The Americas: Pre-Columbian Empires to Colonies

This Power Point presentation goes with the Mastering the TEKS in World History book by Jarrett, Zimmer, and Killoran.

Essential Questions

What were the major characteristics of the Maya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations?

How did the voyages of Christopher Columbus forever change the world?

Important Ideas

Complex American Civilizations

Renaissance encouraged European Exploration

Christopher Columbus

Spanish Conquest

Europe got rich from the Americas

American farming encouraged African slave trade

The Kellogg Institute

Early Americans

Nomadic Asians followed herd animals into the Americas.

American Peoples experienced their own Neolithic Revolution.

Pre-Columbian (before Columbus) Civilizations Grew maize (corn) Did not live in river

valleys Developed complex

societiesUCLA.edu

How did the Ice Age effect the population of the Americas? What if it had not occurred?

The Maya (1500 B.C. to 1546 A.D.)

Present day Guatemala Each city had a chief who was half man and

half god Social Structure

Hereditary nobility (performed sacred ceremonies and assisted ruler)

Craftsmen (made goods for nobility)

Farmers (most people)

Warlike people who

practiced human sacrifice

Harvard.edu

Based on the information above, what type of religion did the Mayans have?

Built magnificent cities with palaces, temples,

and pyramids

Developed a system of

hieroglyphics or picture

words

Mayan Achievemen

ts

Complex system of math with

use of zero, 365 day calendar

Created colorful

murals and created a

popular ball game

What similarities does this civilization have to the Egyptian civilization?

The Aztecs (1200-1521)

Present day Mexico Grew crops in “floating gardens” in wet,

marshy lands Complex Social Structure:

Emperor who was all powerful Nobility served in government, army officers,

and priesthood Commoners who worked as

farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, and warriors

Slaves Religion: Polytheistic Warlike group that conquered

all surrounding tribes Wku.edu

Built complex

temples that were

aligned based on

the movements of the sun and moon

Created accurate calendars based on the sun

Aztec Achievemen

ts

Built a large empire with a complex

government structure and large

cities

Sacrificed humans to their main

god, the Sun god.

Sacrifice was need to

keep the universe in

motion

UNM.edu

wikimedia

wikipedia

Calendar SFA.edu

Compare the Aztecs to the Maya

The Inca Empire (122-1535)

Present day Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile

Terrace farmed and grew potatoes and other root crops

Raised llamas and alpacas for food, wool, and transportation Uncp.edu

Built thousands of miles of roads to

connect the empire

Excellent engineers that built buildings

out of fitted stones

Built a large empire that

covers present day

Peru, Ecuador,

Bolivia, and Chile

Used a system of

knotted and colored ropes

(quipu) for communication instead of

writing

Inca Achievemen

ts

Machu Picchu

Inca Quipu Larco Museum Collection

How are the Incas different from other Neolithic Civilizations you

have studied?

Pre Columbian Art

La balsa Muisca (The Muisca raft), a pre-Columbian gold sculpture representing the Muisca´s offerings of gold.

Aztec jade mask depicting the god Xipe Totec

Carved Mayan flint dagger.

Mayan jade maskInca Jar

The Aztec goddess Coatlicue, mother of earth.

Describe Pre- Columbian art based on these works of art.

Women’s Roles in Mesoamerica

Women:

Harvested grains

Prepared food (made maize into flour)

Cared for livestock

Cared for children and home

Some sold goods in markets

Some were artisans

Some worked as priestesses

The Age of Exploration

Why the Interest in Exploration?

Asia Marco Polo’s writings

sparked European interest in Asia

Asian goods, especially spices and silk, were sought after in Europe

The Silk Road was cut off by the Ottoman Turks

Renaissance: A new spirit of inquiry

arose Europeans wanted to

explore the oceans New technology allowed

for better navigation, especially the compass and triangular lateen sail

Caravel: TAMU.edu

What impact did the Ottoman Empire have on European Exploration?

Port

ugal

Spain

Dutch Republic

England

France

The dynamic energy of Western civilization between 1500 and 1800 was most apparent

when Europeans began to expand into the rest of the world.

First Portugal and Spain, then later the Dutch Republic, England, and France, all rose to new

economic heights through their worldwide trading activity.

