Transcript Spain Builds an American Empire

Unit 2: The Age of Exploration and
the Atlantic World (1400 – 1800)
Lesson 2: Spain Builds and American Empire
The Voyages of Columbus
 Aug. 3 – Oct. 12,1492
 Landed in the Bahamas
(San Salvador) and
claimed them for Spain.
 He called the Taino “los
indios” or indians.
 Early 1493 he returned to
Spain; he made three
more voyages by 1503
and carried soldiers and
citizens to begin
colonization.
Other Explorers’ Discoveries
 1500 – Pedro Cabral
(Portugal) claims Brazil.
 1501 – Amerigo Vespucci
(Portugal) explores N.E.
Brazil (1507 America
named for him by
German mapmaker)
 1510-1513 – Vasco Balboa
(Spain) – Through
Panama and was first to
see Pacific Ocean.
 1513 – Ponce de Leon
(Spain) explored Florida.
Ferdinand Magellan Goes Around the
World
 1519-1522 – Ferdinand
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Magellan (Portuguese for
Spain) – Sailed around
the world.
5 Ships and 268 men.
Disease and starvation
devastated the crew.
Magellan was killed in
the Philippines.
Only 18 men survived to
complete the journey.
The Ballad of Magellan
Bell Ringer – Who’s Left Out?
 Thus far we’ve learned about 9
Explorers?
1. Bartolomeu Dias
2. Vasco DaGama
3. ______
4. Pedro Cabral
5. ______
6. Vasco Balboa
7. Ponce de Leon
8. Ferdinand Magellan
9. Hernando Cortez
Spain Conquers Mexico (1519)
 Hernando Cortez
landed in Mexico
looking for wealth.
 He was the first
conquistador or
“conqueror.”
 He led a force of 600
men & 16 horses to
Tenochtitlan – the
Aztec capital city after several weeks of
marching.
How did Cortez Defeat the Aztecs?
 Montezuma II believed Cortez
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was a god (1519 – The Year of
Quetzalcoatl).
Surprise attack in 1520 during a
festival (Aztecs countered and
drove him back).
Cortez built alliances with tribes
that hated harsh Aztec customs.
Spain had superior weaponry.
Diseases – smallpox, measles, &
mumps – 24 million died by 1605!
Spain Conquers Peru (South America)
 1532 – Francisco Pizarro and
200 ambushed the Incas &
captured Atahualpa their ruler.
 He paid ransom of 1 room full
of gold & 2 with silver (24 tons)
but they killed him anyway.
 The Incas were in the midst of
a civil war.
 1533 – Pizarro captured Cuzco,
the capital, without a fight.
Other Spanish Conquests
 The Spanish also conquered the
Mayans in the Yucatan of Mexico.
 Francisco Coronado (1540-41)
explored the SW U.S. &
discovered the Grand Canyon.
He found little gold and priests
were assigned to colonize the
new lands which became New
Mexico (TX, AZ, NM, OK, & KN).
 Santa Fe, NM was the first
Christian mission in the SW.
Organization of the Spanish Empire
 5 Provinces (New Spain & Peru were
most important) ruled by a viceroy
appt. by the King of Spain, but
Council of Indies met in Spain and
made laws.
 Encomiendas – grants that allowed
peninsulares (Sp. Settlers) to tax
and/or force Indians to labor. They
promised fair treatment, but many
were abused and worked to death in
mines & on farms.
 Because most peninsulares were male
mixed marriages became common
and yielded many mestizos.
African Slavery and Native Resistance
 Spanish priests like Bartolome
de Las Casas spoke out against
harsh treatment of Indians in
Brief Account of the Devastation
of the Indies. Encomienda
system abolished in 1542.
 Las Casas ironically did
endorse African slavery
instead of Indian slavery.
 The Portuguese in Brazil
found little gold & silver and
grew sugar instead. They used
African slaves to clear forests
and harvest the cane.