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For God, Gold and Glory
(the 3 G’s)
The Conquest of Latin America
Ancient Latin America:
Civilizations of Mesoamerica
From 1200 B.C. until 1500 A.D., great civilizations
flourished in Mesoamerica, also known as Middle or
Central America.
The Maya were spread throughout the Yucatan
Peninsula, western Honduras, Guatemala, El
Salvador and Belize.
The Aztec were another great civilization that settled
in and around what is now Mexico City.
The Inca rose up in the Andes Mountains of Peru and
conquered the people of the surrounding areas. Their
empire included parts of what are now Colombia,
Ecuador, Bolivia, northern Chile, and northwestern
Argentina.
Once the word spread of riches in the Americas (to
European countries), the hunt for gold was on.
The conquistadors of Spain set out to find gold, spread
the word of God, and claim glory for the crown
(the 3 G’s, again).
The native people of these newly discovered lands were
conquered by conquistadors such as Hernan Cortes and
Francisco Pizarro.
The Maya
• Existed as early as 1600 B.C.
• Their greatest years were
from 250 A.D. until 900 A.D.
• Built great cities in
Palenque, Tikal and Chichen
Itza.
• Built an observatory at
Chichen Itza, as they were
great astronomers.
• They charted planets and
were able to predict
eclipses of the sun.
• Observatory at Chichen
Itza
The Maya, continued…
• Created two calendars: 260 day calendar of
sacred days and a 365 day calendar based on the
sun’s movement.
• Best-developed Latin American written language
based on time and events.
• Codices were the religious books written by the
Maya.
• Created stone trees using hieroglyphs to tell of
wars, conquests, births, and deaths of kings.
• Understood the mathematical concept of zero.
Still more Maya…
• King was head of the state and
ascended through his ancestry
that could be traced to a divine
ancestor
• Civilization followed strict rules
regarding social classes that could
seen in their art and carvings.
• Sacrifice was the core of Mayan
religion. They believed that the
gods rained blood to provide
water and to fertilize the crops,
so they cut themselves to collect
blood to burn in sacrifice.
• They believed in 3 levels of
existence much like JudeoChristians.
Mayan Agriculture
(W.A.I.T.): What is
subsistence
farming?
• The Maya were an agricultural society.
• They practiced slash and burn agriculture in
which the Maya would cut down and burn trees
and plant crops in their place. This was mainly
done with ??subsistence farming?? in mind.
• After a few years, the forest was allowed to grow
back in order for the soil to regain nutrients.
• In addition to the slash-and-burn technique, the
Mayans utilized a method of farming called
terracing : they built up ridges along floodplains
on which to farm since these areas were rich with
nutrients and the ridges prevented crops from
getting too wet.
Terracing in the sides of hills or
Mountains
The Slash and Burn
Technique
The Aztecs
• The Aztecs were made up of a number of
wandering tribes of which the Mexica were
the most dominant.
• They grew in numbers from about 1200 to
1500 A.D. when they were conquered by the
Spanish.
• They settled on the island city of Tenochitlan,
where Mexico City now stands.
Tenochtitlan
The Aztecs, continued…
• The Aztec Empire centered
on warfare.
• All men were required to
join the Aztec army in order
to maintain a powerful
empire and for religious
reasons.
• Dying in battle honored the
war god, Huitsilopochtli.
• Tribes who lost men to the
Aztecs either as sacrifices
or slaves became their
enemies.
Aztec War God
Aztec Agriculture
• Because the majority of the island the Aztecs lived on
was a marsh, they had to find a way to farm that
would produce the crops needed to survive.
• They built chinampas, a kind of floating garden
created by heaping fertile mud on rafts secured
between trees.
The Conquistadors
During the late 15th century and 16th century, following the expedition of
Christopher Columbus, the Conquistadors left Spain to do 3 things:
1. Spread Christianity to the heathens: God
2. Search for fortunes for the crown/government of Spain
and to increase their own wealth: Gold
3. Conquer lands in the name of Spain and gain fame: Glory
The 3 G’s
are back!!!
Hernan Cortes
• Cortes recruited many of the
tribes who were enemies of the
Aztecs, and had superior
weaponry the Aztecs could not
win against.
• In 1519 Cortes captured the
Aztec ruler, Montezuma II, and
enslaved the Aztec people.
• Many that were not enslaved
died of diseases brought by the
Spaniards.
• In 1521 he claimed the Aztec
Empire for Spain and renamed
it New Spain
The Inca
• Lived in the Andes Mountains of Peru as well as the surrounding
areas of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, northern Chile, and
northwestern Argentina ruled from their capital of Cuzco.
• Developed an intricate system of roads built of stone (still in use
today!) to connect all parts of the empire.
• These roads were used by teams of runners to relay messages
across the empire.
• The Inca were master stonemasons who used wooden rollers to
move heavy stone blocks.
• Machu Picchu was built without the use of mortar to hold it
together.
Machu Picchu
Francisco Pizarro:
Conqueror of the Inca
•In 1532, having heard of the riches founded by
Cortes (who was Pizarro’s cousin), Pizarro set out to make a
name for himself (just as his cousin had). He desired to find
treasures and claim land for the crown.
•Pizzaro landed in part of South America, the home of
the Inca in the Andes Mountains of Peru.
•Pizarro defeated the Inca ruler, Atahualpa, and
claimed the empire for Spain.
The Colombian Exchange
The native tribes, the Aztec and the Inca, once conquered, became slaves
in their own lands. They were forced into hard labor, such as mining
silver.
The Spanish grew crops such as corn, peppers and tomatoes (crops never
seen before) and sent them to Spain.
Manufactured products from Spain, especially textiles, were also shipped
to Latin America.
This exchange of culture came to be know as the
Colombian Exchange:
Exchange of goods and ideas between Europe and its colonies in
North and South America, Africa, and Asia.
Tim and Moby: The Maya
• http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worl
dhistory/mayacivilization/
Decline of the Mayan Empire
• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cf
m?guidAssetId=9986C806-A2DE-4747-85CC142DBCCB2898
Tim and Moby: The Aztecs
• http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worl
dhistory/azteccivilization/
http://www.history.com/topics/aztecs
/videos#aztec-sacrifice
Hernan Cortes:
Conquistador and conqueror of
the Aztec
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetI
d=FF601162-0F4E-4E4C-9E5F-5C1DC576EB00
The Inca Empire
• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cf
m?guidAssetId=B4F36384-A49E-44F1-B3C46F834026227C