Transcript Conquest in the Americas

Conquest in the Americas
Bringing the Old World to the New
Objectives
Students will analyze the first encounters
between the Spanish and Native Americans
Students will describe the short-term and longterm effects of the Spanish on the peoples of the
Americas.
Vocabulary
conquistador: Spanish explorers who claimed lands in the
Americas for Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries
immunity: natural protection, resistance (to disease)
Tenochtitlán: capital city of the Aztec empire, on which
modern Mexico City was built
alliance: formal agreement between two or more nations or
powers to cooperate and come to one another’s defense
civil war: war fought between two groups of people in the
same nation
FIrst Encounters in the
Americas
Columbus’ journey opened door for Spanish
exploration and expansion - begin cycle of
encounter, conquest and death
First encounters with native people found
them to be ‘generous with what they have’ - to
a fault
But didn’t recognize Christian symbols and
pay ‘proper respect’ - inferior
Claimed land for Spain and took prisoners
After - waves of conquistadors
Settled islands of Hispaniola, Cuba and
Puerto Rico
Guns, Horses & Disease
Conquistadors seized Native Americans’ gold
ornaments and forced them to pan for more; forced to
convert to Christianity
Massively outnumbered - hundreds of Spanish;
millions of Native Americans
Advantage: Guns and cannons; metal armor; horses
Disease: Unknowingly infected and killed millions of
Native Americans who had no immunity to diseases
like small pox, measles, influenza, etc.
Cortés Arrives in
the New World
Eventually leave the islands of the Caribbean and probe the
mainland
One of the first was Hernán Cortés - 1519 landed on the
coast of Mexico with 600 men, 16 horses and a few cannons
Begins drive towards Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán
Gets aid of a local woman, named Maliche (later called
Dõna Marina) - serve as translator and guide
Arrange alliances between people the Aztecs had
conquered
Moctezuma Dilemma
Word spread of Cortés arrival and
journey to the capital
Aztec Emperor Moctezuma was worried
that these pale-skinned, bearded
strangers might be Quetzalcoatl
Could Cortés be this God? Unsure.
Tried to bribe him off from coming to
Tenochtitlán - religiously important
Cortés inspired to push on to reach
Tenochtitlán - search for gold & silver
Tenochtitlán Falls
Moctezuma welcomes Cortés to the city as guests
Tensions rise - Spanish scorn Aztec religion and want to convert
them; desire more of the riches
Spanish take Moctezuma prisoner to force him to sign over land and
treasure to the Spanish
Same time - new group of conquistadors arrive to the East to
challenge Cortés
Aztecs drive Spanish out of city in confusion; half the Spanish killed as
well as Moctezuma
Cortés retreats, regroups and assaults Tenochtitlán - demolishes city
Small pox is big reason for it’s fall
Pizarro in Peru
Cortés’s “success” inspired other
adventurers to pursue wealth and
glory
One such was Francisco Pizarro interested in Peru’s Incas (reported
to be greater than the Aztecs)
Arrived in Peru in 1532 just after the
Incan ruler Ahtahualpa had won the
throne in a bloody civil war
Ahtahualpa Stands
his Ground
Ahtahualpa refused to bow to Spanish rule or convert
Pizarro got allies from other Native American’s, captured
Ahtahualpa and slaughtered thousands of Incans
Demanded a huge ransom for Ahtahualpa - Incans paid
Killed him anyway
Pizarro overran Incan homeland - surge through Ecuador
and Chile; before long most all of South America
Pizarro killed by rival conquistadors after he established
Lima as a capital city
Effects of the Spanish
Conquistadors
Great for Spain - with all this wealth brought back from the
New World, Spain became the power in Europe in the 16th
and early 17th century
Native populations - not so good. Slaughter and disease
had massively diminished their populations; demoralized convert to Christianity through fear
Cultural damage has yet to be trully assessed
Precedence for other nations in the path of European
expansion - fear
Melding of cultures - sort of