Transcript THE AMERICAS!

Tiffany Chan
Judah Gray
Zafir Hasan
Kevin Lau
Emma Lou
Ali Saad
Period 4
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First and most influential
Mesoamerican civilization
Supported by surplus of corn, beans,
squash. Mastered irrigation
techniques
Polytheistic
Developed system of writing
& calendar. (shamans look at stars
and produce calendar used to
organize
ritual life and agriculture)
Ceremonial center and monumental
construction
Culture legacy: Giant heads made
of basalt
Probably ruled by kings.
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Also polytheistic
Mostly agricultural, but had access to
coast (Peru), so diet included seafood.
Its capital, Chavin de Huantar, located
at intersection of trade routes. Led to
increased trade and construction of
roads, bridges, temples, palaces, etc.
Llamas used as beasts of burden.
Promoted specialization and increased
trade.
Class distinctions: local chiefs, more
powerful chiefs/king, priests.
Metallurgy originates in Andean region
and spreads.
Olmec and Chavin are important
because neither developed near a
river valley and had no contact with
any other major civilizations
developing at the time.
ANASAZI:
 Lived in southwest US: Four Corners (AZ, NM, CO, UT)
 Economy based on maize, beans, squash
 Kivas: underground buildings
Largest Anasazi community was Pueblo Bonito located in Chaco
Canyon. Men do hunting and trade; women shared agricultural tasks,
food preparation, childcare, etc.
 Decline: People evacuate Chaco Canyon because drought.
HOPEWELL:
 Early example of N.American chiefdom-a form of political organization
with rule by heredity leader who held power over collection of
villages/towns. Based on gift giving and commercial links.
 Large mounds built to house burials.
 Decline in 400 CE with the abandonment of major sites, but revived in
Mississippian culture with largest city: Cahokia.
 Had to cope with ridiculous weather. Managed to discover when to plant crops
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and how to freeze dry them.
Coastal regions provide maize, fish, cotton. Mountain valleys produce quinoa,
and potatoes.
Ayllu: clan. Members of ayllu held land communally.
Mit’a: rotational labor system to work on behalf of the ruler and religious
organizations. Each ayllu contributes set number of workers for specific tasks
each year. Built and maintained roads, bridges, irrigation projects, etc.
Different genders have different roles. Men do hunting, military service, and
government; women had responsibilities in textile production, agriculture, and
home.
Moche
 Built irrigation networks and urban centers dominated by brick temples. Had
many skilled artisans.
 Society highly stratified and theocratic. Wealth and power in hands on priests
and military leaders.
 Decline: 6th century: natural disasters (30 year drought and heave rains). New
military power, Wari, put pressure on trade routes that linked coastal region
with highlands.
 Imperial state called “Land of Four Corners”
 Polytheistic, but sun god is most important. Religion has moral quality.
 Built large military (chiefdom) to broaden and expand vertical exchange system
that permitted ayllus to exploit range of ecological niches. Unlike
Mesoamerica, who distributed specialized goods though markets and tribute
relationships .
 Mit’a system surplus for bare necessities of old, weak, and ill.
 LOTS of temples (Machu Picchu).
 Richest temple: Temple of the Sun in Cuzco (capital). Interior lined with gold,
and decorated with gold llamas and corn. Sacrifices demonstrate ruler’s claimed
descent from Sun.
 Khipus (quipu): knotted colored cords for public administration, population
counts, and tribute obligations.
 Didn’t introduce new technology, but increased economic output and added to
region’s prosperity with the use of roads, irrigation networks, and terracing.
 1525: Death of ruler Huayna Capac created struggle for throne. Erupted into a
civil war. Weakened state because of regionalism and ethnic diversity.
Europeans come on the eve of weakened Inca.
600 CE-1500
 This time period, which lasted from 200 to 900 CE, oversaw the rise of several
civilizations, including Teotihuacan and the Maya.
 The Teotihuacan lived in present-day Mexico. At the height of its power, it was the
largest city in the Americas, and was larger than most European and Asian cities at
the time. It was a religious center and commercial power.
 Religious architecture emphasized reverence of nature.
Enormous pyramids were built dedicated to the gods (mainly
the Sun and Moon gods). Temples were often the site of
human sacrifice rituals. Priests were highly regarded.
 Agriculture was essential for survival. Elites organized
the commoners into labor masses. They worked the land,
built irrigation canals, and hillside terraces. Chinampas helped sustain the growing
population (allowed year-round agriculture).
