Zapatistas

• A group of Mexicans who supported improved rights and living conditions for Mexico’s indigenous people. Known for harassment and sabotaging the Mexican government.

AztecsMost powerful civilization in Central and Southern Mexico at the time of European Exploration. Known for their artwork and architecture, human sacrifices, irrigation practices.

Montezuma II• An Aztec ruler from 1500 -

1520. He was the ruler when the Aztec’s land was invaded by the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes.

Tenochtitlan• The capital city of the

Aztecs. Modern day Mexico City is now built on top of the ancient city.

NahuatlThe original language of the Aztecs. It is still spoken by thousands of people in Mexico.

Hernan Cortes• A Spanish conquistador who conquered the

Aztec empire, 1519-1521.

Incas• Native civilization of South

America. Their empire stretched 2,000 miles along the coast from Colombia to Chile. Achievements: gold, silver, and bronze art, network of roads, terrace farming, textiles

Atahualpa• Was the last ruler of the

Inca Empire. He was lured into a trap by Pizarro and kidnapped for a ransom of 24 tons of gold and silver.

Cusco• The capital city of the Inca

Empire.

Quechua• The original language of the

Incas. It is still spoken by many people today.

Francisco Pizarro

• The Spanish conquistador that conquered the Inca Empire in South America between 1531-1533.

Mestizos • Descendants of Europeans

and Native Americans.

Mulattoes • Descendants of Europeans

and African-American that were brought to the New World.

Toussaint L’Ouverture

• He was born a slave. France had given the slaves their freedom but the plantation owners complained, so France changed its mind. Lead a slave revolt in Saint Domingue (Present day Haiti).

Simon Bolivar

• He was a leader in the wars for independence in South America against Spanish rule. He is called “The Liberator”

Miguel Hidalgo

• He is known as the father of Mexican independence. He was a priest who led a peasant army against the Spanish army in Mexico.

Cuban Revolution

• Fidel Castro led a group of rebels against Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship and made himself a dictator in 1959.

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Event that almost started a nuclear war when Cuba gave the Soviet Union permission to build missile sites. These missiles had the ability to reach the U.S.