A Native People, European Motives for Exploration and Conquests

A Native People, European Motives for Exploration and Conquests Irwin: History of the American West

1. The First Americans • Ancient civilizations in the Western Hemisphere Irwin: History of the American West

A. First Americans: The Maya Central Temple, Palenque Irwin: History of the American West

A. First Americans: The Maya Tikal, looking towards Temple I Irwin: History of the American West

The Maya The Maya make up the largest homogenous indigenous group north of Peru, inhabiting a vast area that encompasses Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and parts of the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, as well as Guatemala, Belize and parts of western Honduras and El Salvador. Irwin: History of the American West

While not the earliest of the great Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya are generally considered the most brilliant of all the Classic groups. The culture's beginnings have been traced back to 1500 BC, entering the Classic period about 300 AD, and flourishing between 600 and 900 AD. The Classic Period Irwin: History of the American West

Considered the most outstanding intellects of ancient Mexico, the Maya devised a complex style of hieroglyphic writing that has yet to be fully deciphered. They refined the exact sciences learned from other prehispanic civilizations. Through their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics they calculated the lunar cycle, predicted eclipses and other heavenly events with great precision and formulated a unique calendar system more exact than the one we use today. Calendar from Altar V, Tikal Irwin: History of the American West

B. First Americans: The Inca Irwin: History of the American West

The Inca The Mesoamerican civilization known as the Inca was located in the Andes mountains of what is now Peru, Ecuador, and Chile. Incan civilization dates to around 1100 A.D., when a small warlike tribe began to move into the valley of Cuzco. Irwin: History of the American West

The Incas began to expand their influence in the twelfth century and by the early sixteenth century, they exercised control over more territory than any other people in South American history. The empire consisted of over one million individuals and spanned a territory stretching from Ecuador to northern Chile. Irwin: History of the American West

A view of Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas." This was the last stronghold of the Inca, and now an archaeological site. Irwin: History of the American West

The Sun Temple complex at Písac. The stone surrounded by the building at the right is called the "hitching post" of the Sun. Irwin: History of the American West

Unlike the military empires in Central America, the Incas ruled by proxy. After conquering a people, they would incorporate local rulers into their imperial system, generously rewarding anyone who fought for them, and treating well conquered people who cooperated. So, in reality, the Inca "empire," as the invading Spanish called it, was not really an empire. It was more of a confederation of tribes with a single people--the Incas--more or less in control. Each of these tribes was ruled independently by a council of elders; the tribe as a whole gave its allegiance to the ruler, or “the Inca," whose followers viewed as divine, a descendant of the sun-god. Irwin: History of the American West

Children of the Sun The Inca worshiped gods of nature--the sun god, the god of thunder, the Moon, and so on. Like the ancient Greeks, Incas believed the gods intervened in human lives, for good as well as ill. To avoid problems, the Inca worshiped all the gods every day. Irwin: History of the American West

The Incas believed that the gods and their dead ancestors could communicate with them through dreams, omens, and other signs. The priests' essential function was the reading of those signs. Like the ancient Egyptians, the Incas believed in an afterlife and mummified their dead. The bodies and tombs of the dead were carefully tended. The mummies of dead rulers remained in their palaces. These rulers were treated as if they were still alive. Servants brought them food; family members sought their advice on daily affairs. On parade days and other special occasions, mummies were carried through the streets. Irwin: History of the American West

Even the very poor mummified their dead. It was easy: They simply set the dead body out in the cold in above-ground tombs. The Incas entered and reentered the tombs, leaving gifts of food and belongings. Inca Mummy Irwin: History of the American West

The social structure of the Incas was extremely inflexible. At the top was “the Inca,” or ruler, who exercised, theoretically, absolute power. Below him was the royal family which consisted of the Inca's immediate family, concubines, and all his children. This royal family was a ruling aristocracy. Each tribe had tribal heads; each clan in each tribe had clan heads. At the very bottom were the common people who were all grouped in squads of ten people each with a single "boss." Irwin: History of the American West

Unlike European society at the same time, the Incan social unit was based on cooperation and communality. This guaranteed that there would always be enough for everyone; but the centralization of authority meant that there was no chance of individual advancement (which was not valued). It also meant that the system depended too much on the centralized authority; once the invading Spanish seized the Inca and the ruling family, they were able to conquer the Inca territories with lightening speed. Irwin: History of the American West

C. First Americans: Aztecs Irwin: History of the American West

The Aztecs/Mexica The Aztecs/Mexicas were a native American people who dominated northern México. According to their own legends, they originated from a place called Aztlan, somewhere in north or northwest Mexico. At that time the Aztecs (who referred to themselves as the Mexica or Tenochca) were a small, nomadic, Nahuatl-speaking aggregation of tribal peoples living on the margins of civilized Mesoamerica. Irwin: History of the American West

Sometime in the 12th century, the Aztecs embarked on a period of wandering. In the 13th century, they settled in the central basin of México. Irwin: History of the American West

C. First Americans: Aztecs • Tenochtitlan Irwin: History of the American West

Tenochtitlán, looking east. From the mural painting at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. Painted in 1930 by Dr. Atl. Continually dislodged by the small city-states that fought one another in shifting alliances, the Aztecs finally found refuge on small islands in Lake Texcoco. In 1325, the Aztecs founded the town of Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) on a small island in Lake Texcoco. Irwin: History of the American West