 The elite controlled state bureaucracy, tax collection, and commerce. There was no
single ruler.
 Teotihuacan seems to have exists in a peaceful era. There were no walls or defensive
structures excavated. The military was created to protect long-distance trade and
intimidate peasants to give their surplus crops to the city.
 Teotihuacan collapsed in 750 CE.
 The Maya occupied the area that is present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala,
Belize and Honduras.
 Never created a single unified state even though everyone shared the same culture.
Mayan territory existed in rival kingdoms (city-states) led by hereditary rulers.
They struggled for regional dominance (much like the Mycenaean Greeks)
 Mayan farmers also used irrigation, drained swamps, and built hillside terraces.
 Pyramids stood at the center of plazas for religious and political rituals. They
represented mountains reaching for the heavens and
the doorways were portals to the underworld. Elites
were generally the priests.
 Mayan military forces sought to capture people
rather than territory. Elite captives were sacrificed and
captured commoners were laborers.
 Women were central to religious rituals in the household and acted as healers/
shamans, tended the household and managed family life.
 The Mayan contributed to the development of the Mesoamerica calendar,
mathematics, writing, and astronomy. Scribes recorded aspects of Mayan life in a
hieroglyphic inscription.
 The Toltecs heavily influenced the Aztecs. They had great military
achievements and violent political and religious rituals.
 Their political capital was located at Tula, in modern-day Mexico. It was
founded in 968 CE.
 Two chieftains (kings) shared power; the division of responsibility eventually
weakened Toltec power.
 Public buildings and temples were depicted with scenes of warriors and human
sacrifice rituals.
 Suffered internal power struggles and military threat from the north during the
declining years after 1150.
 The Toltec civilization collapses in 1175 and Tula is destroyed.
 The Mexica migrated to central Mexico after the collapse of the Toltecs. They were
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organized as an altepetl (ethnic state) led by a tlatoani (ruler). A group of calpolli
were the foundation of the altepetl. It controlled land allocation, tax collection
and local religious life.
The Mexica migrated to Lake Texcoco ca. 1325 and built twin capitals Tenochtitlan
and Tlateloco (foundations of modern Mexico City). Three causeways connected
the island capital to the lakeshore.
Military success and alliances allowed the Mexica to become the Aztec Empire.
Monarchial system; a council of powerful aristocrats selected new rulers from a
ruling lineage. The new ruler showed his divine mandate by undertaking a series
of conquests. War provided rulers with legitimacy and increased prestige of
warriors. Commoners could achieve social mobility through success in warfare.
Women had substantial power and influence (seen as founders of lineages)
Great inequalities in wealth and privilege was common
Merchants controlled long-distance trade (traded gold, jewels, feathers, cacao and
skins), provided political/military intelligence for the elite and were very wealthy
but had no privileges. Commerce was based on bartering.
Tribute system on conquered peoples (required to give food to empire)
Believed human sacrifice was essential to aid the Sun God
Spaniards arrive in 1519 during Montezuma II’s rule.
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Based out of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec civilization was born in the 12th century, and flourished until
1521, when the capital city fell.
The Aztec were very warlike and barbarous, and were in a nearly constant state of fighting, and as
such, their military was brutal and merciless.
Religion was paramount in all levels of Aztec civilization, and their practices and pantheon
reflected their way of life.
o The Aztec's chief deity was Huitzilopochtli, the "left-handed hummingbird" and the god of
the sun, war, and human sacrifice.
o Aztec rituals and festivals were particularly barbaric as well, and they had entire holidays
devoted to killing.
o Human sacrifice was a tenet in Aztec society, and victims were
usually tied to a stone, chopped to pieces, and either burnt as
an offering, or eaten as ritual cannibalism.
The Aztecs had a rigid monarchy, in which the king had absolute
power, and collected a tribute from local authorities. Any resistance
to the king's absolute rule was put down mercilessly.
Women were held in higher regard than in other societies during the
time, and women who died during childbirth were held in the same
high regard as soldiers who died in battle.
The Aztec were economically dependent on agriculture, and invented
chinampas, or "floating gardens", which they used to grow crops in the
swampy areas surrounding the cities.
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The Mayan civilization occupied much of the Yucatan Peninsula, but the southern tribes were wiped
out in the 11th century due to drought. The northern tribes continued to grow until the 16th century,
until they were subjugated by the Spanish conquistadors.
