Download Latin America: Shaped By History

Early Civilizations
Mayan Civilization and Culture
 The Mayas built great cities that were also religious
centers. Two of these cities were Copan in presentday Honduras and Tikal in Guatemala. Large
pyramid-shaped temples, where Mayas worshipped,
stood in the center of the cities.
Science, Technology, and Religion
 The most important Mayan crop was maize, or corn,
which was the main food in the Mayan diet.
 Mayan priests studied the stars and planets and
designed an accurate calendar, which they used to
decide when to hold religious ceremonies.
 They also developed a system of writing using signs
and symbols called hieroglyphics along with a number
system similar to the present-day decimal system.
The calendar dates back to at least the 5th
century BC and is still in use in a few Mayan
communities today.
The Mayan calendar moves in cycles with
the last cycle ending in December 2012. This
has often been interpreted as "the world will
end" on 21 December 2012, at 11:11 UTC.
Count down the seconds to “the end”
The best doomsday prophecies in history
The last day of the Mayan calendar
corresponds with the Winter Solstice (or
December Solstice), which has played a
significant role in many cultures all over the
world.
The Maya didn't invent the calendar, it was
used by most cultures in pre-Columbian
Central America – including the Maya –
from around 2000 BC to the 16th century
The Great Mystery of the Mayas
 About 900 A.D. the Mayas suddenly left their cities,
but no one knows why. Crop failures, war, disease,
drought, or famine may have killed many, or perhaps
people rebelled against the control of the priests and
nobles. They Mayas left their cities, but stayed in the
region and millions of them still live in the countries
of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El
Salvador.
Aztec Civilization and Culture
 Another ancient civilization is the Valley of Mexico
which is located in Central Mexico. The Aztecs found
a permanent home in 1325 when they settled on an
island in Lake Texcoco. They changed the swampy
lake into a magnificent city, which they called
Tenochtitian.
Aztecs expand their empire
 In the 1400’s, Aztec warriors conquered other people in
the region. They forced the people they conquered to
pay tribute, or taxes. Tribute was paid in food, cotton,
gold, or slaves. The Aztecs grew rich from the tribute.
Aztec Science and Technology
 Tenochtitlan was a center of trade and learning. Aztec
doctors made more than 1,000 medicines from plants.
Aztec astronomers predicted eclipses and the
movements of planets. Aztec priests kept records
using hieroglyphics similar to those used by the
Mayas.
Incan Civilizations and Culture
 In about 1200, the Incas settled in Cuzco, a village in
the Andes that is now a city in the country of Peru.
Most Incas were farmers who grew maize and other
crops. The Incas won control of the entire Cuzco
Valley, one of many valleys that extend from the Andes
to the Pacific Ocean.
Incan Accomplishments
 The Incas were excellent farmers, builders, and
managers. They built more than 19,000 miles of roads.
The roads went over some of the most mountainous
land in the world. They increased their farmland by
building stone terraces into the sides of steep slopes
and aqueducts, pipes or channels designed to carry
water from a distant source. Aqueducts allowed the
Incas to irrigate land to grow crops.
European Exploration: Short and
Long Term Effects
Europeans Arrive in the Americas
 Columbus asked Spain to sponsor a voyage, and he set sail
in early August 1492. On October 12th, he spotted land.
Columbus thought he had reached the East Indies in Asia,
but in fact the land he saw as an island in the Caribbean
Sea.
 In 1494, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of
Tordesillas. The treaty set an imaginary line called the Line
of Demarcation. It gave Spain the right to settle and trade
west of the line. Portugal could do the same to the east
side. The only part of South America that was east was
Brazil. Because of the Treaty of Tordesillas, the language
and background of Brazil are Portuguese.
 The Spanish gave the conquistadors, or conquerors, the
right to hunt for treasure.
Cortes Conquers the Aztecs
 In 1519, Hernan Cortes sailed to the coast of Mexico in
search of treasure. He brought a small army of 500 men
and 16 horses with him. The Aztec ruler Moctezuma heard
that a strange ship was offshore and sent spies to find out
about it. The spies who had never seen horses before,
described the Spanish as “supernatural creatures riding on
hornless deer, armed in iron, fearless as gods.”
 Spanish soldiers killed some Aztecs and the battle began.
Moctezuma was killed, and with the help of native groups
who were enemies of the Aztecs. In 1521, the Aztecs
surrendered after nearly 240,000 Aztecs and 30,000 of
Cortes allies had died. The Aztec Empire lay in ruins.
Pizarro Conquers the Incas
 Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador. He
heard stories about the rich Incan kingdom in South
America, so in 1531, Pizarro set sail with a small force of
180 Spanish soldiers. Pizarro captured and killed the
Incan emperor and other leaders. By 1535, Pizarro had
conquered most of the Incan empire, including the
capital, Cuzco.
Colonization: Spain Organizes Its
Empire
Spain divided its territory into provinces and setup a
strong government. The two most important
provinces were New Spain and Peru. The capital of
New Spain was Mexico City and Lima became the
capital city of Peru.
Mestizos, people of mixed Spanish and Native
American descent, lived on the outskirts of the city.
The Spanish forced them and the Native Americans to
work on haciendas, which is a plantation owned by
Spainards or the Catholic Church.
The Effect of European Rule
 Spain gave its settlers rights to demand taxes or labor
from the Native Americans. Many Native Americans
died from overwork, malnutrition, and European
diseases. In 1519, New Spain had a Native American
population of 25 million. Only 3 million survived the
first 50 years of Spanish rule.