Economic motives loom large in European expansion. Merchants, adventurers, and state

officials had high hopes of expanding trade, especially for the spices of the East. The spices, which were needed to preserve and flavor food, were very expensive after the Arab middlemen

shipped them to Europe. Europeans also had hopes of finding precious metals.

Many people shared the belief of Hernan Cortes, the

Spanish conqueror of Mexico, that they must ensure that indigenous people were,

"introduced and instructed in the holy Catholic faith.

Spiritual and secular affairs were connected in the

sixteenth century. Many Europeans wanted to convert

indigenous people to Christianity, but grandeur,

glory, and a spirit of adventure also played a major role in European

expansion.

New sailing technology made

the voyages of discovery possible.

Europeans had now reached a

level of ship design that

enabled them to make long-

distance voyages beyond Europe. The Portuguese invented a ship,

called the caravel, that was faster than previous

models.

Portugal

Portugal took the lead in European exploration. Beginning in 1420, under the

sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator, Portuguese fleets began

probing southward along the western coat of Africa.

There they discovered a new source of gold. The southern coast of West Africa became known to Europeans as the Gold

Coast.

The Columbian Exchange

Jarett Publishing

The Age of Discovery

Both Spain and Portugal wanted to establish trade with Asia and financed overseas exploration

Spain’s Rulers, Ferdinand and Isabella: Captured the Muslim areas of Spain Expelled Spain’s Jewish Community Reunited all of Spain under

Christian Rule Sough to spread Christianity across

the world Portugal

Prince Henry developed a lighter sailing ship

He sponsored expeditions along the coast of Africa

Ferdinand and Isabella wedding portrait, unknown artist

Why would European monarchs spend so much money on exploration?

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)

Sea Captain from Genoa, Italy

Sailed west in 3 ships in hopes of finding a quicker route to Asia

Sponsored by the King and Queen of Spain

Found instead the Americas

This new land brought riches and raw materials to Europe

Why would Columbus risk his life to find a new trade route?

The Columbian Exchange

Goods from America to Europe: Tomatoes Corn Potatoes Peppers Squash Pineapples Chocolate Tobacco Turkey

Goods from Europe to America: Wheat Sugar Cattle Horses Pigs Sheep Chickens Grains

In his four voyages, Columbus reached all the major islands of the Caribbean and Honduras in Central

America - all of which he called the Indies.

Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas.

Later Explorers

Vasco de Gama (1460-1524): Portuguese Discovered an all

water route to India Sailed around the tip

of Africa in 1497

Ferdinand Megellan (1480-1521): Portuguese 1st to sail around the

world (1519)

What dangers might these men have faced in these voyages?

Other Explorers

England: John Cabot: claimed parts

of North America

France: Jacques Cartier: explored

the St. Lawrence River Samuel Chaplain: explored

the Great Lakes area Robert de la Salle:

explored the Mississippi River

Dutch: Henry Hudson: explored

Hudson Bay and Hudson River looking for a “Northwest Passage” to Asia

By the 1490s, then, the voyages of the Portuguese and Spanish had already opened

up new lands to exploration.

Both Spain and Portugal feared that the other might claim some of its newly

discovered territories. They resolved their concerns by agreeing on a line of

demarcation, an imaginary line that divided their spheres of influence.

According to the Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, the line

(of demarcation) would extend from north to south through the Atlantic Ocean and the easternmost part of the South American

continent. Unexplored territories east of the line would be

controlled by Portugal, and those west of the line by Spain.

Portugal

Spain

Other explorers soon realized that Columbus had discovered an entirely new frontier. Government-sponsored explorers from many countries joined the race to

the Americas.

A Venetian seaman, John Cabot, explored the New England coastline of the Americas for England.

Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine, went along on several voyages and wrote letters describing the lands he saw. These letters led to the use of the name America for

the new lands.

The Spanish conquerors of the Americas - known as conquistadors -

were individuals whose firearms, organizational skills, and

determination brought them extraordinary success.

In 1519, a Spanish force under the

command of Hernan Cortes landed at the

Vercrus, on the Gulf of Mexico.

The Aztec monarch, Montezuma, welcomed

Cortes. The Aztec were astounded to see the unfamiliar sight of men on horseback with firearms, cannons, and

steel swords. These weapons gave the Spaniards a great

advantage in fighting the Aztec.

