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Incas 1

Conquest of the Americas

Contact and Conflict

1450- 1700

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Incas 2

Introduction

Between 1450- 1700 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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Agenda

Factors of Exploration and Conquest

Aztec Society & Spanish Conquest

Inca Society & Spanish Conquest

The Slave Trade

Results in Europe

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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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Why Explore?

Since the time of the Crusades, Europeans had known about the riches (spices, silks, and Jewels) of the EastGetting to the East by land was dangerous and risky due to control by varying nations, in particular the OttomansTo find sea routes, Europeans needed better maps, navigation instruments, and new technology

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MapmakingMapmaking improved during the Renaissance because of Europeans’ growing interest in ancient geographersDuring the Renaissance info. about Africa and Asia, previously unknown to Ptolemy was added to his mapsExplorers 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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Ptolemy’s Map

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NavigationNew navigation technology enabled ships to sail beyond sight of land without getting lostOne of the most important instruments to be “discovered” was the compass (originally an Oriental device)

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New Types of ShipsUntil 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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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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Bling, Bling ContinuedItalian cities began to create fixed values of money called ducatsThis 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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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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Social Factors Leading to Exploration

The Renaissance and Sc. Rev. (which we’ll get to!) created a desire to learn more about the worldIncreased population, pollution, and lack of opportunity caused many to seek a better life – a UtopiaPeople 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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MercantilismMercantilism 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 nationBased on this theory, wealth could increase via 2 methods:A. Find wealth at home or in coloniesB. Sell more goods than it bought from foreign nations, thus creating a positive balance of tradeThis 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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Christopher ColumbusContrary to popular myth, Columbus never found AmericaFunded 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 BahamasRegardless of what he found, what did matter was the fact that the West had found a new source of wealthThe 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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Aztec Empire

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Aztec Society

First Encounter- 1519 Hernan Cortes

Great Cities- Tenochtitlán (Huge Temple, Numerous Canals, Royal Palace)

Highly Structured Society- Based on Agriculture and Religion

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Incas 18

Spanish Conquest

Radical Depopulation

Disease

Forced Labour

Slavery- The Mission

Demoralization

Introduction of Cattle, Sheep and Goats

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Inca Empire

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Inca Society

Extremely Wealthy

Complex Political Organization

Accomplished Feats of Engineering

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Spanish Conquest

Series of Attacks (1525- 1572)

Encomienda System

Disease

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Splitting the WealthSpain and Portugal began to claim the same lands as their ownSince they were both Catholic, Pope Alexander VI issued a Papal Bull in 1493, which drew an imaginary line through the AtlanticSpain got all new lands discovered to the West, and Portugal to the East, and they had to respect the lands of any other Catholic nationThe Treaty of Tordesillas moved the line further West, allowing Portugal to “discover” BrazilOver time, Spain would take control of much of S. Am., while Portugal would focus on Africa and the W. Indies

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The Start of the Slave Trade

When the Portuguese first went to Afr. They were friendly with the natives

This changed for 3 reasons:

1. Missionaries wanted to save the Africans

2. The natives were dying in the Americas, meaning new labour was needed

3. They wanted to exploit the new lands

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Triangular Trade and the Middle Passage

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Tools of the Trade

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Decline of PortugalPortugal declined as rapidly as it had grownIt did not have the resources to support such a large empireBy 1580 Spain annexed Portugal until 1640 when it regained its freedomThe Slave Trade would not end until the late 1800sSpain would too decline, this time due to the rise of other nations, in particular Great Britain (Elizabeth)

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The Far EastAround 1514 the Portuguese reached ChinaOver time they began to gain the trust of the ChineseJesuits in particular were effective, although too much effort resulted in the Emperors’ denouncing ChristianityBritain would reach the East in the late 1600’s hoping to buy silk and tea, which the Dutch had previously introduced to themThe East India Company paid the Chinese with Opium, thus causing an addictionThis would eventually lead to the Opium Wars of 1839-1842While 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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Works Cited

Legacy: The West and the World, Garfield Newman

Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003