Populations in the Americas 1500

1. “The Spanish Encounter”“The biggest population shift of modern times has been the colonization of the New World by the Europeans, and the resulting conquest, numerical reduction, or complete disappearance of most of Native Americans…”-Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel

2. Populations in the Americas 1500 • Pre-Columbian population: nobody really knows. Estimates range from 10 million to over 100 million. Many scholars take a mid-point of about 50 million • Aztec Empire 6-10 million • Inca Empire: 10 million • Caribbean 225,000-6 million (probably on the higher end)

3. Population in Europe • About 80 million before the Black Plague (reduced by 1/3) • Americas population roughly comparable to Europe’s—so how or how not was the Encounter a meeting of equals?

4. Population reduction • Pre-Columbian population: nobody really knows. Estimates range from 10 million to over 100 million. Many scholars take a mid-point of about 50 million • By 1650 only 5-8 million indigenous people survived, a 90-95% reduction

5. Where the Indians died

6. What do you think motivated the Europeans to expand overseas? • Why did they not just expand over land? • Take 2 minutes to write down your thoughts.

9. Empires: Portugal • Search for Maritime route to Asia • Advanced naval technology: caravels, carracks, astrolabe and compass • Established fortresses along the Gold Coast – sugar plantations and African slave labor • Indian Ocean trade and Da Gama: Malindi, Sofala and Kilwa, Calicut and Goa, and later Macao • Atlantic trade with conquest of Brazil – sugar plantation

10. Empires: Spain • Reconquista ended with the fall of Granada • Inquisition • Columbus’ voyage • Arrival of Cortez in Mexico and Pizarro in Peru • Took over existing tributary empires: labor (mita), silver, gold, and foodstuffs • Demographic impact: disease, death, and mestizos

11. Early Human Migrations

12. Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations

13. The Aztecs

14. Lands of the Aztecs

15. Aztec View of Tenochtitlan

16. Tenochtitlan: The “Venice” of the Americas

17. Aztec Chinampa or Floating Garden:15ft. to 30ft. wide

18. Tenochtitlan - Chinampas

19. Aztec Writing Aztec Math

20. Aztec Sun Stone -- Calendar

21. Aztecs Sacrifice Neighboring Tribes to the Sun God

22. Heart Sacrifice

23. Wall of Skulls, Tenochtitlan

24. Aztec Gold

25. The Incas

26. Lands of the Incas

27. Cuzco: Ancient Capital of the Inca(11,000 ft. above sea level)

28. Machu Picchu

29. Incan Suspension Bridges

30. Incan Terrace Farming

31. Incan Digging Sticks

32. Over 100 Different Types of Potatoes Cultivated by the Incans

33. Produce from a Typical Incan Market

34. The Quipu: An Incan Database

35. Inca Gold & Silver

36. Maritime Empires • Who? Why? • Compare to land based empires

37. Voyages of “Discovery”

38. Brazil: Plantation colony • Portuguese due to Treaty of Tordesillas 1494 • Local indians wiped out then African slave labor used to support the plantation complex (sugar) • Largest producer of sugar in world first half of 17th C.

39. Population shift affected Africa as well • An estimated 11 million African slaves were brought to the New World, the vast majority of them to the Caribbean and Brazil Why?