What kind of advantage would these "new" weapons give the Spaniards?

These new weapons allowed relatively fewer men to control great populations.

Eventually, tensions arose between the Spaniards and the Aztec. The Spanish took Montezuma hostage and began to pillage the city. Many

villagers revolted and drove the Spaniards from the city. However, the Aztec soon experienced

new disasters. With no natural immunity to European diseases, many Aztec fell sick and died.

Cortes received fresh soldiers and returned to fight. After four months of fighting, the Aztec

surrendered. The forces of Cortes leveled pyramids, temples, and palaces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnAxX5IcOOI&feature=relmfu

By the end of the sixteenth century, several new European rivals had entered the scene for eastern trade. The Spanish established themselves in the Philippine Islands, where Ferdinand Magellan had landed earlier. They turned the Philippines into a major Spanish base for trade across the Pacific.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, an English fleet landed on the northwestern coast of

India and established trade relations with the people there. Trade with Southeast Asia soon followed.

The first Dutch fleet arrived in India in 1595. Shortly after, the Dutch formed the East India Company

and began competing with the English and the Portuguese.

The Dutch also formed the West India Company to compete with the Spanish and Portuguese in the

Americas.

The Dutch colony of New Netherland stretched from the mouth of the Hudson River north to

Albany, New York. The English seized the colony of New Netherland, renaming it New York.

In less than 300 years, the European age of exploration changed the world.

European colonial expansion around the world produced a great increase in

European trade. this growth was one of the first steps in the development of the

world economy.

Led by Portugal and Spain, European nations established many trading posts and colonies in

the Americas and in the East.

The establishment of these colonies played a role in the theory of mercantilism that

dominated economic thought throughout the seventeenth century.

Mercantilists believed that the prosperity of a nation depends on a large supply of bullion, or gold

and silver.

To bring in gold and silver payments, nations tried to have a favorable balance of trade. The

balance of trade is the difference in value between what a nation imports and what it

exports over time. When balance is favorable, the exported

goods are of greater value than the imported goods.

exports

imports

The Atlantic Slave Trade

Traffic in slaves was not new, to be sure. As in other areas of the world, slavery had been

practiced in Africa since ancient times. In the fifteenth century, it continued at a fairly steady

level.

The primary market for African slaves was Southwest Asia, where most slaves were used as

domestic servants.

Slavery also existed in some European countries.

The demand for slaves changed dramatically, however, with the discovery of the Americas in the

1490s and the planting of sugarcane there.

Growing sugarcane demands much labor. The small Native Americans population, much of which had died of diseases imported from Europe, could not provide

the labor needed.

Thus, African slaves were shipped to Brazil and the Caribbean to work on the plantations.

Originally African slaves were brought to the Americas to supply labor for the sugarcane plantations.

During the next two centuries, the trade in slaves grew dramatically and became part of the triangular trade that marked the emergence

of a new world economy.

The pattern of triangular trade connected Europe, Africa, and Asia, and the American continent.

Altogether, as many as ten million African slaves were brought to the Americas between the early sixteenth and the late

nineteenth centuries.

One reason for these astonishing numbers, of course, was the high death rate.

The journey of slaves from Africa to the Americas became known as the Middle Passage, the middle portion of the

triangular trade route.

Most slaves died on the journey.

Those who arrived often died from diseases to which they had little or no immunity.

European colonies imitated the culture and social patterns of their parent countries. Colonial Latin America was divided by social classes that were

based on status. At the top were peninsulares, Spanish and

Portuguese officials born in Europe. the peninulares held all the important government

positions.Below the peninsulares were the Creoles,

descendants of Europeans born in Latin America.Beneath the peninsulares and creoles were

numerous multiracial groups.

Colonial Latin America

Farming became a more enduring source of prosperity as Spanish

and Portuguese landowners created immense estates. However, colonial farming

practices also damaged the environment as a result of

deforestation, overgrazing, and overcultivation of single export

crops.

To maintain a supply of labor, the Spanish continued to make use of

the encomienda system, which was the forcing of Native

Americans to pay taxes and to provide labor. In return, the

landowners were expected to protect them and instructed them

in the Catholic faith.