Mexican History: Background Information for Teachers
I want my students to learn about the history of one of the predecessors of present-day Mexicans, the Aztecs. An abbreviated study of the Aztec people will provide not only an adequate foundation for studying the history of chocolate, but it will also give students factual information about the Aztec Empire.
Aztec Civilization
It is important for students to learn about the Aztec civilization before the Spanish conquest. The Aztec Empire existed between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries and dominated Central and Southern Mexico. During pre-colonial times, the Aztecs thrived largely because of their organization, alliances, and military strength. Rees's Understanding People in the Past: The Aztecs and Steele's The Aztec News both provide colorful pre-colonial maps of the Aztec Empire. (See other sources in "Materials for Classroom Use"). Other objectives for the students include learning about Aztec ceremonies, architecture, gods and religious beliefs, home life, sculpture, picture writing, bartering, and music.
A study of Aztec agriculture will allow the students to see how important chocolate was as a plant in ancient times. Crops grew easily, and they included corn, tomatoes, beans, chili peppers, prickly pears, maguey cactus, and cocoa (or cacao) trees. (5) I will show pictures of these crops as illustrated in Philip Steele's The Aztec News, Pamela Odijk's The Ancient World: The Aztecs, and Mason's If You Were There: Aztec Times.
Aztec music, as observed in many paintings and from precious artifacts (flutes, shell trumpets, gongs, drums), played an important part in Aztec life. Townsend's The Aztecs, Baquedano's Aztec, Inca, & Maya, and Time-Life Books' Aztecs: Reign of Blood & Splendor offer spectacular photographs of architectural ruins, artifacts, and drawings for students to see.
The Aztecs were ruled by kings commonly called emperors. Emperor Moctezume (commonly known as Montezuma II) became ruler of the Aztecs in 1502. He frequently drank chocolatl, which was a cold, bitter drink and nothing like the sweetened chocolate that most are familiar with today. The drink would sometimes be flavored with vanilla and spices. (6) "Sometimes they brought [Montezuma] in cups of pure gold a drink made of the cocoa plant," according to Bernal Diaz Castillo, chronicler of the conquest. (7) Students will enjoy pictures of Aztecs preparing and drinking chocolate in Coe's The True History of Chocolate.
The Aztec Empire was a city-state that Juan González describes as comparable to the sophistication and splendor of Europe.(8) By the early sixteenth century, its capital, Tenochtilán, was one of the world's largest cities. When the Spaniards arrived along the shores of the Aztec territory, a series of battles ensued. Hernán Cortés was leading the Spanish adventurers. The Aztecs were never defeated in open battle. Cortés did not really "conquer" the Aztecs. He actually led a revolt by having neighboring Totonac and Tlaxcalan tribes join him to help him defeat the Aztecs. Likewise, diseases brought by Europeans killed thousands of Native people in Mexico, making European military efforts far easier. When the Aztec Empire came to an end, a new nation, Mexico, was about to be born.(9)
The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs took place in 1521, resulting in both the domination of the Spanish language, and in the infusion of the Spanish language with the thousands of regional varieties of Native American languages, including Nahuatl. This is an important fact for students to know because it will assist them in understanding the origins of the word "chocolate" in relationship to the Nahuatl language. These facts will also help the students understand why the Spanish language is so prevalent in Mexico and how the culture of the Aztec civilization remained with the natives after the conquest.
History of Chocolate
I am interested in this unit topic because chocolate is a favorite flavor and culinary delight among children, and a topic on which I feel they will enjoy writing. I chose the chocolate theme because it seeks to impart a delicious and enticing incentive for writing. The unit also relates to my desire to teach students more about Mexican culture. In its various forms, chocolate is now popular worldwide, but it is important for students to know that it is a gift from Mexico and Central America.
When elementary school students in the United States think of chocolate, they think of it in its smooth, creamy, solid form that is sweetened with sugar and melts when put in the mouth. Chocolate has been an important food in Mexican culture for centuries and is often used in its unsweetened form as a spice in many Mexican dishes.
Mexico City, Oaxaca, Michoacán, and Tabasco are states famous for their production of Mexican chocolate. In Oaxaca, cooks buy cacao beans from local markets and grind them with sugar, cinnamon, and almonds. Many cooks hand-grind the chocolate on a stone metate, a lava-grinding stone that is also used to grind corn for tortillas. They warm the stone over hot coals and work the chocolate paste back and forth with a rock-grinding roller until it is a shiny, clay-like mass. With their hands they pat the mass and mold it into disks. Later, a disk can be chopped and mixed with hot water or milk and beaten or stirred inside a bulb-shaped pot with a narrow mouth called an olla para chocolate. A carved wooden beater called a molinillo is used to help dissolve the chocolate pieces and to create the froth. (10) It is this exact process that is the source of the lyrics of "Bate, Bate Chocolate."
Comments: