Hernan Cortes
Who: Spanish explorer who landed on
Mexico’s Gulf Coast
What: He and 600 soldiers led an attack on Tenochtitlan. Within two years,
Cortes and his forces conquered the
Aztec Empire
When: 1519
Why: He had heard Tenochtitlan was filled with gold
Francisco Pizarro
Who: Spanish explorer
What: Took a small group of Spanish soldiers to South
America. He captured the Inca ruler and had him killed.
Weakened by disease, the Inca were easy for Pizarro to conquer.
When: 1532
Why: He desired Inca’s gold, silver and other riches

Francois Dominique Toussaint-Louverture
Who: son of an educated slave born on a plantation in a French colony on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola
What: Led Latin America’s 1 st successful revolt against European rule which took place in Haiti with the help of enslaved Africans.
Francois was able to overthrow French rule in
Haiti.
When: 1804
Why: He was opposed to European rule
and wanted slaves to be free

Who: Wealthy military leader from South America
What: Led the fight for independence against the
Spaniards in northern South
America. His efforts won independence for Venezuela,
Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia
When: 1819
Why: Opposed European rule and wanted independence from Spain
Jose de San Martin
Who: Argentine General
What: Led his army from Argentina, across the Andes and into Chile where he took
Spanish forces by surprise and was able to gain independence for the region. He later went on to join forces with Simon Bolivar to defeat the Spanish in Peru
When: 1817
Why: Opposed European rule and wanted independence from Spain

Fidel Castro
Who: young lawyer in Cuba
What: After leading a successful revolution in Cuba, Castro helped to set up a communist state in which he controlled the economy and the people. He was President of Cuba from 1976-2008.
When: 1959
Why: He was dissatisfied with the ruthless rulers in power or those who were in power too long

Task:
1.
Use your textbook (pages 210-215) and the Internet to research the following people:
Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, Francois Dominique Toussaint Louverture, Simon Bolivar,
Jose de San Martin and Fidel Castro
2.
Then, create a word document with your findings – be sure to include the following information:
Who?
What did they do?
When?
Why?
Picture of each
Task:
1.
Use your textbook (pages 210-215) and the Internet to research the following people:
Hernan Cortez, Francisco Pizarro, Francois Dominique Toussaint Louverture, Simon Bolivar,
Jose de San Martin and Fidel Castro
2.
Then, create a work document with your findings – be sure to include the following information:
Who?
What did they do?
When?
Why?
Picture of each