SS6H1b EQ: What was the impact of European exploration on Latin American civilizations?

1. SS6H1bEQ: What was the impact of European exploration on Latin American civilizations?

2. The Fall of the Maya Civilization • Over a series of encounters beginning in 1511, the Spanish conquered most of the Mayan empire. • Those that were not killed by defeat were killed by the diseases brought over by the Spanish that the Native Americans had no immunities to. • The Maya that remained were forced to work in gold and silver mines, or on Spanish plantations as part of the encomienda system.

3. Fall of the Aztec Empire • The Aztec ruler, Montezuma II welcomed Hernan Cortes into Tenochtitlan because he thought Hernan Cortes was a god. • Cortes only had 500 men. • Cortes took Montezuma hostage and demanded gold and treasure in exchange for his safe return. • Montezuma was forced to swear allegiance to the Spanish crown. • Cortes and his men began looting the city (which was rich in gold) and sent the gold back to Spain. • Over six months, Cortes and his men stripped the city of its riches.

4. Fall of the Aztec Empire • While Cortes was out of the city, one of his soldiers interrupted a religious ceremony and massacred 200 Aztec nobles. • Upon his return, Cortes found the Aztec rebelling. • The Spanish were chased out and 75% of them drowned in the wetlands because they tried to carry out so much gold. • Montezuma II was killed by his own people for allowing Cortes into the city. • In 1521, Cortes returned and defeated the Aztec after a 3 month battle with a new Aztec ruler named Cuauhtemoc. • Smallpox killed about a third of the Aztec population, and the Spanish conquered the rest. • Mexico City was built on top of the ruins of Tenochtitlan.

5. Fall of the Inca Empire • In 1532, Francisco Pizarro landed in Peru with 180 Spanish conquistadors. • Pizarro invited the Inca ruler, Atahualpa, to a feast. • When Atahualpa arrived, Pizarro ambushed and captured him. Atahualpa offered him a room of gold for his freedom. • Pizarro took the gold and killed Atahualpa anyway.

6. Fall of the Inca Empire • Over years, the Spanish conquered Inca territory, defeating the Incas in Lima and Cuzco. • In 1572, the Spanish captured the last Inca ruler, Tupac Amaru, defeating the Inca. • The Inca population was also weakened by European diseases such as smallpox and influenza (the flu). • The Spanish took over the Inca lands, built plantations anf forced the Incato work on as slaves. This system was called the encomienda system.

7. The Columbian Exchange This is a term for the exchange of goods and ideas between Europe and the Americas during the 1500s. • The Columbian Exchange also refers to the cultural exchange between the Spanish and the Latin American Natives. • Natives dressed European and learned to speak Spanish. • Natives were forced to become Christians and abandon their native religions.

8. The Columbian Exchange • Europe gained: • Tomatoes • Corn • Potatoes • Chocolate • New Land • Wealth (Gold) • The Americas gained: • Christianity • Horses • Small Pox • Influenza