The Mayans are venerated for their advanced studies of astronomy and astrology, and were known for
constructing astronomical study centers, and the first to incorporate the mathematical concept of the
zero.
The Mayans also were known for their religious beliefs, well-known Mayan deities being Kukulkan, the
feathered serpent, Awilix, goddess of the moon and the underworld, and the deified "Hero Twins",
Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
o The Mayans also engaged in sacrifice, but not human to the extent of the Aztec. They also used
their religious rituals and practices to further their astrological studies, and incorporated it into
their architecture.
o The Maya were also well known for their ballgame, in which the Hero Twins defeated the lords
of the underworld, and which was replicated for recreation; however, losers were executed.
Mayan civilization was organized into city-states, each of which was centered
around a ceremonial site. Each city-state was ruled by a king, who claimed
divine right and claimed to be able to commune with the gods through a
bloodletting ritual.
Mayan priests were held in high regard, as were soldiers. Slave labor was
commonplace, and were usually prisoners of war.
Mayan society was patriarchal, and women tended to the housework and the
household's agricultural endeavors, which centered around maize, cacao, and
cotton.
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By far the most peaceful of the three Latin American civilizations, the Inca Empire was created in
the 1430s until its fall at the hands of the Spanish in 1532.
The Empire was based in its capital of Cusco, but is most famous now for the construction of
Machu Picchu, which used an expansive system of hydraulics, irrigation, and canals, both to power
the city, and to prevent erosion of the Andes mountain it was built on.
The religion of the Inca is not as well-defined as that of the Maya or the Aztec, but has one chief
deity: Inti, the sun god, who was seen as the patron deity of the Inca Empire
The Inca are well known for their labor system: the mita, which required each citizen to work a
certain amount of hours for the state.
The Inca had a strong centralized government and was led by a king, who was believed to be a god
incarnate.
The government used the "hostage system", in which the members of the elite ruling class were
forced to live in Cusco with the king to limit corruptive influence.
Unlike the Maya and Aztec, Inca society recognized parallel descent; both men and women could
pass down property rights and inheritance, although men were still in a higher social stratum than
women.
Women paid tribute to the king with jewelry, textiles, and pottery, but there
was a notable lack of merchant activity, as the government controlled the
distribution of resources throughout the empire.
The Inca made innovations in the agricultural field to facilitate crop growth,
the most notable being the creation of terraces in the mountains to increase
the amount of arable land for crops.
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In the mid-1500s, the Spanish conquistadors arrived on the shores of what is now Latin America.
The Spaniards, who had superior militaristic technology and fighting prowess, easily dispatched
with the native civilizations and established colonies there, forming the Viceroyalty of New Spain
in Mexico, and the Viceroyalty of Peru in South America.
Among the conquistador party were many missionaries, who zealously spread Catholicism to the
pagan, polytheistic "heretics". Thousands of baptisms were performed in the Viceroyalties after the
falls of the Inca, Aztec, and Maya, and any polytheistic adherents were brutally punished to the
fullest extent of the Catholic Church's power.
o Diego de Landa, a particularly zealous Franciscan monk, spearheaded the Mayan conversion
efforts, and burned thousands of Mayan religious texts in an effort to completely stamp out
the religion in the area.
 This has severely limited our modern knowledge of the Mayan religion.
The Spaniards also brought disease with them, especially smallpox.
The natives had no immunity to the new plague, and hundreds of
thousands of Amerindians died to the European diseases, completely
ravaging the native population.
After the subjugation of the natives, the Spaniards proceeded to grow
their colonies. The Church had major influence in every aspect of
Spanish colonial life, and controlled much of the public services of the
Viceroyalties, including the schools and banks, and had major influence
in governmental affairs.
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Amerigo Vespucci-Explored South America, realized not part of
Asia. America named for him.
Ponce de Leon- 1513- explored Florida in search of fountain of
youth
Basco de Balboa- 1513- explored Central America and saw the
Pacific Ocean
Ferdinand Magellan-1519-Sailed around tip of South America to
Pacific Ocean.
Giovanni da Verrazano-1524-explored North America’s coast
John Cabot- 1597- explored North American coast
Henry Hudson-1609-Looked for a northwest passage to Asia,
explored Hudson River
Main reason(s) for exploring: wealth, spread Christianity, and/or
finding a faster way to Asia.
