The ConquestAnd Early Colonialism
Pre-hispanic Economies Food production
Immediate consumption Short-term storage
Barter/exchange economies Shells, feathers, obsidian, metal, coca, cacao,
cotton Sometimes elaborate (Incas)
Taxes as tribute (labor) No capital accumulation
“The Europeans did not ‘discover’ a utopian paradise of socially harmonious organizations”. 40,000 years two probable migratory routes
Asia: Bering Strait Polynesia: trade with Southern American
groups
Diverse societies with diverse characteristics, languages, cultures, specializations, degrees of organization
Imperial Societies that dominated Triple Alliance (Aztecs) (12th Century – Spanish
invasion) Maya (2000 BC – Spanish inv.; height 250-900AD) Incas (13th Century – Spanish) Olmec (1200 – 400 BC) Toltec (900? AD – 13th Century
“The pre-Columbian period witnessed the passing of numerous ‘civilizations’ with complex systems of territorial-administrative functions founded upon the subordination and disintegration of other social groups within their extensive imperial territories”.
Aztecs (Triple Alliance) Rise and fall of many empires in Valley of
Mexico before the Aztecs Teotihuacán: great city
Predates Aztecs; 400-600 AD Overthrown in 600
Continuity of culture in valley: Agricultural techniques Religion: gods and rituals
Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent)
Quetzalcoatl
Neovolcanic Range
Southern Highlands
Eastern Sierra Madre
Western Sierra MadreMesa del Norte
Mesa Central
Aztecs (12th Century until Spanish invasion)
Allied but ethnically different city states Seven tribes
Controlled valley of Mexico and much of central America
Triple Alliance, dominated most of Mexico (1430 – 1521) :
Mextica of Tenochtitlan Acolhua of Texcoco Tepaneca of Tlacopan
Ancient language extinct but modern language spoken by 2 million indigenous Mexicans
Written documentation on bark cloth
Language : nahuatl (NOW what)
city
Settled on marshy island in lake 1300 AD Built up the island literally Established Tenochtitlan 1325
Became the largest city in the world at that time 250,000 (Paris and Rome 100,000 each)
Tenochtitlan Intensive agricultural system : maize
Drainage canals, floating gardens (chinampas), aqueducts
Highly stratified society: ruling elite to laborers Land farmed by families, but owned by clans Paid tax/tribute with crops and crafts Provided labor for religious, community events and war
Inherited Maya calendar Writing and number system
Religious belief that god of Sun needed to be fed human hearts
Required constant battle to supply victims Tremendous resources devoted to building
temples and monuments
chinampas
Conquered by Cortés in 1521
First epidemic 1520 Measles and smallpox
Mexico City built on ruins
Maya
Modern Maya descendants 7 million Guatemala, Belize,
El Salvador, Honduras,
Mexico: Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Chiapas, Campeche
Maya region Written language Art Architecture Calendar Astronomy One of the most
densely populated and culturally sophisticated societies of its time
Pre-Classic (2000 BC – 250 AD) Classic (250 – 900 AD)
Peak of civilization Urbanism Monuments Artistic and intellectual achievement Agricultural intensification City-states Long-distance trade (cacao, salt, shells, jade,
obsidian) Collapse: spatially and temporally diverse
Post-Classic (900 to early 1500s) Colonial
Conquest 16th Century
Program of Genocide: Disease Battles and massacres Slavery
Representations of Early colonial geopolitical order
Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494 Network of urban centers Encomienda and mita systems Forced Christianity capitanías
capitanías Portuguese claims: based on exploration
and treaty rights Brazil coast
King divided Brazilian territory into 12 large land grant (capitanías) Each controlled by a noble proprietor (personal
responsible for development) Sugar cane All transferred to Crown in 1549 Some successful in sugar cane production
Treaty of Tordesillas 1494,Pope Alexander VI
Gold and Silver Columbus returned to Spain with GOLD
