The most famous conquistador was the Spanish adventurer, Hernando Cortes, who subdued the mighty Aztec Empire of Mexico. The word comes, not surprisingly, from the Spanish verb conquistar, “to conquer.”

: one that conquers specifically : a leader in the Spanish conquest of America and especially of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century.

The word conquistador comes from Spanish and means “he who conquers.” The conquistadors were those men who took up arms to conquer, subjugate, and convert native populations in the New World.

Spanish

Basic Nahuatl Phrases & Greetings

1. Hello: Pialli (pee-ahh-lee)
2. Please: NimitztlaTlauhtia(nee-meetz-tla-tlaw-ti-ah)
3. Thank You: Tlazocamati (tlah-so-cah-mah-tee)
4. Thank You very Much: Tlazohcamati huel miac. (
5. You’re Welcome/It’s nothing: Ahmitla (ahh-mee-tla)
6. Excuse me: Moixpantzinco (mo-eesh-pahntz-ink-oh)
7. How Are You?

Scientists Uncover New Clues. The mysterious epidemic that devastated Aztecs may have been food poisoning. In 1545, an unknown disease struck the Aztec Empire. Over the next five years, the disease—then called “cocoliztli,” or “pestilence”—killed between seven and 17 million people.

In addition to North America’s Native American populations, the Mayan and Incan civilizations were also nearly wiped out by smallpox.

To quickly sum up, the Maya were first but learned a lot from the Olmecs, who started 1,200 years later. The Aztecs followed about 400 years after the Mayan civilization began to shrink.

Today, S. Paratyphi C continues to cause enteric fevers, and if untreated, has a mortality rate up to 15%. Infections are largely limited to developing nations in Africa and Asia, although enteric fevers, in general, are still a health threat world wide.

Epidemics (smallpox, measles, mumps), together with war, and famine have been considered to be the main causes of this enormous population loss. However, re-evaluation of historical data suggests that approximately 60-70% of the death toll was caused by a series of epidemics of hemorrhagic fevers of unknown origin.

The traditional explanation for Aztec human sacrifice has been that it was religious—a way of winning the support of the gods for success in battle. Victories procured even more victims, thus winning still more divine support in the next war.

Meat was eaten sparsely; the Aztec diet was primarily vegetarian with the exception of grasshoppers, maguey worms, ants and other larvae. Even now, some of these insects are considered delicacies in parts of Mexico. Huitlacoche fungus growing on corn. This delicacy is rapidly growing in popularity.

The history of chocolate can be traced to the ancient Mayans, and even earlier to the ancient Olmecs of southern Mexico. The word chocolate may conjure up images of sweet candy bars and luscious truffles, but the chocolate of today is little like the chocolate of the past.

god Quetzalcoatl

Xocolatl

Theobroma cacao tree

Cocoa beans do indeed grow in the USA, but only in very limited areas. There is a narrow band known as the Cocoa Bet or the Chocolate Belt. In fact, there is a burgeoning chocolate industry happening in Hawaii today. South Florida, unlike Hawaii, doesn’t have any commercial cocoa plantations.

cacao tree

Cocoa powder and chocolate are made from an extract of the seeds of the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. In this study, we compared cocoa powder and cocoa products to powders and juices derived from fruits commonly considered “Super Fruits”.

The top four countries responsible for the production of chocolate are the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. It is estimated that, while Western Europe accounts for approximately 35% of total world chocolate production, the U.S. accounts for an additional 30%.

Chocolate is one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world, and many foodstuffs involving chocolate exist, particularly desserts, including cakes, pudding, mousse, chocolate brownies, and chocolate chip cookies. Many candies are filled with or coated with sweetened chocolate.

Like all foods, more processed types of pizza are often higher in unhealthy ingredients than those made from scratch. Frozen and fast-food pizzas can contain ingredients like preservatives, colorings and unhealthy fats. However, all pizzas, no matter how they’re prepared, are typically made using refined wheat flour.