Download WHPP Unit 3 Section 6 Age of Exploration Conquest in the Americas

Conquest in the Americas and
Spanish and Portuguese Colonies
in the Americas
Age of Exploration Unit 3 Section 6
TYWL: Analyze the causes for exploration and the effects of
increased global interaction and trade between the nations in Europe,
Asia, Americas, and Africa . Analyze colonization in terms of the
desire for access to resources and markets as well as the
consequences on cultures, population, & environment.
I can: understand how the desire for wealth, resources, markets, and
the Crusades, fueled by advances in technology, leads to global
exploration, exchange of goods & ideas are contributing factors to
mercantilism , capitalism and colonization.
Question of the Day
What triggered the events that resulted in the
formation of the Church of England?
a.
Henry VIII wanted a divorce.
b. Henry VIII converted to Lutheranism.
c.
The pope would not end Church
corruption.
d. The pope rejected the Act of Supremacy.
First Encounters



1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the West
Indies, in the Caribbean.
Spanish conquistadors, or conquerors, followed
Columbus. They settled on Caribbean islands,
seized gold from the Taínos, & forced them to
convert to Christianity.
Meanwhile, smallpox, measles & influenza carried
by the Europeans wiped out village after native
village. Native Americans no immunity.
The Conquistadors
CORTÉS IN MEXICO



Hernan Cortés landed on the Mexican coast in 1519.
Cortés arranged alliances w/ discontented peoples
who hated their Aztec overlords.
Aztec emperor, Moctezuma, thought Cortés might be
a god. He offered tribute (gold & silver) to Cortés
& welcomed him to Tenochtitlán, capital of the
Aztec empire. When relations grew strained, the
Aztecs drove the Spanish out.
In 1521, Cortés returned, captured & demolished
Tenochtitlán, Mexico City is built on its ruins.
PIZARRO IN PERU


Helped by Indian allies, Pizarro captured the
new king, Atahualpa after he had killed
thousands of his followers.
Demanded a ransom for the king, that was
paid, but he killed Atahulapa anyway. The
Spanish then overran the Incan heartland.
Land Claims in the Americas

Trade ships carried goods b/w Europe & the
Americas & Africa. (Triangular Trade)
Why Were the Spanish Victorious?





Superior military technology.
horses
Took advantage of division
Disease
Many Indians believed that the disasters they
suffered marked the end of the world.
Spanish and Portuguese
Colonies in the Americas
Essential Standards: Analyze the causes for exploration and
the effects of increased global interaction and trade between
the nations in Europe, Asia, Americas, and Africa . Analyze
colonization in terms of the desire for access to resources and
markets as well as the consequences on cultures, population,
& environment.
I can: understand how the desire for wealth, resources,
markets, and the Crusades, fueled by advances in
technology, leads to global exploration, exchange of goods &
ideas are contributing factors to mercantilism , capitalism and
colonization.
Ruling the Spanish Empire

California to South America.
GOVERNMENT
 Maintain strict control over its empire.
 Divided into 5 provinces, each of which was ruled by a
viceroy, ruled in the name of the king. The Council of the
Indies helped pass laws for the colonies.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Church worked w/ the gov’t to convert Native Americans
to Christianity.
THE ECONOMY
 Export raw materials only to Spain & buy only Spanish
manufactured goods.
 Sugar cane, grown on plantations
 At first, forced the Native Americans to work, through the
encomienda system.
Colonial Society
New social structure.
 Peninsulares, people born in Spain, were at the top
of society. Hold jobs in the gov’t & Catholic church.
 Creoles, American-born descendents of Spanish
settlers, were next. Owned plantations, ranches, &
mines.
 Mestizos were people of Native American and
European descent.
 Mulattoes were people of African and European
descent.
 Native Americans and people of African descent
formed the lowest social classes.
Challenging Spanish Power


Cities were centers of gov’t, commerce, & European
culture.
To meet need for educated priests, the colonies built
universities.
Colonial Culture
 smugglers traded illegally w/ Spanish colonists.
 Some of these pirates, called privateers, even operated w/ the
approval of European gov’ts.
The Portuguese Colony in Brazil


Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) Portugal claimed Brazil.
 Economy: Sold brazilwood, used to make precious
dye.
Brazilin culture blended European, Native American, &
African.