1. Conquest of the Americas
Contact and Conflict
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2. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Introduction
Between European civilization spread through trade, imperialism, and colonialism
Guiding Questions:
Was this inevitable?
Was the spread of European culture a result of Western Superiority?
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3. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Agenda
Factors of Exploration and Conquest
Aztec Society & Spanish Conquest
Inca Society & Spanish Conquest
The Slave Trade
Results in Europe
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4. Factors of Exploration and Conquest
Capitalism- pre-capitalist society to capitalist society
Searching for Wealth
Geography
Technology
The Search for Souls- The Mission
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5. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Why Explore?
Since the time of the Crusades, Europeans had known about the riches (spices, silks, and Jewels) of the East
Getting to the East by land was dangerous and risky due to control by varying nations, in particular the Ottomans
To find sea routes, Europeans needed better maps, navigation instruments, and new technology
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6. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Mapmaking
Mapmaking improved during the Renaissance because of Europeans’ growing interest in ancient geographers
During the Renaissance info. about Africa and Asia, previously unknown to Ptolemy was added to his maps
Explorers believed they could reach Asia more easily by sailing West, primarily because they had no idea about the Americas nor about the true size of the world! It also meant sailing away from known enemies!
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7. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Ptolemy’s Map
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8. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Navigation
New navigation technology enabled ships to sail beyond sight of land without getting lost
One of the most important instruments to be “discovered” was the compass (originally an Oriental device)
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9. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
New Types of Ships
Until the 1400’s long ships, known as Galleys, were used
The sails were fixed and long, heavy oars were used by sailors (slaves) to drive a galley through the winds
Spanish and Portuguese designers allowed sails to move and moved the rudder to the back of the boat, making travel faster, easier and safer
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10. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Economic Conditions
Exploration and a change in economy went hand in hand
Some Historians call the period of the late 1400s to the 1700s the Commercial Revolution
Previous to this era, the value of coins (money) changed depending on the amount of precious metal they contained, thus making trade difficult and uncertain as merchants need a standard system of money to buy and sell products
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11. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Bling, Bling Continued
Italian cities began to create fixed values of money called ducats
This allowed banks to store money that they could lend governments or businesses to explore overseas…thus banks began to become more common as an industry
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12. How could exploration be afforded?
Individual merchants joined together to form “joint-stock companies”
Merchants raised money by selling shares (stock), in companies that wanted to make money from exploration. Those buying stock would share in the profits.
Monarchs also began to fund exploration as gaining new lands began to be seen as a source of pride
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13. Social Factors Leading to Exploration
The Renaissance and Sc. Rev. (which we’ll get to!) created a desire to learn more about the world
Increased population, pollution, and lack of opportunity caused many to seek a better life – a Utopia
People saw a chance to “get rich”
The Reformations led to persecution, which caused many groups to flee in hope of freedom, and nations to seek out new lands to convert
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14. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Mercantilism
Mercantilism stated that a country’s government should do all it could to increase that nation’s wealth, which was measured by the amount of gold and silver that country possessed (gold standard)
Since the world has a fixed amount of wealth, you had to compete, and find unfound wealth or take away wealth from another nation
Based on this theory, wealth could increase via 2 methods:
A. Find wealth at home or in colonies
B. Sell more goods than it bought from foreign nations, thus creating a positive balance of trade
This naturally led to nations placing tariffs on other nations goods and promoted a race for new lands that could be exploited
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15. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Christopher Columbus
Contrary to popular myth, Columbus never found America
Funded by Spain, his fleet landed on Oct. 12, 1492 in what he named San Salvador, in what we refer to as the West Indies today.
He would also discover the Bahamas
Regardless of what he found, what did matter was the fact that the West had found a new source of wealth
The Columbian Exchange had begun – Gold and Silver found in South America would develop Spain into a world power…but at what expense?
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16. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Aztec Empire
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17. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Aztec Society
First Encounter Hernan Cortes
Great Cities- Tenochtitlán (Huge Temple, Numerous Canals, Royal Palace)
Highly Structured Society- Based on Agriculture and Religion
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18. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Spanish Conquest
Radical Depopulation
Disease
Forced Labour
Slavery- The Mission
Demoralization
Introduction of Cattle, Sheep and Goats
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19. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Inca Empire
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20. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Inca Society
Extremely Wealthy
Complex Political Organization
Accomplished Feats of Engineering
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21. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Spanish Conquest
Series of Attacks ( )
Encomienda System
Disease
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22. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Splitting the Wealth
Spain and Portugal began to claim the same lands as their own
Since they were both Catholic, Pope Alexander VI issued a Papal Bull in 1493, which drew an imaginary line through the Atlantic
Spain got all new lands discovered to the West, and Portugal to the East, and they had to respect the lands of any other Catholic nation
The Treaty of Tordesillas moved the line further West, allowing Portugal to “discover” Brazil
Over time, Spain would take control of much of S. Am., while Portugal would focus on Africa and the W. Indies
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23. The Start of the Slave Trade
When the Portuguese first went to Afr. They were friendly with the natives
This changed for 3 reasons:
Missionaries wanted to save the Africans
The natives were dying in the Americas, meaning new labour was needed
They wanted to exploit the new lands
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24. Triangular Trade and the Middle Passage
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25. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Tools of the Trade
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26. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Decline of Portugal
Portugal declined as rapidly as it had grown
It did not have the resources to support such a large empire
By 1580 Spain annexed Portugal until 1640 when it regained its freedom
The Slave Trade would not end until the late 1800s
Spain would too decline, this time due to the rise of other nations, in particular Great Britain (Elizabeth)
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27. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
The Far East
Around 1514 the Portuguese reached China
Over time they began to gain the trust of the Chinese
Jesuits in particular were effective, although too much effort resulted in the Emperors’ denouncing Christianity
Britain would reach the East in the late 1600’s hoping to buy silk and tea, which the Dutch had previously introduced to them
The East India Company paid the Chinese with Opium, thus causing an addiction
This would eventually lead to the Opium Wars of
While Britain, and eventually the USA would become influential in the East, it was not as decisive as other nations…Why?
The East was completely independent. It did not need the West. Furthermore, the West needed it. Lastly, the East was much more developed than the N.A. cultures, and were adept at fighting back. We’ll return to the East later on.
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28. The Conquest of the Aztecs and Incas
Works Cited
Legacy: The West and the World, Garfield Newman
Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003
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