Download ruling chief – one per city 3. Social Structure

1. 300-900 A.D.
2. *located in
southern Mexico &
northern Central
America – began on
the Yucatan
Peninsula
*Tikal – largest city,
thrived from trade
3. Social Structure
-ruling chief – one per
city
3. Social Structure
-ruling chief – one per
city
-nobles – military leaders &
government officials
3. Social Structure
-ruling chief – one per
city
-nobles – military leaders &
government officials
-priests – in charge of ritual ceremonies
3. Social Structure
-ruling chief – one per
city
-nobles – military leaders &
government officials
-priests – in charge of ritual ceremonies
-farmers – paid taxes
4. Major Developments
*accurate 365-day calendar
(based on the sun)
*numbering system with
concept of zero
*hieroglyphic writing
(picture writings carved in
stone or bark)
*towering pyramid temples
in which priests performed
sacrifices (tallest structures
in Americas until
skyscrapers)
5. Decline of Empire
*no one knows for sure why the Mayans
abandoned their cities
-theories: 1. overfarming exhausted the
soil, 2. frequent warfare, 3. peasant
revolts, etc.
1. 1300s – 1521
2. located in central
Mexico
*capital =
Tenochtitlan
(present day Mexico
City)
*large island in Lake
Texcoco
3. Social Structure
-ruler - emperor
3. Social Structure
-ruler - emperor
-nobles – government
officials
3. Social Structure
-ruler - emperor
-nobles – government
officials
-priests, career warriors, &
administrators
3. Social Structure
-ruler - emperor
-nobles – government
officials
-priests, career warriors, &
administrators
-soldiers & common farmers
3. Social Structure
-ruler - emperor
-nobles – government
officials
-priests, career warriors, &
administrators
-soldiers & common farmers
-slaves –captured peoples
4. Developments
*corn – came from
maize cultivated by
Atzecs
*tomato
*chocolate (called
xocoatl) – made
from cacao beans
*primitive medicines
(from herbs) to treat
fevers & wounds
*physicians could
set broken bones &
treat dental cavities
5. Decline of Empire
*See European Conquests
1. 1200-1535
2. Located in the Andes
Mountains of South
America from presentday Ecuador to central
Chile
*capital = Cuzco
3. Social Structure
-Sapa Inca – god-king
(son of the sun)
3. Social Structure
-Sapa Inca – god-king
(son of the sun)
-nobles – ruled
provinces
3. Social Structure
-Sapa Inca – god-king
(son of the sun)
-nobles – ruled
provinces
-government officials
3. Social Structure
-Sapa Inca – god-king
(son of the sun)
-nobles – ruled
provinces
-government officials
-farmers
4. Developments
*quipu (collection of
knotted, colored strings)
to keep dates, events,
and financial records
*12,000 mile road
system through
mountains
*domestication of alpaca
& llama as pack animals
& for wool
*step terracing system
to prevent erosion
5. Decline of Empire
*see European Conquests
***during the 1500s, Europeans began to
explore & colonize the Americas
***conquistador = Spanish conqueror (mission
is for God, gold, & glory)
1. Christopher Columbus
-first explorer to reach the Americas –
began the colonization process
-began a vast global exchange across the Atlantic
of animals, plants, technology, culture, & disease,
which became known as the Columbian Exchange
2. Hernan Cortes
-this conquistador defeated the Aztec
Empire & claimed Mexico for Spain
3. Francisco Pizarro
-his men destroyed the Inca empire
-they set up a political structure in which a
viceroy (official appointed by the king)
ruled the colony
***in addition to the
Spanish, the
Portuguese, British,
Dutch, and French also
conquered parts of
Latin America &
claimed the lands for
their countries
***European colonies in
the Americas became
sources of wealth for
the mother country
-some Spanish colonies prospered from gold &
silver mining
-others had huge plantations in Latin America
on which they grew coffee, bananas, & sugar
cane to export to Europe
-others established large farms & cattle
ranches
*Spanish & Portuguese used Native Americans to
work the plantations & ranches
*as epidemic diseases & hardships killed off many
Native Americans, Europeans began to import
enslaved Africans to meet the labor shortage
Long-Term Causes
-European domination of
Latin America
Long-Term Causes
-European domination of
Latin America
-spread of European
Enlightenment ideas
Long-Term Causes
-European domination of
Latin America
-spread of European
Enlightenment ideas
-American and French
Revolutions for
independence
Long-Term Causes
-European domination of
Latin America
-spread of European
Enlightenment ideas
-American and French
Revolutions for
independence
-growth of resentment in
Latin America
Long-Term Causes
-European domination of
Latin America
-spread of European
Enlightenment ideas
-American and French
Revolutions for
independence
-growth of resentment in
Latin America
Immediate Causes
-resentment of colonial rule
& social injustice
Long-Term Causes
Immediate Causes
-European domination of
Latin America
-resentment of colonial rule
& social injustice
-spread of European
Enlightenment ideas
-strong revolutionary
leaders emerge
-American and French
Revolutions for
independence
