EARLY AMERICA MAYAN CIVILIZATION 300 – 900 A.D. Located in Southern Mexico and parts of Central America Broken into city-states Each city-state had a ruling chief Priests were very powerful Mayans were farmers and traders Women had important religious, political, and household duties Religious Beliefs Polytheistic Human sacrifices Held ceremonies for harvests and war Contributions Writing system Calendar Astronomy Pyramids

EARLY AMERICA AZTEC EMPIRE A.D. Located in Central Mexico Built an empire through conquest Collected tribute Single Ruler (Example: Montezuma) Nobles served as officials, judges, and governors Capital City – Tenochtitlan Aztecs were farmers, warriors and traders Religious Beliefs Polytheistic Sun God was the most important Human sacrifices Conquered by the Spanish in 1521

EARLY AMERICAS INCAN EMPIRE Located in present day Peru, South America Located in the Andes Mountains Ruled by a god-king Provinces ruled by chiefs and nobles Incans were farmers and metalworkers Depended on the llama for food, clothing, and transport Arranged marriages Built an extensive road system Cuzco – city that was centrally located in the empire and center of the government Religious Beliefs Polytheistic Sun god was most important

WHAT MADE IT POSSIBLE? Cartographer – a person who makes map The Astrolabe – Sailors used this portable navigation device to help them find their way. By measuring distance of the sun and the stars above the horizon, the astrolabe helped determine latitude. Circumnavigate – to travel around the world Caravels – These large ships employed significantly larger sails and could hold supplies for longer journeys in their large cargo rooms

THE CARAVEL SHIP

WHO EXPLORED? Spain and Portugal led the way during the Age of Exploration The Iberian Peninsula was strategically located on the Atlantic coast

THE ENCOUNTER Conquistador - Conqueror Hernando Cortez Conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico Francisco Pizarro Conquered the Incan Empire in Peru How? Both men faked friendship towards the Native Americans before conquering their empire Francisco Pizarro Hernando Cortez

HOW DID THE EUROPEANS CONQUER THE NATIVE AMERICANS? 1) Superior military technology 2) Division among the Native Americans 3) Indians believed the end of the world was near 4) Disease among the Native Americans The Native American population went from 20 million in 1520 to fewer than 2 million in 1580

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE AZTEC & INCAN EMPIRES

THE SPANISH EMPIRE Government Viceroy Council of Indies The Church Practiced Christianity in the New World Europeans tried to force the Native Americans to Christianity Harsh Treatment Europeans treated the Native Americans as inhumane They tortured, beat, killed, and raped the Native Americans

THE SPANISH EMPIRE Impact of Africans The need for labor in the Americas resulted in the importation of Africans Africans were used as slaves West African slave trade Middle Passage

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE

PENINSULARES: Latin Americans born in Spain. Held the most wealth and almost all the power. They were the dominant class! CREOLES: Latin Americans of pure Spanish descent (Both parents were born in Spain). Held major wealth but little power in the government MESTIZOS: mostly peasants farmers of mixed Native American & Spanish descent who held few rights. MULATTOES: Latin Americans of mixed African & Spanish descent who held few rights SLAVES : mostly people of Native American or African descent who were forced to work and who had basically no rights

ENCOMIENDA SYSTEM This system provided the peninsulares with land and a specified number of native laborers In return, the peninsulares were expected to protect the natives and convert them to Christianity Some Christian missionaries were shocked at the treatment of some of the natives and appealed to the viceroys, emperor, and the Catholic Church Solution – bring in new workers for the hardest jobs (Africans) Both the natives and Africans were at the bottom of the social structure and received no rights

A FAIR DEAL FOR THE COLONISTS? During colonial times, European manufacturers paid for raw materials (such as cotton) from the colonies. At the same time, the colonists were expected to purchase all of their finished goods (such as clothing) from Europe. 1) What types of prices do you think European manufacturers paid for raw materials? 2) What types of prices do you think the colonists paid for finished goods? 3) Do you think this was a fair relationship? 4) What was this theory known as?

WHAT IS MERCANTILISM? An economic system in which the government controls trade Exported goods are of greater than value than imported goods

COLONY Produces raw materials for the mother country’s industry and buys the manufactured goods the mother country produces COLONY– MOTHER COUNTRY RELATIONSHIP MOTHER COUNTRY Uses raw materials from the colonies to make manufactured goods and then sells them to the colonies MANUFACTURED GOODS RAW MATERIALS MONEY

THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE The exchange of goods between Europe and the Americas Involved European countries located on the Atlantic coast such as Portugal, Spain, England and France

COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION Europe made the transition from a feudal economy to a new economy where goods were traded worldwide (mostly along waterways) Involved several factors: Mercantilism: economic system benefitting mother countries Colonies: owned by a mother country; responsible for selling less costly raw materials to the mother country and would buy finished, manufactured goods at a more expensive price