aztecs, it was obvious that they had to
undertake constant wars and invasions to extend
the empire to satisfy Huitzilopochtli.
Rewriting Aztec history and religious thought
was Tlacaelels most notable contribution to Aztec
society, but it was not his only contribution. As
prime minister, he reformed the judicial system and
army. Tlacaelel also changed the royal court and the
economic system. He had an extensive botanical
garden built. Even though he never served as king,
Tlacaelel was the true power behind the throne for
many years until his death around 1481.

Copyright by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

8 The Early Americas
Name Class Date

Tlacaelel, continued Biography

WHAT DID YOU LEARN?

1. Recall What was Tlacaelels most notable achievement in Aztec society?

2. Summarize In what other ways did Tlacaelel benefit the Aztecs?

3. Draw a conclusion Why do you think Tlacaelel placed emphasis on human sacrifice?

ACTIVITY
4. Imagine that you are prime minister during the Aztec empire. How would you
advise the king? Make a chart with three areas: religion, economics, and the army,
and list the suggestions you would give the king under each category.

Copyright by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

9 The Early Americas
 The Early Americas
Vocabulary Builder
Section 1
1. observatories; Observatories were places
were you could look clearly at the stars so
that you could study astronomy.
2. maize; Maize is another name for corn
that was used by the early Amerian
Indians.
Vocabulary Builder
Section 2
1. raised roads across water or wetlands;
paths made of rocks covered with dirt
2. Spanish soldiers
3. leader of the Spanish conquistadors
4. Aztec emperor who thought Corts was
a god
Vocabulary Builder
Section 3
Answers will vary but one example is:
In this section I learned about the Inca
Empire. The Inca Empire arose in South
America. The Incas began as a small tribe in
the Andes. In the mid-1400s a ruler named
Pachacuti began to expand the Inca territory.
He did not want the people he conquered to
have too much power. He only used local lead-
ers who he trusted. The official language that
the Incas established was Quechua. All official
business had to be done in Quechua. Because
the rulers controlled Inca society so closely, the
common people had little personal freedom.
Society was divided into the upper and lower
classes. The Incas thought that their rulers
were related to the sun god and never really
died. The Inca temples were grand build-
ings. The Incas were master builders, known
for their expert masonry, or stonework. In
the late 1520s, a civil war began in the Inca
Empire after the death of the ruler. Two of the
rulers sons, Atahualpa and Huscar, fought to
claim the throne. Atahualpa won the war in
1532. Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco
Pizarro attacked and captured Atahualpa and
killed thousands of Inca soldiers.
Copyright by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
37
5622_MSH_Answer Key_Ch16.indd 37
Answer Key
Biography Moctezuma I
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
1. Possible answers: The alliance of
Tenochtitln with its two neighboring
cities, Texcoco and Tlacopan, made by
former king Itzcatl led the way for
Aztec expansion. The Aztecs became
more powerful after the alliance. The
alliance was able to conquer other lands
during Moctezuma Is reign forming a
vast empire.
2. Possible answers: Moctezuma I allowed
the people to keep the profits from their
work. Trade grew because exotic goods
were available from conquered lands.
3. Possible answers: Moctezuma I was a
strong and powerful leader. He was wise
and may not have so easily believed that
the Spanish were gods. Unlike Moctezuma
II, he may have resisted the Spaniards.
Since there were many more Aztecs than
Spaniards, the Aztecs may have won and
driven the Spaniards away.
Biography Tlacaelel
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
1. Tlacaelels most notable involvement in
Aztec society was the rewriting of Aztec
history and religious thought.
2. Possible answer: Tlacaelel served as
advisor to three of the Aztec kings. He
made reforms to the judicial system, the
army, the royal court, and the economic
system. He built an extensive botanical
garden. He was the power behind the
throne for many years.
3. Possible answer: By emphasizing human
sacrifice, Tlacaelel got the Aztecs to attack
other nations in order to secure prisoners
to be used for the sacrificial ceremonies.
This brought about the expansion of the
empire.
The Early Americas
6/28/05 7:09:08 PM