Chapter 19 –
Early Latin America
Dr. Afxendiou
AP World History 9
Sachem North High School
THE AZTECS
► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nS6M
pVbB_g
The Incas
► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak_Py1
YFpj8&list=PLIZoKVb_itv53VuxARJOXIShAU
MLQcp74
Some geography…
The Iberian Peninsula
15th century on the Iberian peninsula
► Urbanized
– cities, towns, villages
► System of nobility
► Patriarchal social structure
► Use of slaves – through Trans-Saharan trade
► Bureaucracy supported the central governments
► Religion and the church supported the political
system
► Political unification through the marriage of
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille
► 1492 the fall of Granada – last Muslim kingdom
► Castille expels Jewish population
► Spanish
and Portuguese ideas, beliefs and
traditions transplanted in the Americas
► The encomienda system makes this all
possible
Three phases of conquest
1st phase
1492-1570
administration and economy established
The Caribbean model
The birth of the encomienda system
►
►
2nd phase
1570 - 1700
colonial institutions and societies take shape
3rd phase
1700s
Period reform and reorganization planted the seeds
of revolution
1st phase
The Conquistadors (the conquerors)
► Not
soldiers but explorers guided by the 3Gs
► PIP CAM to conquer (not chronological)
► Cortes – Aztecs – Mexico
1519
600 men
Malinche
kingdom of New Spain
1st phase
The Conquistadors (the conquerors)
►Pizarro
– Incas – Peru
1533
200 men
civil war
guile
► By
the end of the 1st phase there were 192
cities and towns
REASONS FOR SPANISH SUCCESS
► Superior
military technology
 weapons – muskets, cannons
 Horses – natives had never seen such an animal and it
frightened them
 Spanish armor and helmets protected soldiers from arrows
and spears
► Ruthless
leaders among the Spanish
► Division among the native groups – Aztecs and
Incas were hated by rival groups they had defeated.
Spanish made the enemies their allies
► Disease - measles, mumps, smallpox, typhus
► Destruction of Tenochtitlan signaled the end of the
world – the Aztecs believed they would die anyway
MORAL QUESTIONS
► What
moral questions were raised by the
conquest?
MORAL QUESTIONS
► Were
the Indians fully human?
► Was it proper to convert them to
Christianity?
► Was the conquest of their land justified?
► Answers:
 Conquest necessary in order to spread the
gospel
 Aristotle – some people were born to serve,
Indians were not fully human they stood to gain
the light of salvation.
Father Bartolome de las Casas
► Who
was he?
Father Bartolome de las Casas
► Former
conquistador and encomendero
► Critic of the brutal ways of the Spaniards
► Indians were rational people who had never
harmed Christianity
► Conquest was unjustified
The Americas are transformed
► Demographic
catastrophe result of disease,
enslavement and mistreatment, war
► Exploitation of native populations
 Encomienda-natives taxed, used for labor and
as servants
 Mita-forced labor extracted by colonial
government – mines and government projects
 Indians move to cities to avoid mita and tax
obligations – become urban workers
Colonial Economy
► 80%
of population worked the land
 Haciendas-rural estates worked by natives, basis of local
economy, production for local consumption
► However,
most important activity was mining
► Metals connected the Americas to the world
economy
 Silver – Mexico and Peru
► Potosi-
► Ranches
Peru (Bolivia)
– raising sheep – wool, small textile
sweatshops
► America became self sufficient for basic foods and
material goods, imported only luxuries from
Europe
Colonial Economy
► Silver
a central commodity
► Transformed and weakened Spain
► Silver flowed continuously to Spain from colonies
► Spain used silver to pay for European wars, pay
off long term debts, to get manufactured goods to
sell back to the West Indies.
► Silver caused prices to go up in Spain, inflation
(which spread throughout Europe)
► Spain borrowed on the prospect of more silver
weakening its economy
Governing the colonies
► Bureaucracy-based
on educated group of lawyers
- letrados
► Head of government the king and queen
► Their right to rule the colonies came from a
papal grant
► Treaty of Tortesillas
Clarified right of possession
between Spain and Portugal
Governing the colonies
► King
ruled from Spain
► viceroys
 represented kings
 had extensive military, legislative and judicial power
► 10
audiencias in each viceroyalty
 Judicial divisions – courts – helped make and apply
laws
► Council
of the Indies
 Advised king and set laws for the colonies
Brazil
► Pedro
Alvarez Cabral – 1500
► Settled by nobles who were given land –
capitaincies
► Developed sugar plantations
 Used native labor
 African slaves
► Port
cities developed to
serve plantations
Brazil
► Became
the world’s largest sugar producer
► Combined agriculture and industry to
produce sugar (cut, pressed, boiled)
► Required a lot of labor
► Huge numbers of slaves imported
 By 17th century half of Brazil’s population was
slaves
Brazil
► 1695
gold is discovered
► People move inland, new immigrants from
Portugal
 More native populations destroyed
► Slave
labor in mines
► New wealth allowed Brazil to buy its luxuries
from Europe never creating industry itself –
remained dependent
Social Structure
► The
Americas become multiracial – Indians,
Europeans and Africans
► Hierarchical organization
► Castas – mixed background – mestizos –
higher socially than Indians
► Mulatto
Social Pyramid
PENINSULARES
CREOLES
MESTIZZOS/MULATTOS
NATIVE
INDIANS/AFRICANS
The 3rd phase – the 18th century and
its reforms
► Spain
weakened by wars, debt, weak rulers
and internal revolts
► Other European countries are getting
stronger – French, Dutch, English – and
Spain loses territories to them
► Spain starts to lose control of governing
colonies to local aristocrats (Creoles)
► War of Spanish Succession – new family of
kings
The Bourbon Reforms
► The
new Spanish ruling family (related to
French king)
► Economic, administrative and military
reforms to strengthen Spain and its empire
 Tighter tax system
 New bureaucratic models copied from the
French
 Navy reformed and investment in new ships
Bourbon Reforms
►Reforms in the colonies
 New viceroyalties
 Royal investigators to
find out and uproot
corruption and abuses
 Creoles removed from
colonial bureaucracy
(dissatisfaction brewing)
Reactions to reforms - revolts
► Comunero
Revolt-
 1781, New Granada
 Failed because of racial and social divisions
within the rebel group
► An
Indian uprising
 Late 1780, Peru
 Tupac Amaru – a mestizzo, descendant of Incas
 Failed because it was not supported by the
Creoles
Compare Iberian expansion and
Russian expansion
► Differences:
 Iberian maritime expansion, Russian over land
expansion
 Cultural impact of the West: Russian rulers
decided which elements of western culture they
wanted to adapt, in Latin America it was simply
imposed.
► Similarities:
 Development of systems of coerced labor
 Adapted western culture