Transcript Early American Empires: Educated Guesses

From Columbus to Cortez:
Conquistadors in the “New
World”
Hernan Cortez
Cortez’s life in Spain
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Minor nobility
Sternly religiously Catholic
Studied Latin and law
Biographer notes, “restless, haughty,
mischievous, and given to quarrelling.”
• Left for “New World” at 19 with funds
from parents
A Carib Village
Cortez Invades Cuba
• Cortez given a ranch on Cuba
• Owned several gold mines
• “…extracted a great deal of gold with
labor of his Indians and soon was
rich…”
Cortez invades Mexico
• Cortez speaks to his men upon leaving Cuba for
Mexico, recorded by Lopez de Gomora: “Certain it is,
my friends and companions, that every good man of
spirit strives, by his own effort, to to make himself the
equal of the excellent men of his day and even of the
past. And so it is that I am embarking on a great and
beautiful enterprise, which will be famous in times to
come, because I know in my heart that we shall take
vast and wealthy lands, people such as have never
been seen, and kingdoms greater than those of our
monarchs.”
Spanish map of Tenochititlan
before its destruction
Cortez’ Conquest
• Cortez’s army: 600-2,000 men, 15 horsemen,
15 cannons, alliances with oppressed cities.
• Aztec army of 80,000-100,000
• Casualties during the siege of Tenochtitlan:
100,000 Aztecs, 500 Spaniards, 5,000-10,000
native Mexicans
Aztecs
• 1350s-1520s
• Capital city of Tenochtitlan, modern-day
Mexico City, on an small island in Lake
Texcoco
• City-state with military-based tribute
from surrounding areas
Palace of Moctezuma
Tenochtitlan
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Population of 200,000
Chinampas - Floating Gardens
1,000 sanitation workers
Series of dykes and three causeways
Irrigation to bring fresh water to the city
Canals between gardens
Cortez: “World’s most
beautiful city”
Cortez’s Conquest
• 1519 - Arrival
• Small pox outbreak in Tenochtitlan kills
20,000-40,000 people
• Moctezuma II expands Aztec empire to
its greatest size, abolishes meritocracy,
widens the gap between nobles and
commoners
Influence of Moors in Spain
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Mathematics and architecture
Arabic numbering system
Universities and degrees
Agriculture: new crops included sugar
cane, rice, citrus fruit, apricots, cotton,
artichokes, and saffron
• First windmills
Mosque of Cordoba: Spain
Expulsion of Moors from
Spain
• Culture of war prevailed– prized soldiers
• Era of exploration
• Profit motivated search for goods: silk,
spices
• Gold: provided earthly comfort and
contributions to the church purchased
heaven
Who Were the Moors?
The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of the Iberian
Peninsula, which includes Spain and Portugal.
The Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 711 and called the
territory Al-Andalus, an area which at its peak included what is
most of Spain and Portugal, and parts Southern France.
The religious differences between the Moorish Muslims and the
Christian Kingdoms of Europe resulted in centuries long conflicts.
In1492 after much conflict, Muslim rule ended in Spain and
Portugal and the Christian Kingdoms expelled the Moors.
What Happened When Spain
Ruled?
The Spanish, under King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella, forced the remaining Jews to leave
Spain, convert to Roman Catholic Christianity or
be killed for not doing so.
To exert social and religious control, in 1480,
Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to allow the
Inquisition in Spain.