Transcript Kelly`s Powerpoint

The Conquistadors and the
Decline of the Native Americans
of Central and South America
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By: Kelly Ward
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Standards
• 5.2 Identify the three major pre-Columbian civilizations
that existed in Central and South America (Maya, Aztec,
and Inca) and their locations. Describe their political
structures, religious practices, and use of slaves.
• 5.4 Explain why the Aztec and Inca civilizations declined
in the 16th century.
• A. the encounters between Cortez and Montezuma
• B. the encounters between Pizarro and the Incas
• C. the goals of the Spanish conquistadors
• D. the effects of European diseases, particularly
smallpox, throughout the Western hemisphere
Aztecs
The Aztecs were a Native
American tribe that lived in the Valley of
Mexico, which is also Central Mexico.
Their capitol city was
Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was a strange
city because it was built in the middle of a
lake on a series of islands. Now
Tenochtitlan is Mexico City.
The Incas were polytheistic.
Polytheistic means that they believed in
many gods.
The Aztecs controlled many
other tribes, and forced them to give
money and tribute, and used other tribes
and slaves as a human sacrifice. Human
sacrifice was very important to the Aztecs.
The Aztecs had a pale skinned
god named Quetzacoatl, who they thought
was Hernando Cortez. They welcomed
Hernando Cortez into their Empire.
The Aztecs were brought down
by smallpox.
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Mayas
The Mayas lived on the
Yucatan Peninsula, which is on
the Mexican coast.
They had slaves who
could sometimes gain their
freedom.
They had more than one people.uncw.edu
major city, so it was much harder
for conquistadors to conquer.
The Mayas were
polytheistic, which means that
they believed in many gods.
The Mayan priest
received the top amount of
respect in the Mayan Empire.
The Mayan region did not
contain that much gold.
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Incas
The Incas lived in the west coast
of South America, in the Andes Mountains,
and in Peru.
The Incan capitol was Cuzco,
which is in the middle of the area that the
Incas lived in.
The Incas had no written
language, but they had no spoken
language. Instead of a written language,
they used knots as messages.
The Incas were polytheistic,
which means that they believed in many
gods.
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The Incas practiced animal
sacrifice on llamas, and on special
occasions, there was human sacrifice on
children.
In 1531 when Francisco Pizarro
conquered the Incas, it was easy to get in
to their Empire because the country was
fighting a civil war. A civil war is when
there is fighting between two or more
groups in the same country. The Incas
were fighting about who would be the new
emperor.
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Cortez
Cortez was a Spanish
conquistador and explorer, and he
traveled with around 500 men and 16
horses to conquer the Aztecs in their
capitol city of Tenochtitlan. A
conquistador is one who conquers, and
takes over by force.
The Aztecs were surprised
when they saw Cortez because they
thought that he and the horse that he was
riding was one mythical beast.
The Aztec leader, Montezuma,
thought that Cortez was their god,
Quetzacoatl, and welcomed him.
Cortez took Montezuma
hostage, and he was killed in a battle that
followed. The Spanish were driven away,
but defeated the Aztecs in 1521.
After the Spanish defeated the
Aztec Empire, they destroyed Tenochtitlan
and made a new city called Mexico City,
which is still there today. On the top of the
Incas most holiest place, Cortez and the
Spanish built a church that is still there
today.
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Pizarro
Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador
and explorer, and he traveled with around 180
soldiers and 27 horses to conquer the Inca
Empire. A conquistador is one who conquers
and takes over by force.
The Inca Civilization was giant, with
around 20 million people in it, and the land was
on the west coast of South America. They
lived on a large amount of land, and the Andes
Mountains went all through it.
The Incas were easily taken over by
Pizarro and the Spanish in 1531 because they
were fighting a civil war, which is when two or
more groups in the same country are fighting
with each other.
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The Incan emperor, Atahualpa was
kidnapped and held for ransom. The ransom
was that Pizarro demanded that a room be
filled with gold and silver, or Atahualpa would
not be returned.
The Incas didn’t value gold and
silver like the Spanish did. The Incas valued
cloth more than the metals, which they used
for decoration.
Pizarro tricked the Incas and took
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the ransom, he eventually killed Atahualpa.
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Conclusion
How did the Spanish explorers and conquistadors change
Central and South America forever?
In present day, Spanish is what most of Central and
South America speak, and not their native language.
In present day, most people in Central and South
America are Christian, and no longer worship their many
native gods. They were polytheistic, so they had many
gods that are no longer worshiped.
A lot of Aztec, Inca, and Maya cultures and traditions
have disappeared forever, including sacrifice and their
native building construction.