Located in South America Incans forced surrounding people to join the Empire or they would be killed. The Incan Empire had benefits (crop houses- no starving) Cortes’ success encouraged Francisco Pizarro (12 years later) to lead an army into the Inca capital in Cuzco, Peru. The Incan emperor Atahualpa ordered his men not to attack the Spanish so the small force of Spanish conquistadors were able to defeat them. The Spanish arrested and captured the Incan ruler and Pizarro controlled the now weakened Incan Empire. Located in now Mexico and Central America Aztecs became a strong empire by conquering their neighbors. Religion played large part- Aztecs made 18 human sacrifices are year to their God (usually prisoners. In 1519 Hernan Cortes landed on the East Coast of present-day Mexico. Within two years he conquered the Aztec Empire and their gold by siding with Aztec enemies (small pox killed many Aztec warriors). Conquest of Aztecs and Incans Aztecs Incans

April 2 nd, 1513 Spanish Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon came ashore on the Florida coast and claimed the territory for the Spanish crown. He landed in Florida, which had many wildflowers and fragrant plants, during Easter so he named the land La Florida because in Spain Easter is known as Pascua Florida or “Flowery Easter”. Spain in Florida Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, Florida. Ponce de Leon was not only searching for gold, he was also searching for the Fountain of Youth (which he never found). King Ferdinand made Juan Ponce de Leon governor of Florida. So he brought back 200 Spanish settlers in 1521.Native Americans, Calusa, attacked this settlement and Ponce de Leon died from wounds a few days later.

Spanish Settlements ◦ Spanish Law called for three kinds of Settlements in the Americas: ◦ Pueblos- towns (centers of trade) ◦ Missions- religious communities (small town) surrounding farmland and a church. ◦ Presido- Forts built near Missions  Some settlers profited by exporting crops and raw materials to Spain. In the West Indies the main exports were tobacco and sugar cane. The Spanish raised these crops on plantations and use Native Americans as plantation workers. Plantations - Large farms on islands in the Caribbean on which Native Americans were forced to produce sugar ◦ Class System: 1)Peninsulares- People who were born in Spain, owned land, served in the Catholic Church, and ran the local government. 2) Creoles- Born in Americas to Spanish parents. 3) Mestizos- People with Spanish and Native American Parents. 4) Native Americans- Often very poor 5) African Americans- Slaves