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1519: Cortes lands on the coast of Mexico with 600 men. Landed in Aztec
empire.
Aztec used conquest of neighboring communities for human sacrifices;
loathed and hated Aztec, so they cooperated with the Spanish.
Montezuma, Aztec ruler, thought Cortes was a god because of his pale skin
and skinny legs. Gave gifts to Corte. Spaniards main motivation for exploring
the New World was for gold and spices, so they took advantage and seized
Montezuma and began a siege of Tenochtitlan.
Although Aztec have strong military, smallpox quickly killed them. Plus, the
Spaniards had superior weapons and support from Aztec enemies.
1525- Spaniards seize control.
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Same thing happens in Inca Empire.
1531-Franciso Pizarro searched for Incas with 200 men. Atahualpa, new Incan
ruler who kills his brother to take the throne, is captured alive. Agrees to buy
his freedom from the Spaniards. Still executed, but Spaniards ensure he dies as
a Christian
1535- Pizarro gains control of region through disease, superior weapon, and
enemy help.
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The Spanish Viceroyalties continued to grow, using the subjugated Amerindians as
slaves. The Spanish created a new social hierarchy, with the European born
peninsulares at the top, creoles right below them (those born in Latin America with
Spanish parents), mestizos, mixed-heritage Latin Americans, below the creoles, and
the native Amerindians at the bottom.
o The Spanish also utilized the encomienda system, which allowed the peninsulares
to hold estates, on which the Amerindians acted as slaves. The slaves were victim
to terrible abuses at the hands of their masters.
The Catholic Church remained influential in the
colonies until the mid/late-1700s, when the
Spanish crown expelled the Jesuits from the
colonies in an effort to diminish the power and
influence of the Catholic Church in colonial
affairs.
La Encomienda
American slaves work
on a Spanish estate
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Exchange of new foods, animals, and resources between Europe and
Americas. From Europe: horses, pigs, goats, sugar cane.
From America: squash, beans, cacao.
Also exchange of weapons, diseases, ideas, and people
Key products of Exchange: SUGAR AND SILVER
o Sugarcane production resulted in development of plantations
throughout Spanish colonies. Increased need for enslaved/forced
labor
o Spanish monopolized world’s silver market from mines in Mexico
and Andes Mountain of Peru.
Spanish control of Latin American silver opened doors in Ming China.
Easier access to Philippines, China, and Pacific trade routes.
1750-Present
 Slavery in the U.S. is weakened by abolition in the north and the end of
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the African slave trade in 1808
Secession of the Confederate States and Civil War within America
Adoption of the Jim Crow laws, segregating blacks in public facilities.
Brazil follows, viewing slavery as an obstacle to economic development
and an impediment to democratic reform
Other importers abolish slavery, often from the influence of Britain
After the African slave trade came to an end, millions of Europeans and
Asians immigrated to the Western Hemisphere. They help foster rapid
economic growth and territorial occupation of frontier regions in the
U.S. Anti-Immigrant Movements arise
Women are angered by the exclusion of their rights in the wake of
antislavery movements, and begin to struggle for equality
 Spinning of the cotton thread ed revolutionized through a series of
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inventions.
Mechanization offers increased productivity for the manufacturer and
lower prices for the customer
Cotton becomes America’s most valuable crop by the 1800s.
Increased profit and efficiency through inventions of steam engine,
railroads, and canals
Greater global connectivity through wire networks
Women’s rights are neglected
Greater division between upper and lower classes
Rise of labor unions and child labor laws
Latin American countries become increasingly dependent on foreign
powers and influence as they struggle to keep up with the world
economy
 White Man’s Burden
 Industrialization stimulates demands for minerals and raw
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materials
Imperialists are successful in their conquests due to
superior technology
Latin America is an attractive target for manipulation by
the industrial powers, including the U.S., through freetrade imperialism.
Extensive railroad networks were established throughout
Latin America
The U.S. sent troops to Cuba and other Caribbean and
Central American republics after defeating Spain in 1898
 President Woodrow Wilson originally intended to stay out of the
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European conflict
The Germans gamble by sinking American ships that carried supplies
to Great Britain, hoping resistance would collapse before American
intervention
Discovery of the Zimmerman note leads the U.S. to formally declare
war on Germany and its allies on April 6, 1917
Allied powers are victorious
Countries in Europe suffer from environmental damage, which the U.S.
manages to avoid
Despite his prominence in the Paris Peace Conference, Wilson is
unsuccessful in his fourteen points, and the Treaty of Versailles is
established.
