CHAPTER 15 – GLOBAL AGE
SEC. 1: CONQUEST IN THE AMERICAS
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
What was happening in
North and South America
What was Happening in
Europe
Why leave Europe
Where did the Explorers
come from
Conquest in the Americas

Focus Question:
 How
did European colonization of the Americas
shape global economies and societies?

Warm-Up Question:
 What
forced Europeans to want to explore, and
colonize new lands?
 What
was the ‘push factor’?
 What was the ‘pull factor’?
I. WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON NORTH AND
SOUTH AMERICA?
WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON NORTH AMERICA?
Around 1200 AD, nomads
migrated to the Valley of
Mexico
 In 1325 Tenochtitlan was
built, today Mexico City is
built in the same location.
 They conquered all of their
neighbors, and by 1517,
there were 5-6 million
Aztecs

WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON NORTH AMERICA?




The Maya derived from the Olmecs,
who lived along the gulf of Mexico
between 1500 BC – 400 BC
By 300 BC Mayans were building large
cities all over southern Mexico and
modern day Guatemala.
Chitchen – itza was one of the largest
cities built, and it still stands.
The Maya abandoned most of their
cities by 900 AD and lived in farming
villages by the time the Spanish
arrived
WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON SOUTH AMERICA?
Started around
1100 AD in the Andes
Mountains of South
America.
 Known for their
extensive roads, Incans built
their civilization of the sides
of mountains.
 Included nearly 10 million
people at its height

http://youtu.be/pQPS
YenhtoY
II. WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN EUROPE?
WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN EUROPE?
WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN EUROPE?
1. The Renaissance made people curious about
the world - motivating people to want to uncover
new parts of the world.
 2. The Protestant Revolution created a rift
between Catholics and non-Catholics (protestants);
making it necessary to spread religion far and
wide with hopes of gaining more followers.
 3. Age of Exploration European nations grew
powerful and sought to spread their influence
throughout the world
 4. Imperialism was the European phenomenon
where powerful countries like Britain and France
were trying to colonize other nations.

III. WHY LEAVE EUROPE?
PUSH FACTOR – this is
what ‘pushes’ someone
to do something. What
was the push factor of
Europeans wanting to
leave Europe
PUSH FACTOR (WHY LEAVE EUROPE)?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Spread Protestantism or Catholicism (GOD) (4 bullets)
To expand the King’s Power (GLORY) (3 bullets)
Explore new places to increase profits (GOLD)(2 bullets)
Look for a trade route to India
Look for new places to exploit (steal from)
Because they can!! – New Technology (4 bullets)
GOD •Protestants set out to get away from
corrupt Catholics.
•Catholics set out to convert NonChristians and gain citizenship worldwide.
•They all set out to compete against Islam.
•Explorers were encouraged to
spread Christianity or bring
missionaries who would focus
only on conversions
GLORY •Kings sponsored voyages of exploration to
gain overseas colonies, new sources of
wealth for their nation, & increased power
•New colonies meant more taxes and new
possibilities to find Gold
•Exploration presented Europeans
the opportunity to rise from poverty
and gain fame, fortune, & status
GOLD (MONEY) •Merchants began looking for quick,
direct trade routes to Asia to avoid
Muslim & Italian merchants &
increase profits
•The Crusades & Renaissance
stimulated European desires
for exotic Asian luxury goods
TECHNOLOGY
http://youtu.be/7RxzPU8XAuo
•Trade & cultural diffusion during the Renaissance
introduced new navigation techniques to Europeans
•Maps
were
•Magnetic compass
made
•Astrolabe
used
starsmore accurate
used longitude & latitude
sailing more accurate
to showand
direction
IV. WHERE DID THESE EXPLORERS COME FROM?
The first Explorers were from
Portugal and Spain. French and
English Explorers came after they
saw the success of the first few.
(so we will talk about them later..)
1. PORTUGAL
 Portugal was the early
leader in the
Age of Exploration
 In Portugal, Prince Henry
the Navigator started a
school of navigation to train
sailors
 He brought in Europe’s
best map-makers, shipbuilders, & sailing instructors
 He wanted to discover
new territories, find a quick
trade route to Asia, &
expand Portugal’s power
PORTUGAL
•During the Age of
Exploration, Portugal
created colonies along the
African coast, in Brazil, &
the Spice Islands in Asia
2. SPAIN
 The Spanish government saw Portugal’s wealth
& did not want to be left out
 More than any other European monarch,
Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain sponsored &
supported overseas expeditions
 Columbus went to Spain to get a sponsorship
for an exploration in 1492
 Hernan Cortez arrived
In Mexico in 1519
 Francisco Pizarro
arrived in Peru in 1532
V. CONQUEST IN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA.
1. COLUMBUS
Columbus believed the
world was round & thought he
could reach Asia by sailing
west
 Columbus reached the
Bahamas in America but
thought that he had reached
islands off the coast of India
 He made 4 trips to “India”
never knowing he was in
“America”
 It was named “America” in
1507 after the expeditions of
Amerigo Vespucci were
published.
2. CONQUISTADORS
• Spain sent explorers called conquistadors to the New
World to find gold, claim land, & spread Christianity
• Cortes conquered the Aztecs
• Arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519,
after a 3 year struggle, Cortes
takes over the city and kills the
Aztec king, Moctezuma.
• with only 600 men he
destroyed an empire of 5 million
– (smallpox killed most of the
Aztecs)
B. CONQUISTADORS
• Francisco
Pizarro
conquered the
Inca in 1532.
• He slaughtered
thousands of Inca
and killed their
leader,
Atahualpa.
CONTINUED
C. RESULTS OF CONQUEST
• The influx of gold from
America made Spain the
most powerful country in
Europe during the early
years of the Age of
Exploration
• tens of thousands of
Indians died at the hands of
conquistadors and disease.
• these conquests set the
world stage for Imperialism.
 dominating and
exploiting other
cultures.