To prove lands were worth exploration
Spain Gold and silver mines in central Andes
Native American labor 1500 – 1800:
Spanish colonies produced 90,000 tons silver 80% total world production Mexico (Zacatecas, Guanajuato) Bolivia (Potosí)
Began Colonial Era economy (mid 1500s to mid 1800s)
Heavy human toll
Very hard labor
Not acclimatized to high altitudes
Mercury poisoning After 1550 in patio
process (silver extraction process)
Silver Wealth
did not reach mass of population
Visible in churches, palaces, monasteries
Gold Brazil (Minas Gerais) gold-production
center early 1700s
Colombia also produced gold
Brazil Portuguese colony Produced 65% of gold from Latin America Also raised cattle
Meat for Portuguese ships on way to East Indies
Sugar Cane Introduced into Americas by Spanish and
Portuguese
Initially, Portuguese colonial economy based on sugar
Monocultures on large coastal tracts or lowlands Needed water Needed forest for fuel Large labor force of slaves
Agriculture Indians and Mestizos practiced subsistence
Indigenous crops & methods
Commercial agriculture (selling commodities for markets) Stimulated by ports, towns, mines
Directed by Spain Used many introduced Old World plants Little went to Spain
Except sugar, hides, dyes
Mining and Agriculture linkedeconomically,
geographically Main market for commercial farming and
livestock was mines Tallow (candles), wine and brandy, meat,
mules, hides
As mines developed in Mexico… Bajío of Guanajuato and Valley of Guadalajara
became wheat and cattle areas
Haciendas / Estancias plantations Compact group of buildings
House Worker huts Chapel Corrals granaries
Produced for local market, not overseas trade Henequen in northern Yucatán
By late 1700s, dominant form of rural settlement
Latifundios Large landholdings owned by elite Latin
families
Prestige
Private land could be acquired by a merced (royal grant) Large (5000 acres) or small
Trade Routes In part dependent on ocean and
atmospheric circulation
North Atlantic trade Flotas leaving Spain, Portugal sailed SW to
Canary Islands, west to Caribbean Returning flotas: Gulf Stream to western
Europe
Ship routes
Routes of Spanish flota system in Middle America
Cheapest way to move goods: Ocean, coasts, rivers Overland travel very expensive, slow
40 mile overland journey across Panama : 4 days
Sugar: low value Sugar plantation within 15 miles of coast in
order to be profitable Silver:
High value of goods outweighed high cost of overland transport
Potosí to Lima: 4 months by mule
Principal colonial routes and ports (late 18th Century)
Colonial transportation in Middle America
Colonial GovernanceMeans of imposing control over new
territories Viceroys: ruling powers in Spain and Portugal Viceroyalties: their territories:
New Spain (Mexico City) Peru (Lima) La Plata (Asunción, later Buenos Aires) New Granada (Bogotá) Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
Viceroyalties
2 economic systems1. Mercantile System
Iberian royalty in charge of trade with Latin America
Quinto Real (Royal Fifth): 1/5 (20%) tax on all metals mined in colonies
Flotas Vessels loaded with gold and silver
Heavily guarded Traveled in groups (flotas)
Coastal cities built huge fortresses Campeche City, Mexico Havanna, Cuba San Juan, Puerto Rico Veracruz, Mexico
2. Encomienda
Social/economic institution Natives sent to encomenderos (Spaniards)
Forced to learn Spanish, convert to Catholicism Demanded tribute (labor)
Resulted in cultural destruction
Abolished in 1542
Repartimiento replaced encomienda (Called mita in Peru) Indians supplied labor to mines Abolished in 1812
Both systems served to create class divide Lower class: majority Upper class: wealthy few
Colonialism Began Latin America’s dependence on a
world economy with Northern powers (North Atlantic)
Seeds of many future problems: Regional economies based on supplying Spain
and Portugal’s demands Slavery fostered social injustice Local skills not developed
Did not have resources to build economies and states
Map of colonization