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Conquistadors and pre
Columbian civilizations
By Michael
Murphy
standards
• 5.2 Identify the three major pre-Columbian civilizations
that existed in Central and South America (Maya, Aztec,
and Inca) and their locations. Describe their political
structures, religious practices, and use of slaves.
• 5.4 Explain why the Aztec and Inca civilizations declined
in the 16th century.
• A. the encounters between Cortez and Montezuma
• B. the encounters between Pizarro and the Incas
• C. the goals of the Spanish conquistadors
• D. the effects of European diseases, particularly
smallpox, throughout the Western hemisphere
Aztec
They were located in central Mexico
• Their Capital was Tenochtitlan and it was build in the
middle of a lake on series of islands.
• They were polytheistic which means believed in many
gods and there was a god called Quetzalcoatl
• They Controlled many other tribes, and forced them to
give them money and “tribute”
• They also used other tribes as slaves and human
sacrifice
• The Aztecs brought down by smallpox
Mayas
• The Mayas were located in the Mexico
coast-Yucatan Peninsula
Not just one major city-was much harder for
conquistadors to overthrow
• Region did not contain as much gold
• They were polytheistic
• They had slaves, who could sometimes
gain their freedom
Incas
• They were located in South America, Andes Mountains,
Peru
• Their capital was Cuzco Located in South America,
Andes
• The Incas were polytheistic-belief in many gods
• They did not have written language, but had spoken
language (used knots as messages)
• They also practiced animal sacrifice, and on special
occasions human sacrifice
• The Incas were taken over by the Pizarro and the
Spanish in 1531 because they were fighting in the civil
war.
Cortez
• In the spring of 1519,Cortez landed on the east
coast of Mexico with more than 650 soldiers and
16 horses the first horses in the Americas for
thousands of years.
• Cortez took Montezuma hostage, and
Montezuma was killed in the fight that followed.
• Cortez and his expedition found safety with the
Indians who had helped them earlier. The next
year ,in 1521, Cortez returned to Tenochitlan to
capture the Aztec treasure. With the help of the
Indians , Spanish tore down the Aztec temples
and destroyed the great city.
Pizarro
• In 1514 Francisco Pizarro and a group of
180 soldiers explored the west coast of
South America. They went in search of the
riches of the Inca Empire. For months
they traveled the Andes Mountains
collecting gold and riches from the Native
Americans they encountered.
How did the Spanish explorers and conquistadors
change Central and South America forever?
• Today most of central and South America
speaks Spanish
• Today majority of peoples in central and
South America are Christian, and no
longer worship their gods
• A lot of Aztec, Inca, Maya culture and
traditions have disappeared forever