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CHAPTER 15
BEGINNINGS OF OUR
GLOBAL AGE: EUROPE AND
THE AMERICAS
SECTION 1: CONQUEST IN THE AMERICAS
 Focus
Question:
 How did a small number of Spanish
conquistadors conquer huge Native
American empires?
FIRST ENCOUNTERS

Spanish conquistadors

Spanish fighters who vanquished
the Americas
Settled in Dominican Republic,
Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico
 Forced Native Americans to
work and convert to
Christianity
 Settlers had better weapons
 Native Americans had no
immunity to disease

HERNÁN CORTÉS
Cuban
landowner
1519 – Arrived in
Mexico
Explorer who fought
and subdued the
Aztecs
Helped conquer the
Aztecs by forming
alliances
MOCTEZUMA
Aztec emperor
 Feared Cortes and the Spanish
 Imprisoned for riches, signed
over land to Spanish
 Many Spanish, Aztecs and Native
Americans fought for the same
land
 END RESULTS:

Moctezuma killed
 Tenochtitlan destroyed
 Smallpox spread among Aztecs

PIZARRO TAKES PERU
Inca rumored to have
had greater wealth
than the Aztec
 Pizarro arrives in
1532
 Atahualpa




Leader of the Inca
Just won the throne
through a bloody civil
war against his brother
Refuses to be a vassal
or convert to
Christianity

Pizarro-seeks other
native support
Captures Atahualpa
and demands huge
ransom
 Receives ransom and
kills him anyway


The Spanish continue
to spread taking over
most of South
America
EFFECTS OF SPANISH CONQUISTADORS

Spain became largest & wealthiest empire

Hundreds of thousands of Native Americans died

Disrupted entire way of life: religion, power, etc.

Many Indians fought Spanish rule

Native American culture influenced Latin American culture

Changed global encounters – world connected by sea
routes – people, goods and ideas
SECTION 2: SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE
COLONIES IN THE AMERICAS

Focus Question:

How did Spain and Portugal build colonies in the
Americas?
RULING SPANISH EMPIRE
Divided into provinces ruled by viceroys, representatives
who ruled in the name of the Spanish monarchs
 Spread Christianity
 Controlled trade to make the most money
 Encomienda- forcing Native Americans to work under
harsh conditions

Bartolome de Las Casas spoke out against system
 Peons – worked to pay off debt
 Used slave labor from Africa

COLONIAL SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Cultural blending – European, African, Indian
 Layered society – distinct social classes






Peninsulares – born in Spain
Creoles – American-born descendants of Spanish
Mestizos – Native-American and European
Mulattoes – African and European
Africans
Lively towns and cities
 Valued education and Christianity

PORTUGUESE IN BRAZIL
Brazil did not offer immediate
wealth
 Natives –Tupian Indianssuffered from disease
 Portuguese named colony after
Brazilwood
 Culture emerged from Indians,
Africans, Europeans
 Pirates preyed on treasure from
Americas


Privateers- pirates who operated
with the approval of European
governments
SECTION 3: STRUGGLE FOR NORTH
AMERICA

Focus Question:

How did European struggles for power shape the
North American continent?
NEW FRANCE
Jacques Cartier- explorer
who claimed much of
Canada for France
 Furs, trapping, and fishing
popular
 France’s empire reached
from Quebec to Great
Lakes to MS River
 Population grows slowly,
mainly due to harsh
weather conditions


Provided revenues for
parent country
THE 13 ENGLISH COLONIES
1607 – first permanent
settlement at Jamestown
 Pilgrims at Plymouth colony
rejected Church of England



Colonies of Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, and Maryland
were set up mainly as havens
for persecuted protestants
Mayflower Compact
(agreement) – rules to govern
the Plymouth colony
WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT
COLONIES????
STRUGGLE FOR POWER


Spain, France, England and Netherlands all had
colonies in North America
French and Indian War fought between
British and French



George Washington was a leader
Turned into Seven Years’ War and spread into
Europe in 1756 – then to India and Africa
Treaty of Paris (1763) ended war – British
prevailed, gained control of the Caribbean and
most of North America.
SECTION 4: ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

Focus Question:

How did the Atlantic slave trade shape the lives and
economies of Africans and Europeans?
TRIANGLE TRADE
Three-legged international
trade system
 First leg – European goods to
Africa (guns, cloth, cash)
 Second leg (Middle Passage) –
slaves transported to Americas
 Third leg – colonial goods
(sugar, molasses, cotton, furs,
salt fish) traded for European
commodities

MIDDLE PASSAGE
Terrible treatment of
slaves
 Men, women and children
chained to each other
 Many died from starvation,
disease, suicide, pirates or
trying to escape
 The slave ships were

referred to as “Floating
coffins”- due to the amount
of death that occurred
during the voyage
IMPACT OF SLAVE TRADE
Brought wealth to merchants and traders
 Provided labor that made colonies grow
 African states and societies torn apart

Estimated 11 million enslaved sent to Americas
 Another 2 million died


Entire cities/villages gone from Africa
SECTION 5: EFFECTS OF GLOBAL
CONTACT

Focus Question:

How did voyages of European explorers lead to new
economic systems in Europe and its colonies?
COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
Vast global exchange started with Columbus
 New foods and animals
 Population exploded

Partly because of new foods and resources
 Migration expanded


Some populations suffered disease
COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION
Inflation: increase in price linked to sharp increase in
amount of money available
 Price Revolution – period in Europe of inflation
 Capitalism: economic system in which most businesses are
owned privately
 Entrepreneurs: People who took financial risk to make
profits
 Mercantilism: wealth of nation in gold and silver

Increasing national wealth
 Tariffs: taxes on imported goods