Tenochtitlan Irwin: History of the American West

C. First Americans: Aztecs • Tenochtitlan • Tribute Irwin: History of the American West

Tribute Tributes were an important part of Aztec public administration and an important adjunct to a thriving market economy. Tribute supported the ruler and nobles, as well as religious and public institutions. Only nobles and slaves were exempt from tribute. Irwin: History of the American West

Conquered peoples bringing tribute to the Aztecs Irwin: History of the American West

A tribute roll from the Codex Mendoza (right). On the left are name-glyphs for seven towns, whose annual tribute to the Aztec ruler included over 4,000 mantles and loincloths, 800 bales of dried chilis, 20 bags of down feathers, two war-dresses and shields, three strings of precious stones, and two plates inlaid with turquoise. Irwin: History of the American West

Like most European empires, the Aztec empire was ethnically very diverse but--unlike most European empires--it was more a system of tribute than a single system of government. The Aztec empire was an "informal empire" because it did not exert supreme authority over the conquered lands, it merely expected tributes to be paid. Irwin: History of the American West

It was also a discontinuous empire because not all dominated territories were connected. Irwin: History of the American West

Among the positive achievements of the Aztecs : the formation of a highly specialized and stratified society and an imperial administration the expansion of a trading network as well as a tribute system the development and maintenance of a sophisticated agricultural economy, carefully adjusted to the land; and the cultivation of an intellectual and religious outlook that held society to be an integral part of the cosmos. Irwin: History of the American West

C. First Americans: Aztecs • Tenochtitlan • Tribute • Human sacrifice Irwin: History of the American West

Human Sacrifice For most people today, and for the European Christians who first met the Aztecs, human sacrifice was the most striking feature of Aztec civilization. While human sacrifice was practiced throughout Mesoamerica, the Aztecs, if their own accounts are to be believed, brought this practice to an unprecedented level. Aztec human sacrifice, from Codex Magliabechiano, a post-conquest document. Irwin: History of the American West

For example, for the reconsecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed 84,400 prisoners over the course of four days. However, most experts consider these numbers to be overstated. For example, the sheer logistics associated with sacrificing 84,000 victims would be overwhelming. A similar consensus has developed on reports of cannibalism among the Aztecs. Irwin: History of the American West

In the writings of Bernardino de Sahagún, Aztec "anonymous informants" defended the practice of human sacrifice by asserting that it was not very different from the European way of waging warfare: Europeans killed the warriors in battle, Aztecs killed the warriors after the battle. Accounts by the Tlaxcalan, the primary enemy of the Aztecs at the time of the Spanish Conquest, show that at least some of them considered it an honor to be sacrificed. In one legend, the warrior Tlahuicole was freed by the Aztecs but eventually returned of his own volition to die in ritual sacrifice. Tlaxcala also practiced the human sacrifice of captured Aztec warriors. Irwin: History of the American West

Fr. Bernardino de Sahagun After the fall of the Aztec empire, Spanish friar Bernardino de Sahagun learned the Nahuatl language in order to record the Aztec view of events. Irwin: History of the American West

C. First Americans: Aztecs • Tenochtitlan • Tribute • Human sacrifice • Quetzalcoatl Irwin: History of the American West

Quetzalcoatl Not an Aztec god , but a god the Aztecs believed in, Quetzalcoatl was the feathered serpent god of death and resurrection. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, Cortes’s arrival coincided with the Aztec calendar’s predicted return of Quetzalcoatl to rule on earth. Irwin: History of the American West

C. First Americans: Aztecs • Tenochtitlan • Tribute • Human sacrifice • Quetzalcoatl • Moctezuma II Irwin: History of the American West

Moctezuma II Aztec god/emperor (1466-1520), he ruled the Aztec empire at the time of Cortes’s landing; he would also preside over his empire’s destruction. Irwin: History of the American West

C. First Americans: Aztecs Fearless warriors and pragmatic builders, by the 15th century the Aztecs controlled an American empire surpassed in size only by that of the Incas in Peru. Irwin: History of the American West

II. Discoveries and Exploration Irwin: History of the American West

A. First European Contacts • Bjarni Herjulfsson Irwin: History of the American West

Bjarni Herjulfsson • Norse explorer • Blown off course in a storm sailing from Norway to Iceland to Greenland in 986 or 987 • Reported seeing low-lying hills covered with forests somewhere to the west. • Managed to regain his course • believed to be the first European to view mainland North America. Irwin: History of the American West

A. First European Contacts • Bjarni Herjulfsson • Leif Eriksson Irwin: History of the American West

Leif Eriksson • 1010, Leif Eriksson explored the routes of Herjulfson and Erik the Red. • Discovered and named land in present-day Canada: Helluland, Markland, Vinland. • Attempted to permanently settle Vinland but failed. • Eriksson became the 1st person of European origin ever to set foot on the North American mainland. Irwin: History of the American West

The Vikings’ “West” Irwin: History of the American West

B. Causes of Exploration Events in Europe fueled interest in western exploration and conquest. Irwin: History of the American West

2. Causes of Exploration A. The Crusades For some, westward exploration was the means of spreading religious beliefs. Irwin: History of the American West

A Native People, European Motives for Exploration and Conquests