Transcript Spain Builds an Empire

Spain Builds an Empire
Section 4-1
Spain Looks West
Because of the fierce trade competition in the east, the Spanish
looked elsewhere for wealth
 Christopher Columbus-a sea captain that came up with the plan to
sail west across the Atlantic and find an alternate route to Asia
 He landed in the Caribbean and would eventually led several more
expeditions to the Americas and began to establish colonies (he
went from explorer to empire builder)
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Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan set sail to explore the Pacific Ocean for
Spain
 He took 250 men and 5 ships around the Southern tip of
South America into the Pacific Ocean
 18 men and 1 ship made it home and they became the 1st
persons to sail around the globe
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Conquistadors
Spanish explorers who went to the
Americas in such of gold and other riches
 They were the 1st European settlers in
America
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Cortes Conquers the Aztecs
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Hernando Cortes led an expedition into the Aztec empire to
obtain the vast reserves of gold there
Montezuma thought Cortes was a god, but eventually the
Aztecs rebelled against the Spanish
Cortes defeated the Aztecs and took the Aztec gold for himself
Reasons for the Aztec Defeat
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Superior weapons (guns and cannons vs. arrows)
Help from other native groups under Aztec rule
European diseases (Measles, mumps smallpox, and
typhus) This was the most potent weapon for Cortes
Pizarro and the Incas
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Pizarro and his men ambushed the Incan leader, Atahualpa,
and kidnapped him
Atahualpa offered a huge ransom for his release
When the Spaniards got the ransom, they killed Atahualpa
and captured the Incan capital with little trouble
Spain’s Pattern of Conquest
Spaniards drew from the reconquista of
Spain from the Muslims
 They lived with the natives and imposed
Spanish culture onto them
 This led to a mixing of Spanish men and
native women which created a large
mestizo or mixed population
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The Encomienda System
Work system in
which native people
farmed, ranched, or
mined the land for
Spanish landlords
 Many natives were
abused and taken
advantage of
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Conquistadors Push North
Expeditions into the Southwestern US
(New Mexico) to obtain more land and
riches began after the successes in South
America (New Spain)
 But because there was not much in the
way of wealth in this area, the Spanish
were more concerned with spreading
Christianity
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Natives Resist
Some Spanish priests spoke against the
harsh treatment of the Natives during the
colonization of the Americas
 The Spanish soldiers and priests burned
sacred artifacts and prohibited native
rituals
 This led some groups to rebel against the
Spanish
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