Download Colonialism in South America

Colonialism in South America
Ms. Hunt
Unit 2
RMS IB 2013-2014
Spanish Colonies
THINK ABOUT IT?- Who lead Spanish
exploration in the New World?
• La Isabella, first Spanish Colony
established by Columbus in 1493.
– Located in present day Dominican Republic
• Colony of Santo Domingo founded in
1496.
– By 1508, 10,000 Spaniards were living there.
• 1511, Spanish establish a colony on the
island of Cuba.
– The Spanish massacre thousands of local
people while conquering the island. (Pope’s
decree- Force to convert to Christianity.)
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
• 1510- founded first
European settlement on
the mainland of the
Americas
– present day Panama.
• The colony, called Santa
María la Antigua del
Darién, lasted only until
1524 when it was burned
down by Indians.
The Spanish come to Mexico
• April 21, 1519- 11 Spanish ships arrive off the
coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, having set sail
from the Spanish colony in Cuba
• Hernan Cortes- leader of the Spanish force
– the force included 550 soldiers and 16 horses
Hernan Cortes- The Conquistador
What is a Conquistador?Conquistadors were Spanish
soldiers and explorers who
came to the new world to seek
glory and wealth.
• Born in 1485 in Spain
• Cortes was a university law
student, when he dropped out
in 1504 and moved to Santo
Domingo
– Seek “gold and glory” in the new
world as a conquistador.
Cortes’ Campaign Against the Aztecs
Cortes gets two lucky breaks
1) Montezuma, the Aztec king,
thought Cortes might be a
god, and welcomed him with
lavish gifts and gold.
2) Discovered a Spanish prisoner
who could communicate with
the Aztecs
What happened?
• The Spanish were impressed
with the grandeur and riches
of the Aztec capital
• But horrified by the barbarism
and cruelty of the Aztecs.
– Cortes immediately decided to
put a stop to the cannibalism
and human sacrifice
• Laid siege to the Aztec capital
and takes the king as hostage
• Aztec people riot and Cortes
forces the Aztec’s to surrender.
Why did the Spanish win?
Predict- The Spanish had a much smaller force,
so why did they win?
• Superior technology- steel weapons, guns,
artillery, horses, steel armor.
• Indian allies – The Aztecs were so hated, it was
easy for the Spanish to recruit the help of
other Indians.
• Disease – European diseases, particularly
small pox, devastated the Aztec population
Conquering the Incas
• Following the example of Cortes, Spanish
conquistador Fernando Pizarro led an
expedition to conquer the powerful Inca
Empire in South America.
• 1530-1532 Pizarro’s expedition fought
along the frontier of the Incan Empire.
• 1532- Pizarro and a force of about 180
men captured the Inca Emperor,
Atahualpa
– Hoping the Spanish will go away, Atahualpa
offers Pizarro a room full of gold, if they
will leave. Pizarro agreed, but instead had
Atahualpa executed.
• By 1541, the Spanish have a vast empire
stretching from present day California
and Florida, to Chile.
People of Spanish Colonies
Spanish Class System
• Peninsulare – Born in Spain.
– Held High Positions
• Criollos – Spaniards born in the colonies.
– Often wealthy, they could not hold government offices.
• Mestizos – People of Spanish and Indian heritage.
– They were poor and without power.
• Africans and Indians – these people were at the
bottom and held no power.
– They were usually slaves.
The Economy of a Spanish Colony
• The Encomienda System- an economic
system set up by the Spanish to make
Spain wealthy off its colonies
• Under this system, Indians did all the
work, like mining, farming, and
ranching for Spanish landlords.
– The Spanish however grew extremely
rich of the gold, silver, coffee, sugar
cane, and other crops the Indians grew
for them.
• The Indians were poor, starving, and
essentially slaves
• Effect- As thousands of Indians died
from starvation, murder, and disease,
the Spanish began to import Africans
as slaves to do much of the work for
them.
Brazil- The Portuguese
Colony
• In 1500, Portuguese Sea Captain,
Pedro Alvares Cabral discovers
Brazil.
– Goal was to reach India.
• The first permanent settlement was
set up by the Portuguese in 1532.
• Economy- Sugar Can Industry
– which led to the importation of
millions of slaves from Africa
• Brazil would become the largest and
most important colony in South
America!
Slavery in the Colony of
Brazil
• More slaves were sent to Brazil than to any other
colony in South or North America.
• In Brazil, slave had many more rights than in
North America.
–
–
–
–
Slaves could marry.
Slaves had to be baptized.
Slave families could not be broken up for sale.
Slaves had many days on which they could either rest
or earn money to buy their freedom.
• The Government encouraged the granting of
freedom of slaves.
• The Portuguese accepted the African slaves as
humans, not as chattel, or property.
Think about it?
• Read the quote.
“the Brazilian slave knew he was a man,
and that he differed in degree, not in kind,
from his master”
• Explain what you think that quote means.
How might that attitude of and about Brazilian
slaves make a difference in Brazilian culture
today?
Reflection
• Choose any option from the “green sheet” at
the front of your Interactive Notebook.
• Complete your reflection on the lined paper
behind your guided notes.