Name: ___________________________________________________________Date:________________
European Empires in the Americas 1500 – 1700
Learning Targets: Students will be able to…



Analyze the causes and effects of the fall of the Aztec and Inca empires.
Analyze how America’s resources contributed to the economic, social, and geographical
development of Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Analyze how conflict and cooperation affected relations between Native Americans and European
settlers.
Building Background Knowledge: Read pp. 92–109 in your text and answer the questions below.
1. What did Spanish rulers want their explorers to bring home the most?
2. How long did it take Cortes and the Spanish to defeat the Aztec empire?
3. What did Cortes determine was the best way to control the Aztecs?
4. What was the largest group of people in Spain’s empire?
5. What was the “great sickness” that killed many Aztec people?
a.
b.
6. Who was the Incan ruler that Francisco Pizarro conquered in 1531?
7. What did Spain use the money they’d gained from the conquests of the Incas and Aztecs for?
8. What were the three kinds of settlements the Spanish law called for in the Americas?
a.
b.
c.
9. What were the French, Dutch, and Swedes all involved in?
10. Unlike the Spanish, what did the French settlers try to do?
11. What was the first permanent French settlement in the Americas, and where was it located?
12. What is the oldest city in the United States that was started by the Europeans?
Expository Reading Skills:
Read the summaries below and complete the diagrams with information from the summaries.
Cortes in Tenochtitlan
Spanish explorer, Cortes, had heard stories about cities of gold in North
America. In 1519, Cortes went to Mexico to look for riches. He claimed
Mexico for Spain and the Roman Catholic Church. Montezuma, the Aztec
leader, gave Cortes more gold, hoping to satisfy Cortes so he would
return home. Instead the gold increased his desire for more riches.
Cortes captured Montezuma and made him a prisoner in his own palace. The Spanish took
all the gold and other treasures they could find in the capital city. They melted the gold
into bars. Montezuma was killed by the Aztecs. The Aztec then united and drove the
Spanish from the capital. The Spanish, however, had exposed the Aztec to a deadly
disease. Many Aztec people died.
Ten months later, Cortes returned to Tenochtitlan and attacked the Aztec. In 1521, the
Aztec surrendered to the Spanish, who destroyed Tenochtitlan and stole all his treasures.
Cortes ordered that a new Spanish capital, Mexico City, be built on the ruins of
Tenochtitlan.
Pizarro and the Inca
Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, had heard many stories of the
wealth of the Inca of South America. In 1526, Pizarro learned that the
story of the wealth was true when he saw an Incan trading boat filled
with silver and gold. Pizarro had the boat captured. He trained some of
the Incan crew to be interpreters and planned an attack on the Incan
empire.
Pizarro had the Incan ruler, Atahualpa, captured. He ordered the Inca to pay a ransom to
get their leader back. The Inca brought a roomful of gold and silver in order to free their
leader. Instead, Pizarro had the Incan leader killed. Next, he sent soldiers to capture the
Incan capital of Cuzco. By 1535, Pizarro had captured most of the Inca Empire. He set up
his capital in Lima, Peru. From there he sent expeditions to gain control of most of South
America… except Brazil. The former Inca Empire became Spain’s richest colony.
Sequencing Skills:
13. Sequence the events that led to the fall of the Aztecs and the Incas.
The Fall of Two Empires
Aztec
Inca
Events that led to the fall of the Aztecs:
Events that led to the fall of the Incas:
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
5.
5.
6.
6.
14. Why did Cortes go to Mexico? Support your ideas with details and examples from the
text.
15. Why did Pizarro go to South America? Support your ideas with details and examples
from the text.
16. Comparing and Contrasting Skills:
 Identify three ways the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Incas were similar.
 Identify three ways the conquests were different.
Similarities
Differences
17. Jigsaw Activity: Groups will be assigned a social class to research and present to the
class.
Word Bank
Creole
Mestizo
Peninsulares
Native Americans
Owned most of the land
People born in Spain
Worked under cruel conditions
Born of mixed Spanish and Native American descent
Largest group of people in New Spain
Worked in the mines and on plantations
Was born in New Spain but both parents were Spanish
Worked on farms/ranches + carpenters, bakers, tailors, and soldiers
Held the best jobs in government and in the church
Held important positions in the government, church, army, and business
Engaged Learning Activity: Fill in the hierarchical pyramid below to show how social
classes were set up in New Spain. As each group presents their findings to the class,
choose a word or phrase from the word bank that best describes each social class
Social Classes of New Spain
18. Descriptive Writing: Describe in rich, vivid details the life of Juana Ines de la Cruz.
Prewriting Skills: Organize your information and ideas below in a brainstorming web, mind
map, or any other graphic organizer of your choice before writing your final paragraphs.
19. Organizing Information: Use the chart below to identify the differences in the Spanish,
French, Dutch, and Swedish settlements in the Americas.
Name of Colony
New Spain
New France
New Netherlands
New Sweden
Area Settled
Economy
Map Skills:
20. On the map below, shade the settlement areas of the people from each of the four
countries in the chart above. Color code: Peru, New Spain, and Spanish borderlands.
21. Give the map a title, compass rose, and label each colony by name.
22. Comparing and Contrasting Skills: The French and Spanish had very different relationships
with the Native Americans. Complete the Venn diagram by choosing words and phrases
from the word bank that best describes each of their relationships.
Conflict and Cooperation with Native Americans
French and Native Americans
(3)
Spanish and Native Americans
(4)
French and Native
Americans (3)
(2)
Word Bank
Traded goods for furs
Missions
Cruel conditions on plantations
Importance of religion
Acceptance of Native American ways
System similar to slavery
Destruction of Aztec Empire
Saw importance of maintaining peace
Conquistadors
Critical Thinking Skills
23. Drawing Conclusions:
Why do you think the Native Americans might have considered the fur traders to be less of a threat
than the farmers were?