 The U.S. is drawn into the war with the bombing of Pearl
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Harbor, in which Japan attempted to cripple the U.S. navy.
America fights against Japan on the Pacific Front while
assisting the Western powers in Europe.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing
The U.S. and Soviet Union emerge as the world’s two
superpowers. Conflicts arise between their differing
government systems, leading to the Cold War.
The U.S. assists in the recovery of the European economy
 The American Revolution
 A combination of new taxes and commercial policies were
employed in the British colonies in order to put some of
Britain’s expenses on the colonies’ shoulders. This caused
widespread protests and boycotts in the colonies.
 France joined the U.S. in its struggle for independence.
 New constitutions focused on balancing power among
executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
 Haiti
 People on Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti) were inspired
by the American and French Revolution to complete the first
successful slave rebellion.
 Political turmoil in France weakened the authority of colonial
leaders.
 Revolution was bloody and pitted slaves and free blacks
against planters.
 Toussaint L’Ouverture led revolution in Haiti and by 1804
Haiti had gained independence.
 Latin America
 Napoleon’s invasion of Spain (1808) and Portugal (1807) undermined the power
of the kings and caused fighting between local juntas and colonial leaders.
 Simón Bolívar was the military leader of a junta in Venenzuela.
 Bolívar freed Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
 José de San Martín led battles against Spanish forces in Chile and Peru
 In Mexico, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Jose Maria Morelos led the
revolutions against Spain until they were executed.
 Agustin de Iturbide was a loyalist commander who formed alliances with rebels
to declare Mexico’s independence.
 In Brazil, King John VI left his son, Pedro I, in Brazil while he returned to
Portugal. Pedro I declared Brazilian Independence without any bloodshed.
 Latin American countries were not used to democracy because they were not
ruled under democratic systems when they were colonies. Therefore, democracy
often failed in Latin American countries and dictatorships often prevailed.
 Was a period of political and military tension between the U.S and its allies and the
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Soviet Union and its allies.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a military alliance of Western
European states and the U.S. against Soviet Russia and its allies (1949).
The Warsaw Pact was an alliance between Soviet Russia and its allies in response to
NATO (1955).
United States
U.S. adopted the policy of “Containment” in which it sought to stop the spread of
Communism
Korean War was the first “Hot War” of the Cold War. South Korea was supported by
U.S. and its allies. N.Korea was supported by Soviet Union and China (1950-1953).
Vietnam War was seen as a U.S. failure. At the end of the war, Vietnam became
communist. “Domino effect” justified intervention in Vietnam. If one southeast country
fell the rest would fall.
 U.S. supported Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in Iran because he embraced
Western governments and culture. U.S. was afraid that Iran would turn to Soviets
for help (1950s).
 In Afghanistan, the U.S. supported Afghan rebels against the Soviet Union (late
1970s).
 Latin America
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Guatemala
 Jacobo Arbenz Guzman advocated for land reform in Guatemala and tried to reduce
U.S. political influence.
 U.S. thought he was seeking closer ties with Soviet Union so the CIA staged a military
coup in Guatemala which overthrew Arbenz, but left Guatemala with decades of
political instability and violence.
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Cuba
 In Cuba, the CIA trained Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro. Efforts to overthrow
the government led to the Cuban Missile Crisis in which nuclear weapons were
deployed in Cuba. The missiles were eventually removed.
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The U.S. often supported anti-communist regimes in Latin America to prevent communism
from spreading.
 In Argentina, the U.S. supported a dictatorship which participated in the Dirty Wars in
which the dictatorship purged its political enemies.
 In Nicaragua, Sandinistas took power in 1979 and sought to imitate the economies of
Cuba and the Soviet Union. U.S. financed the Contras who were against the
Sandinistas.
 In El Salvador, the FMLN was a guerilla movement that was about top take power.
However, the U.S. trained the El Salvadoran army to combat the FMLN
 Bulliet, Richard, et al. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Boston, MA:
Wadsworth, 2011. Print.
 "Teaching With Documents: The Zimmermann Telegram." National Archives. N.p., n.d.
Web. <http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/zimmermann/>.
 "HistoryWorld Timelines." HistoryWorld Timelines. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
<http://historyworld.net/timesearch/default.asp?conid=2>.