-growth of resentment in
Latin America
Long-Term Causes
Immediate Causes
-European domination of
Latin America
-resentment of colonial rule
& social injustice
-spread of European
Enlightenment ideas
-strong revolutionary
leaders emerge
-American and French
Revolutions for
independence
-Napoleon invades Spain &
ousts Spanish king (shows
Spanish weakness)
-growth of resentment in
Latin America
1. Haiti (1790-1804)
-Francois Toussaint Louverture (son of
enslaved Africans) – led revolt of Africans
from
*first Latin country to gain independence
European rule (France)
2. Mexico (1810-1821)
-independence movement led by a priest,
Father Miguel Hidalgo of Dolores
-encouraged lower class Mexicans to fight
for their freedom & more rights
3. South America (early 1800s-1824)
-Simon Bolivar of Venezuela & Jose de San
Martin of Argentina helped lead South
America to independence from Spain
-they hoped to create a united South America
called “Gran Colombia” but it fragmented
very quickly (local needs)
-Brazil gained its independence from
Portugal without having to use force
Immediate Effects
-colonial rule ends is much
of Latin America
Immediate Effects
-colonial rule ends is much
of Latin America
-attempts made to rebuild
economies (previously
based in mother country)
Immediate Effects
Long-Term Effects
-colonial rule ends is much -numerous independent
of Latin America
nations in Latin America
-attempts made to rebuild
economies (previously
based in mother country)
Immediate Effects
Long-Term Effects
-colonial rule ends is much -numerous independent
of Latin America
nations in Latin America
-attempts made to rebuild
economies (previously
based in mother country)
-continuing efforts to
achieve stable democratic
governments & gain
economic independence
Immediate Effects
Long-Term Effects
-colonial rule ends is much -numerous independent
of Latin America
nations in Latin America
-attempts made to rebuild
economies (previously
based in mother country)
-continuing efforts to
achieve stable democratic
governments & gain
economic independence
***today, some countries are still under foreign
control
-example: Martinique is a possession of France,
Cayman Islands are possession of Great Britain,
Curacao is possession of Netherlands – Puerto
Rico still has political connections to the U.S.
***independence movements were supposed to
encourage democracy & more individual
rights, however a time period of chaos & harsh
control ensued after revolutions ended
***political & economic power remained in the
hands of a small group of wealthy
landowners, army officers, & the clergy
(church)
-written constitutions were ignored
-public dissatisfaction with the ruling powers
led to revolts
-revolts made the governments rely heavily on
the military to keep power
-the military became a very powerful force
in many Latin American countries
*chaotic situation led to widespread leadership
by caudillos (dictators)
-centralized power under themselves with the
help of military forces & wealthy landowners
-when military officers & wealthy landowners
became unhappy with the caudillo, they would
form a coup (pronounced “coo”), which would
overthrow the caudillo
**during the 1900s, many Latin American
countries began to experience dramatic
political, social, and economic change
A. Sources of Unrest
-since colonial times:
*uneven wealth distribution between the
rich & poor
*upper class = descended from Europeans
*lower class = mestizos, Native Americans,
people of African descent
-by mid-1900s, 2 new social classes had
emerged = middle class & working class (due
to work in the cities)
-in rural areas, peasant farmers owned only
small plots & often worked for low wages on
commercial estates
*as more and more people crowded into the cities,
ghettos emerged around the outskirts
(not all people could find jobs)
B. Politics: Reform, Repression, or
Revolution
1. Competing Ideologies
-post WWII, 2 forces of political ideologies
emerged
a. Reformers – liberals, socialists,
students, labor leaders, peasants, priests,
etc. – wanted to improve conditions for poor
b. Conservatives – military, traditional
landowners, growing business middle class
- wanted to maintain status quo
2. Military Regimes
-as social unrest increased, military
governments seized power in Brazil,
Argentina, and Chile (claiming need to
restore order)
*many outlawed political parties,
censored the press, & closed
universities
*some governments imprisoned
people & executed dissident
citizens
3. Threat of Revolution
-guerillas & urban terrorists battled
repressed governments
-rebels argued for equality of the classes
and/or condemned domination by the U.S.
in Latin America
4. Revival of Democracy
-inflation, debt, and
growing protests led many
Latin American countries
to hold multiparty elections
to select leaders
-example: in Mexico in
2000, nearly 70 years of
one-party rule ended when
candidate of PRI lost
presidency to Vicente Fox
of PAN – (new president =
Felipe Calderon)
-by 2001, only major non-elected ruler in Latin
America = Fidel Castro (now Raul Castro) of
Cuba
-HOWEVER, democratic elections do not
always ensure true democratic government